This afternoon VC-10 K.3, ZA147 F, will depart St Athan for Brize Norton at the end of its servicing schedule, this will mark the end of almost 75 years of RAF aircraft servicing at the site.
RAF St Athan was completed in 1938 as one of the major Aircraft Storage Units (ASUs) for the RAF in the expansion era. These sites were vital in that they could receive large amounts of aircraft directly from the factories, store them on remote sites, and then quickly prepare them for either immediate delivery into active squadron service, or crate them up for overseas delivery and use, they are now seen as a remarkable piece of foresight in the RAFs vital ability to resupply and keep up aircraft numbers during the war.
Four remote storage sites were built, in total six of the latest concrete E type aeroplane sheds for ‘tails up’ storage, two D type storage and maintenance sheds, and four C type hangars, including two unique ‘long’ 15 bay versions, for aircraft erection and maintenance purposes were constructed. Picketston site also received four Ministry of Aviation Production B1A hangars, for the acceptance and processing of aircraft from Ferry pilots, the site also having a long taxiway which meandered north west for about two miles and featured storage areas and crews huts in farmers fields.
St Athan also benefitted in having very large workshops built, in the pattern of the Quedgeley MU sheds, this not only allowed for a modern and massive repair facility, but also the capability to manufacture aircraft components. A special engine test house was built so that engines such as the new Merlin could be fully tested after its major overhaul on site. An internal railway system was also built, and this was linked to the main S.Wales line. 19 and 32 Maintenance Units were established on site.
The main camp was built in true expansion era architecture, with magnificent red brick buildings, and was designed to accommodate large amounts of airmen and NCOs, with a smaller officer contingent.
Immediately after the site was chosen for ASU use it was also picked out for major training school use.
A second camp was built to the east of the flying area, and from then on the two camps were known as West and East camps. The training camp was far more temporary in construction, comprising of lines of wooden hutting for accommodation, and twenty Bellman hangars tor aircraft technical instruction were put up.
Four grand brick training workshops (again thought to be unique), and a ‘Quedgeley’ type store and very large amenities building was built, the later housing an indoor swimming pool, cinema, churches, and gymnasium.
Both sites were complete and in use by late 1938.
The list of aircraft handled by both the MUs and 4 SoTT is far too long to list here, but it would be fair to say that every major type used by the RAF (and in some cases the FAA) had some association with the airfield. In its haydey 14,000 personel were stationed at St Athan, which made it the largest RAF camp by numbers based.
At wars end the ASU task had turned into one of processing aircraft for scrap, the aforementioned taxiway at Pickeston had already been extended to meet up with one coming south west from nearby Llandow, this allowed ground movement of aircraft between the two stations. From the late war period into the mid 1950s, large amounts of aircraft were to be seen parked in various fields in the country side between St Athan and Llandow, before they were towed away to scrapped on two or three processing areas.
Large amounts of brand new post-war aircraft were flown directly from the factories to be scrapped, indeed there are stories of Bristol Buckmasters arriving from Filton, having their engines removed which were then taken by train back to the factory and fitted to the next aircraft to be delivered fro scrap, and so on.
Many of the RAFs post war types were serviced here, again the list is endless, but in more recent times featured, Meteors, Canberras, Valiants, Vulcans, Victors, Phantoms, Harriers, Jaguars, Hawks, & Tornados.
The VC-10 became associated with the place when the minor servicing of the type was established here in late 1992.
Many of these types would later return and be stored and broken up at the Picketston site, this activity coming to an end during the mid 1990s.
In the early 2000s a controversial move saw the end of the traditional RAF and civilian manned MUs in favour of the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA), VC-10 major servicing was established here at about the same time under the BAe JAVELIN scheme.
A new and huge maintenance ‘super’ hangar, designed to house 84 Tornados was built which promised much, but has now come to symbolise a huge waste of public money and the slow demise and shameful discarding of St Athan by the MoD, the fast jet works went out to various smaller outfits at parent stations and the Harrier GR.9s and Tornados gradually left, the last Tornado departing in March 2007.
This left the VC-10s which outlived the agency name change to DSG LABU (Defence Servicing Group, Large Aircraft Business Unit).
The last VC-10 major was completed in November 2010, and today the last VC-10 minor will depart.
The SoTT training is due to move away within five years, the Army now inhabit West camp which is nicely maintained, however East Camp is a shadow of its former self and much demolition of some original buildings has taken place, this includes two of the workshops, one of the ‘long’ C type hangars, and most of the Bellman hangars.
Worst of all though is the incalcuable loss of 300-500 local skilled jobs.
The airfields’ future now lies with the resident UWAS Grob Tutor unit and the encouraging news of HFL and their jets moving in.
Please feel free to add reminiscences and pictures etc, there must be a few of you ex Saints people out there!
By: alertken - 28th February 2012 at 12:14
Maintenance Command was jointly manned, civvies + uniforms, from its formation in 1938, and worked in parnership with Civilian Repair firms from October,1939. Business was debending damage caused by P/O Prune and other enemies. From 1945 it was reduction to produce (=scrap). All that changed in 1955: UK lost the luxury of dumping Mk.1 (say) Hunters, replaced with (say, Mk.4) after months’, not years’ use. The equivalent of dumping a car when the ashtray was full. UK had to buy its (say Mk.6 Hunters) without US Aid, so they stayed in use from 1957 into 1980s. We had to invent Major Servicing and understand fatigue. Certain types were assigned to other MUs – you all go on about F-4M at Saints, but Aldergrove was also muchly involved.
As volume declined, as the whole Force declined, so it became sensible to form at Saints a Centre of Excellence in Major Servicing. Hence funding the Superhangar, and hence nomination of the SofTT to be all-uniforms fixed wing airframes Heavy Maintenance Centre. All that then came undone when (bean counters and consultants) measured Saints’ cost and time performance as adverse in comparison with aero industry best practice. Sometimes unfair, sometimes not. BA, for example, had turned round its VC10 Heavy Checks in fewer weeks than did Saints in months. (Not Saints but Finningley was ditto on Wessex in comparison with 28 Sqdn’s Majors at HAECO/Kai Tak). Culture, practice at MUs was that visible cash mattered, whereas time did not. So: “waiting for spares” was cheaper, thus better, than stocking piles of just-in-case parts that might rust into obsolescence. So: pre-price a “readiness” deal with a Civilian Repairer and delegate to him that balance between nugatory capital and nugatory time. And avoid diverting uniforms into jobs that civvies can do. MoD can terminate civvies when workload or performance declines.
So all that is why airframe maintenance is now blowing in the saintly wind. Don’t need to agree; do need to understand the logic.
By: Seafuryfan - 28th February 2012 at 09:56
St Athan: fond recollections of attending a 6 week driving course as a wide-eyed LAC. The memory of sitting in the drivers seat for the first time in a service green Escort estate (with roundels), pressing the accelerator, and GOING FORWARD ON MY OWN! will always stay with me. So to will the ******* roundabout under the M4, which was my first driving test downfall.
On a happier note: The Valley Commandos. We heard how an RAF Copper went on board the bus to check passes one night and exited a few minutes somewhat dishevelled. The Camp discos rivalled Haverfordwest’s ‘Masonic’ for ‘atmosphere’. And the rest of my money went on ‘The Black Knight’ fruit machine in the NAAFI. The folly of youth…
Not very tech related, but good times! If only I’d known about all those hangars and aircraft, especially the Cleaning Plant. I was, sadly, too young and naive to suppose I could actually look around them after a stern briefing from ‘Chiefy’, which I later came to realise was easy to do. Oh ,those pre-H&S days…
XF382, we might have been on the same course 🙂
By: wl745 - 28th February 2012 at 08:54
Saints
Dont forget the thousands of “Boy entrants”who trained there!I was one joining in 1958 for a 18 month course as a Elect mech (air).Had my first flight there in a Anson and a second one a couple of weeks later thanks to some Aux pilots who thought we were part of the cadet queue!!.The workshops were good and you could watch all the diferent types landing from your classroom!!There was a YMCA opposite the “Astra”next to the water tower ,always popular ,I remember you could trade new stamps for doughnuts and tea!!Joined the band which got you of saturday squarebashing and to various football matches and garden fetes!!Left in December 1959 and went straight to Ballykelly ,the real Air Force!!!!
By: pagen01 - 27th February 2012 at 22:28
BTW the Whitley seems a strange one for 1945?
Some of the multitude of vertical images taken by PR units of the area at the end of the war show Whitleys, both at Saints and Llandow, a field full of Stirlings and Albermarles show up in other general pictures.
Great to see info from your fathers’ logbooks, amazing how many types were on these peoples logs.
By: paul178 - 27th February 2012 at 21:22
As an era ends. I was just looking through my Fathers pilots log book for 1944-5 when he was with 32MU St Athan. Aircraft shown are,Magister,Master2,Hurricane4,Proctor,Dominie,Anson,Oxford,Whitley,Halifax 3,4 and 5 Lancaster1,7 and10 and Liberator6 and 8. Ghostsfrom the past,what i would give to see them today.
Sorry I can’t do roman numerals on my keyboard.
BTW the Whitley seems a strange one for 1945?
By: pagen01 - 26th February 2012 at 21:45
Have you any recollection of the Navys Phantoms and Buccaneers returning from Ark Royal to Saints in 1979? Was there a lot of conversion work to be carried out before handing over to RAF service?
This history of XV951, the Phantom nose section at RAFM Cosford mentions this and illustrates well the St Athan connection with Phantoms, http://nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/explore/aircraft-information.cfm?aircraft=McDonnell%20Douglas%20Phantom%20FG1%20(Nose%20section%20only)&topic=Individual%20Aircraft%20History
Some excellent pictures of the Phantoms and Buccaneers arriving at Saints from the Ark by Robin Walker on the Air Britain site here, http://www.abpic.co.uk/search.php?q=RAF%20St%20Athan&u=location
On the AIX forum someone has posted good pics of RAF Phantoms in maintenance there.
I think the type will be forever linked with the place, partly due to the well known picture of Guy Pearce flying a Phantom down between the 70s hangars!
By: waghorn41 - 26th February 2012 at 20:02
I trained as an A Mech P between Feb-Jun 1973. I loved the place, memories of visits to the local coast and the village pub the Clangers (actually ‘Five Bells’ IIRC). Trained on Pembrokes and even got to taxi one then my first posting was to Wittering and Harriers/Hunters – not a piston engine in sight 🙂
Remember the cross country run route took us past an area full of Canberras, Victors etc which I understood were for scrapping. They had some of the museum aircraft there including the CR42 which they had just finished restoring.
One sad episode was a lad on my course who decided the RAF wasn’t for him and asked to get out – but he’d gone over the specified time. He cracked up and ended up with a medical discharge on mental grounds.
Thanks for stirring some memories pagen01 !
By: Paul Holtom - 26th February 2012 at 19:03
I was at Saints from Christmas ’76 to November ’82 working on Phantoms and Buccaneers with a short 6 month spell on Vulcans. I returned for a last tour of duty from ’90 to ’93 working in MCRF. 4 years later I was back again as a Civvy working on Jaguars Sea Harriers, RAF Harriers and Hawks. I was early retired on the grounds of redundancy when the fast jet facility was closed in 2007. I had some good times at Saints and have some happy memories of the place. As the first 10 years of my RAF career were spent working on Phantoms they will always be my favourite aircraft, and it’s a pity that Uncle Sam has prevented there being any privately owned Phantoms in taxying or flying order. It was a sad day when the F4 was scrapped and some were scrapped straight off the maintenance line.
It’s sad that aircraft servicing has now finished there, and I think that moving deep strip maintenance away from Saints was a very bad mistake.
Have you any recollection of the Navys Phantoms and Buccaneers returning from Ark Royal to Saints in 1979? Was there a lot of conversion work to be carried out before handing over to RAF service?
By: pagen01 - 26th February 2012 at 17:52
Interesting posts here, be great to hear more and maybe see pics, and I don’t mean in relation to the previous post!:eek:
By: TonyT - 25th February 2012 at 00:01
I remember the well endowed young lady that worked in the pub in the village, she got ‘er bits out for some porn mag and in the blurb… Whoever reads that, mentioned the pub she worked in, went down a couple of times after that for a beer :rolleyes: but you couldn’t get in the door for the rest of the RAF had the same idea, Landlord sacked her I believe as he didn’t like all the business. 😡
By: gopher_moi - 24th February 2012 at 23:48
I was at Saints from Christmas ’76 to November ’82 working on Phantoms and Buccaneers with a short 6 month spell on Vulcans. I returned for a last tour of duty from ’90 to ’93 working in MCRF. 4 years later I was back again as a Civvy working on Jaguars Sea Harriers, RAF Harriers and Hawks. I was early retired on the grounds of redundancy when the fast jet facility was closed in 2007. I had some good times at Saints and have some happy memories of the place. As the first 10 years of my RAF career were spent working on Phantoms they will always be my favourite aircraft, and it’s a pity that Uncle Sam has prevented there being any privately owned Phantoms in taxying or flying order. It was a sad day when the F4 was scrapped and some were scrapped straight off the maintenance line.
It’s sad that aircraft servicing has now finished there, and I think that moving deep strip maintenance away from Saints was a very bad mistake.
By: baloffski - 24th February 2012 at 10:55
Saints was a Marmite posting – you either loved the place dearly or hated it with a passion.
I was ‘fortunate’ enough to only do my driving course and RB199 off aircraft course there, but what I saw of 8 Sqn (Engine Repair and Overhaul Sqn better known as EROS) made me shudder with fear when we were taken around it.
The visit started in the Cleaning Plant which was the closest thing I have ever seen to Dante’s Inferno. we walked along an elevated walkway between colossal vats of hot degreasing fluid with components on a huge conveyor being dipped in and out of them.
Next was a bay where engines were stripped and components were then passed to Inspection. It was here I met an old mate of mine, who had delivered to him in the morning a basket containing 1000 turbine blades which he had to examine for any obvious failures and then either put in the scrap bin or send off for Non Destructive Testing. After lunch he had another thousand blades delivered.
I don’t know if there is any truth in it but he said that EROS had the highest
incidence of mental health issues in the RAF! whether this was the work or the fumes from the cleaning plant I wouldn’t like to say.
There was only a small RAF contingent in there and apart from my mate they seemed quite happy with their lot. There was a large number of civilian staff and a fair few of these were Rolls Royce Field Service Reps. The lady who worked the tea bar was known as the Bristol’s rep but I am not sure it was anything to do with Bristol Aeroengines……..
After my mate got a move to Tornado Major servicing on 10 Sqn he became a die hard fan of Saints and when they shifted the Majors out, he pulled the pin and went to work for GE.
St Athan used to be the epicentre of aircraft deep maintenance in the RAF at one time and the last servicing is a sad milestone.
By: pagen01 - 24th February 2012 at 10:27
Place Names
A minor puzzle…why do so many refer to the base as Saint Athans ? Was it just wishful thinking ! Athens, sun, excitement back then.
I can never understand that either:confused:, the old name is Saint Athan, usually contracted to St Athan, but many refer to it as St Athans with the ‘s’, Saints is the most common way though.
I like the way that the other old place names have been upheld for the remote ASU sites, such as Pickestson (A site), Beggars Pound (B site), Batslays (C site), West Orchard (D site), and the ancient church and manor house (once the radar development HQ) of Eglwys Brewis that are ‘this’ side of the fence.
Tony, job’s safe for a bit, but on short rolling contracts, visit that bank quite regularly.
By: scotavia - 24th February 2012 at 09:23
A minor puzzle…why do so many refer to the base as Saint Athans ? Was it just wishful thinking ! Athens, sun, excitement back then .
Being for many years a training base as well as engineering HQ the shock was great for those posted in for short courses. Marching to the mess, then marching to the classrooms aaargh.
By: Bluebird Mike - 24th February 2012 at 08:18
St Athan was my local air show as a kid- had many a happy day out at their ‘At Home’ days- those were the days- BBMF, Vintage Pair, Shackleton, Vulcan, Mosquito, the Reds, etc etc…
By: ozbrat - 24th February 2012 at 08:17
I was posted to 32 MU in Nov 1964 when the Victor Squadrons at Cottesmore were disbanded. I got married while there and then posted to Changi. In Jan 1968 was posted back to 32 MU to the same Aircraft Electrical Component workshop that I was in previously. Got my third and was moved to Vulcan Majors. Sad to think that it has all gone. We lived in AMQ and my kids grew up there loving our lifestyle. We had a Cocker Spaniel and spent most of our leisure time at the beach at Llantwit, Southerndown, Ogmore and Nash Point only going home when the kids and dog were soaking wet. On demob in 1972 we emigrated to Oz and whenever we feel nostalgic it is for South Wales.
By: hunterxf382 - 24th February 2012 at 00:01
Thanks for posting this – although never posted to “Saints”. I did my driving course there back in ’83 before hopping back to Brawdy. Back in those days it always seemed to be a base that many had heard of, but not quite sure what activities went on inside that huge boundary fence…. Of course us techies knew that some if not all our aircraft went away there for a while and were well cared for by the skilled labour based there.
Always a shame to hear of another loss of base – seems hardly any of the RAF I knew is left now (only Halton and Waddington survive out of ALL the bases I ever went to during my time in the mob) 😮
By: TonyT - 23rd February 2012 at 20:41
So are you being made redundant? 🙁 if so that sucks bigtime.. often wondered if my old RAF friend works there, as he moved back to Barry post RAF I believe, Roy Boakes is his name. Still have a tenuous link to Saints, I opened my first ever bank account there in Llantwit Major way back in 76 …..and it was still there until NatWest moved all the accounts to Cowbridge, still banking there now, even though have never been to the new branch or to that part of the world since my course…. 36 yrs still with the same account number 😀
By: pagen01 - 23rd February 2012 at 20:28
What does this mean for you jobwise James ?
Funny old thing, my opo and I were handed our redundancy notices on Monday, however it appears it was a down to a lack of understanding of the changing situation! Bit of a moment though!
However, It will be a pretty bad day for a lot of people today, DSG will finish on site at the end of March.
I agree about the loss of skills and training, you only have to take a wander around the site to appreciate the engineering and workmanship that was once carried out here.
By: pagen01 - 23rd February 2012 at 20:22
Pretty sure I had my first flight in a Chipmunk there as well. Is there any RAF presence left at all?
Hi Ian, 4 SoTT are still on site and are the main occupants, though they seem to be a shadow of their former selves, they are rumoured to move by 2016.
UWAS Grob Tutors and the VGS Vigilant gliders will remain for the time being, from the beginning of April 22 Grp Air Command will take over the running of the airfield for a period.
We still get occasional Hawk & Tucano excercises, and the Army unit provide a good amount of rotary and Hercules movements.
I realise that there are many units and aspects that I haven’t mentioned about Saints here, purely because I was talking about the aircraft servicing aspect primarily.
Great to hear stories about all the activities though!:)
It was typical that the weather today was horrendous, I haven’t seen it this foggy for a long time, and it was wet, cold, and windy with it.
These were the best pictures of ZA147s departure that I could muster under the circumstances!
VC-10 K.3 ZA147 F 23 Feb 2012 by jamtey71, on Flickr
VC-10 K.3 ZA147 F 23 Feb 2012 by jamtey71, on Flickr
VC-10 K.3 ZA147 F 23 Feb 2012 by jamtey71, on Flickr
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February 23, 2012 at 10:20 am