Had an unguided tour around STANTA battle area on 27/03/11. Wasn't able to get off the trailor I was being taken around on, so couldn't have as good a look around as I'd have liked. All shots were taken while on the move, so apologies for quality.
A little History - Stanford Battle Area, also known as the Stanford Training Area (STANTA), is a British Army infantry training area situated in the English county of Norfolk. The area is approximately 30,000 acres (120 km2) in size.
The area was originally established in 1942 when a battle training area was required. Military exercises were already known in the area; tanks had trained at Thetford in the First World War. The complete takeover involved the evacuation of the villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts.
In 2009 a 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) village designed to replicate an Afghan village was added to the Battle Area for the training of troops deployed in support of the War in Afghanistan. The site, built at a cost of £14 million, is state of the art and manned by ex-Gurkha soldiers and amputees from the charity Amputees for Action, to simulate locals and wounded soldiers. The village includes houses, a market and a mosque, It also features a system that pumps out smells like rotten meat and sewage.
The battle area includes 4 historic churches, the one at West Tofts having been restored by Pugin, and a new "church" that forms part of the specially constructed village of Eastmere. Eastmere was originally built to give soldiers experience of fighting on the northern European plains. There is a short landing strip for Harrier aircraft.
As a live firing area, access is not allowed without special permission from the Army.
A little History - Stanford Battle Area, also known as the Stanford Training Area (STANTA), is a British Army infantry training area situated in the English county of Norfolk. The area is approximately 30,000 acres (120 km2) in size.
The area was originally established in 1942 when a battle training area was required. Military exercises were already known in the area; tanks had trained at Thetford in the First World War. The complete takeover involved the evacuation of the villages of Buckenham Tofts, Langford, Stanford, Sturston, Tottington and West Tofts.
In 2009 a 12.5-acre (51,000 m2) village designed to replicate an Afghan village was added to the Battle Area for the training of troops deployed in support of the War in Afghanistan. The site, built at a cost of £14 million, is state of the art and manned by ex-Gurkha soldiers and amputees from the charity Amputees for Action, to simulate locals and wounded soldiers. The village includes houses, a market and a mosque, It also features a system that pumps out smells like rotten meat and sewage.
The battle area includes 4 historic churches, the one at West Tofts having been restored by Pugin, and a new "church" that forms part of the specially constructed village of Eastmere. Eastmere was originally built to give soldiers experience of fighting on the northern European plains. There is a short landing strip for Harrier aircraft.
As a live firing area, access is not allowed without special permission from the Army.