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MOD St Athan
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MOD St Athan
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as Royal Air Force St Athan, or more simply RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
The base was home to the RAF No. 4 School of Technical Training throughout its life, as well as a major aircraft maintenance unit. St Athan has also been used to house British Army units, including the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. At one time it was home to a large collection of historical aircraft.
The only flying unit to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis is the Universities of Wales Air Squadron. This unit is one of fifteen RAF University Air Squadrons, flying Grob Tutors. 2300 Squadron of the Air Training Corps is also located on the Station.
The airfield part of the site was transferred from military to civilian control on 1 April 2019. It is now owned by the Welsh Government and known as Bro Tathan airfield, and is home to Bro Tathan Business Park. MOD St Athan continues to exist, comprising the barracks area which is adjacent to the airfield.
The airbase is a prominent scrapping facility, used by eCube, together with Horizon Aircraft Services (formerly Hunter Flying).
The station officially opened as RAF (Royal Air Force) St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No. 4 School of Technical Training (4SofTT). In 1939, the station's activities were expanded with the arrival of a fighter group pool, the School of Air Navigation, and a maintenance unit.
The UK's aircraft interception radar efforts were briefly housed at St Athan in late 1939 and early 1940. Prior to the war they had been located with the rest of the radar research efforts at Bawdsey Manor on the east coast, but with the opening of hostilities they were quickly moved to a tiny civilian airfield, Perth Airport (Scotland) outside Perth. Yet the conditions there entirely unsuited to their efforts. After a short search, St Athan was selected for the AI team while the rest of the researchers stayed in Dundee. When they too found the conditions unsuitable, both teams moved to Worth Matravers in May 1940.
A Special Duty Flight was formed at the station on 14 November 1939 to support the aircraft-borne radar efforts. It was established from the nucleus of the Station Flight which had been established when the researchers were briefly relocated to Scotland. It lasted less than two years, and was re-designated the Telecommunications Flying Unit in early November 1941. By that time it was located at RAF Hurn.
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MOD St Athan
Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as Royal Air Force St Athan, or more simply RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.
The base was home to the RAF No. 4 School of Technical Training throughout its life, as well as a major aircraft maintenance unit. St Athan has also been used to house British Army units, including the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. At one time it was home to a large collection of historical aircraft.
The only flying unit to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis is the Universities of Wales Air Squadron. This unit is one of fifteen RAF University Air Squadrons, flying Grob Tutors. 2300 Squadron of the Air Training Corps is also located on the Station.
The airfield part of the site was transferred from military to civilian control on 1 April 2019. It is now owned by the Welsh Government and known as Bro Tathan airfield, and is home to Bro Tathan Business Park. MOD St Athan continues to exist, comprising the barracks area which is adjacent to the airfield.
The airbase is a prominent scrapping facility, used by eCube, together with Horizon Aircraft Services (formerly Hunter Flying).
The station officially opened as RAF (Royal Air Force) St Athan on 1 September 1938 and the first unit to take up residence was No. 4 School of Technical Training (4SofTT). In 1939, the station's activities were expanded with the arrival of a fighter group pool, the School of Air Navigation, and a maintenance unit.
The UK's aircraft interception radar efforts were briefly housed at St Athan in late 1939 and early 1940. Prior to the war they had been located with the rest of the radar research efforts at Bawdsey Manor on the east coast, but with the opening of hostilities they were quickly moved to a tiny civilian airfield, Perth Airport (Scotland) outside Perth. Yet the conditions there entirely unsuited to their efforts. After a short search, St Athan was selected for the AI team while the rest of the researchers stayed in Dundee. When they too found the conditions unsuitable, both teams moved to Worth Matravers in May 1940.
A Special Duty Flight was formed at the station on 14 November 1939 to support the aircraft-borne radar efforts. It was established from the nucleus of the Station Flight which had been established when the researchers were briefly relocated to Scotland. It lasted less than two years, and was re-designated the Telecommunications Flying Unit in early November 1941. By that time it was located at RAF Hurn.
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