Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Caerwent Training Area |
|
|---|---|
| Caerwent, Monmouthshire | |
.jpg)
West Gate, Caerwent Training Area
|
|
 Caerwent Training Area
Caerwent Training Area
Location within Monmouthshire
|
|
| Coordinates | 51°37′00″N 2°45′53″W / 51.6167°N 2.7648°W |
| Type | Training Area |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator | British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1939 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1939–Present |
The Caerwent Training Area is a large military site in Monmouthshire, Wales. It was once a factory that made and stored weapons for the Royal Navy. This factory was known as the Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent. Later, it became RAF Caerwent.
After it stopped making weapons in 1966, the site was used by the US military and the British Army. Today, it is a major training area for soldiers. New buildings are planned for the site starting in 2027. These will house two army units: the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and 1st Battalion, The Rifles.
This big military site is located north of the A48 road. It is about 5 miles (8 km) west of Chepstow and 12 miles (19 km) east of Newport. The area is about 2 miles (3.2 km) by 1.5 miles (2.4 km). It has a road around its edge that is over 7 miles (11 km) long. The old factory had its own railway system, many roads, and various buildings. These ranged from small storage bunkers to large brick buildings.
Since 1993, the site has been used for many things. These include military training, car rallying, storing old railway vehicles, and protecting nature. People also use it for fun activities like Airsoft.
Contents
Building the Factory
In 1936, the Royal Navy decided they needed a new factory. They had several important needs for its location:
- It should be safe from air attacks.
- It should not be in an industrial area.
- But, it needed to be close enough to a town for workers.
- It had to be near a railway and main roads.
- The land should be rough grassland with good drainage.
- It needed a gentle slope for safety in dangerous areas.
- The highest part should be at least 100 feet (30 m) above the lowest.
Explosives factories need a lot of water. To make 150 tons (136 tonnes) of cordite each week, the factory would need 3 million imperial gallons (14,000 m³) of clean water every day.
The Great Western Railway had built the Severn Tunnel under the River Severn. A huge amount of water, over 9 million gallons (41,000 m³) per day, was pumped from the tunnel near Sudbrook. This place was only 3 miles (5 km) from the planned factory site. Even during a big drought in 1934, there was plenty of water. The railway used some, but there was always a lot left over for the factory.
Work on the factory began in 1939. Building and roads cost £4.7 million, and equipment cost £2.5 million. The site covered 1,580 acres (6.4 km²). About 1,163 acres (4.7 km²) were inside the factory fence. The village of Dinham, at the northern edge, was taken over by the factory.
By late 1940, the main office was finished. In December 1940, the factory started making sulfuric acid. Five months later, it began making nitric acid. By August 1941, the plants for nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine were working. They ran 24 hours a day with three shifts of workers. The factory was almost fully ready.
Cold War Operations
From 1955 to 1966, Caerwent made parts for the Gosling rocket booster. This booster was used for the Seaslug missile. This work was part of the Cold War effort. It started in old wartime buildings.
Later, from 1957, new buildings were built just for making guided missile propellants. These buildings were on the eastern side of the site. Other buildings at the northern edge were used for testing these rocket motors. They could be heated or cooled before testing. Testing was also done here for other rocket motors like Magpie and Redtop.
In the early 1960s, the government decided to move all propellant making to another factory. The decision to close Caerwent was announced in 1965. Production continued for two more years. The last Gosling motor was made on June 14, 1966.
RAF Caerwent and US Army Use
In 1967, Caerwent was given to the US military. This happened after France asked the US military to leave their country. Caerwent became a storage site for the United States Army in Europe. It was called USADA Caerwent.
The US Army spent over £4 million building 300 new storage buildings. They also changed some old factory buildings. They stored many types of ammunition. This included small arms bullets, artillery shells, anti-tank mines, grenades, and rockets. The first shipments arrived in 1968, mostly by train.
At its busiest, Caerwent was one of the largest ammunition depots in Western Europe. It stored over 80,000 tons (72,575 tonnes) of weapons. This was a large part of the US Army's supplies in Europe. In 1990, Caerwent sent 12,000 tons (10,886 tonnes) of ammunition to the Middle East. It played a key role in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
After the political situation in Europe changed, the US Army decided to close its storage operations in June 1992. Over 60,000 tonnes of ammunition were moved out in less than ten months. The last batch left by train on July 19, 1993. The official closing ceremony was on August 20, 1993.
Modern Training Centre
Today, Caerwent is a big training area. It covers over 1,500 acres (6 km²). Up to 1,000 soldiers can train there at one time. The site has over 400 buildings and bunkers. It also has a full road system. This is great for practicing logistics and driver training. Improvements to the site were finished in November 2015.
As mentioned, the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards are expected to move to Caerwent in 2028.
Railway History
The Caerwent site had its own private railway line. This line connected to the Great Western railway near Caldicot Junction. There were several railway sidings inside the factory.
After British Rail became private, Caerwent was used to store extra locomotives and rolling stock. These could be brought back into use if needed. Some old electric locomotives were even taken apart for scrap at Caerwent. Between 2008 and 2014, the railway tracks were removed. However, the ground where the tracks lay was left in place. Some unsafe buildings and old acid storage tanks have also been removed since 2014.
In summer 2022, work began to remove the last parts of the railway track. These rails will be sent to the Gwili Railway. This is a heritage railway in Carmarthen, Wales. The old trackbed will be turned into a path for walking and cycling.
Filming Location
Caerwent has also been used for filming movies and TV shows. Scenes from the Hollywood movie Captain America: The First Avenger were filmed there in October 2010. More recently, the TV series Top Gear also used Caerwent for filming.
