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Report - - Caerwent USAF/MOD Training ground | Military Sites | 28DaysLater.co.uk

Report - Caerwent USAF/MOD Training ground

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S

SnooperDooper

Guest
Guest
I have been lurking here a while and noticed that a few people have tried to get a look in The Caerwent MOD/USAF Base.
Well I have been in today! I am a rally Marshall and get access to this base a few times a year and have had a little wander around but never taken any pics. Inspired by this site I took some today. Sorry about the pic quality as they were taken on my phone, there is a strict no photography rule on the base and I didn't want to take the piss out of my privileged position too much by taking a big camera!
The following pics were taken in and around a small area of the base and there is a hell of a lot more to see. Various building in varying states of repair. The system used by the squaddies on the base while training is, smiley face on the building, do not damage, Cross on the building, do what the hell you like! Most of the crossed building have holes in the walls or large chunks demolished and you need to be careful. The Smilie buildings are in pretty good shape, the open accessable ones are mainly clean and dry but with the odd broken window but most buildings are stripped of all fixtures and fittings.
There are a small number of buildings on the base that are rented to civvies for document and bulk storage, a number of these are easy to get into and have things like accounts for the hilton hotels etc stored in them, others have odd things like racks of clothing. I didn't find any of these such buildings today but have done on previous visits.
Access to the base is pretty difficult unless you are a rally marshal but that can be arranged in the future!
Anyway, enjoy these pics, not bad for my first report I dont think! If you want to know more about the site I found a great writ up here, telling me a lot more than I already knew about the place. Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent - Wikipedia

This is inside the first building, the holes in the floor look like they used to house some big machines, god knows what though!
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Same building but lower floor
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The entrance to one of the many bunkers, most of which are open
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Inside a bunker, sorry for the phone pic but you can make out the benches either side, all the bunkers I looked in were the same as this one
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You will never guess what this brick was there for
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It was holding the peice of cardboard over the hole in the window! Why didn't they just tape it on?!
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This was inside the building with the cardboard window, looks like they use it for a kindof control room on training, it was very clean in there.
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Looks like there are chavs in the army too!
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We shouldn't forget why we are here in the first place!
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In another building
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Used rounds on the floor, they are blanks but there are loads of them everywhere even some live blanks
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Now if there is one thing I have learnt about Urbex it is that you have to take a pic of the fuses!
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This is one of the train station type buildings
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We tried to get this gantry to move but it was rusted solid
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I am told these are the pumps used for pumping water in from a spring under the river severn. THere were 2 of them in the same room
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This is a building with a cross painted on, that means the training troops can blow it up if they want!
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This has a smilie so it is safe to sleep in as it cannot be blown up

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I hope you enjoyed this report, When I go back there I will do some more.
 

olliethegas

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Love the pics, live local to this and have often scanned OS maps looking for a wsy in, then they put up the new bigger fence :(
 

Els

Obsessed with BS7671
Regular User
The first pic looks like the room might once have had silo's in it.
 

Ordnance

Stay Safe
Staff member
Moderator
A bit of a potted history:

This was of course the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory, (RNPF) Caerwent as opposed to being a Royal Ordnance Factory! It was operational from 1939 to 1965

In 1965 it was closed only to be re-opened again in 1967 as a US Army Ammunition Storage Depot when the US Forces were forced to vacate France as an operating base.

Most of the building shown are in fact older RNPF process building, and over 300 newer Explosive Store Houses (ESH) were built over the next 10+ years. Leading it to be one of the largest Ammunition Storage Depots by the time it closed in 1993 since when it returned to British use.

The British Army base at Beachley Barracks (also home to 1 Rifles Regiment) manages the site.

The site is not only used for military training but also for public order training by various police forces. Local farmers are allowed to graze their livestock on the convenient areas of pasture that separate the former factory buildings and because of this there is access to the site if you know where!
 

olliethegas

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
A bit of a potted history:

This was of course the former Royal Navy Propellant Factory, (RNPF) Caerwent as opposed to being a Royal Ordnance Factory! It was operational from 1939 to 1965

In 1965 it was closed only to be re-opened again in 1967 as a US Army Ammunition Storage Depot when the US Forces were forced to vacate France as an operating base.

Most of the building shown are in fact older RNPF process building, and over 300 newer Explosive Store Houses (ESH) were built over the next 10+ years. Leading it to be one of the largest Ammunition Storage Depots by the time it closed in 1993 since when it returned to British use.

The British Army base at Beachley Barracks (also home to 1 Rifles Regiment) manages the site.

The site is not only used for military training but also for public order training by various police forces. Local farmers are allowed to graze their livestock on the convenient areas of pasture that separate the former factory buildings and because of this there is access to the site if you know where!
I know families of the people buried in the church yard get access certain times if year to visit graves. Also acquaintances of mine have got in using the railway line. But I haven't....... Yet!!!
 

CJMooch

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
Silo storage
Rail Acess
Sign Prohrably Rocket Fuel

Not gonna be nuffin else as it sits.

Wonder where the launch site is.

Can't be far away. ? A train ride ?
 

Damnlockey

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
As a fellow supporter of both urbex and motorsport please be cautious as there are absolutely no photos up caerwent and if these are found the MOD will stop us from using the location. However, great photos.
 

mw0sec

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
As I recall, those first piccies were of the former nitrocellulose factory from RNPF days. They would have housed either potchers or centrifuges for the purification of NC pulp. I first visited the site while it was RAF Caerwent. All the buildings were then used by the USAF for munitions storage.
 

Uncle Bob

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
As a fellow supporter of both urbex and motorsport please be cautious as there are absolutely no photos up caerwent and if these are found the MOD will stop us from using the location. However, great photos.

I think you will find that it’s too late and civvies will now be banned from entering the site again. MOD take a very dim view of this kind of thing and so should everyone else, after all this is an active training ground for our troops.
I’m not saying don’t go cos I would then be a hipocrite. Take that to mean what you want! Just no photos.
 

Uncle Bob

28DL Full Member
28DL Full Member
As I recall, those first piccies were of the former nitrocellulose factory from RNPF days. They would have housed either potchers or centrifuges for the purification of NC pulp. I first visited the site while it was RAF Caerwent. All the buildings were then used by the USAF for munitions storage.

I too was in this site when it was USAF.
I’m also an mw0 !!
 

CptSledgehammer

28DL Member
28DL Member
Is this still standing? Would love to have a look round. Looking on google maps its quite a large area, are there bits that are still in use?
 
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