# RAF Llandow, March 2010.



## Flexible (Mar 8, 2010)

I know this has been covered previously, but I thought I’d pay a visit myself on a lovely early spring afternoon. Fans of disused airbases will know that most of these places are huge, and are spread out over a very wide area. Llandow is no exception. I’ve included a link here to illustrate. As can be seen, some of the aprons stretch as far as the villages of Frampton to the south and Aberthaw, to the east!

A bit of history: RAF Llandow opened in 1940 as a maintenance and storage base, hence the sprawling taxiways and parking aprons. A training flight consisting of Spitfires was based here along with some transport flights. Other aircraft which operated from here included the Mosquito, Avro Anson, Auster and later, the de Havilland Vampire jet. The base was closed in 1957. Today, various small industrial estates are dotted around the sprawling airbase, the businesses having occupied some of the hangars. There’s even a small touring caravan site and a section of one of the runways is now part of a main road. 

Two local rumours; apparently there was a taxiway which linked Llandow to nearby RAF St Athan which is now overgrown with foliage, but it may have been just a country lane or farm track. The other is that after the war, hundreds of surplus/obsolete aircraft particularly Lancasters and Spitfires, were dismantled, scrapped and simply buried in the fields in the immediate and surrounding area around the base. 

Photos:


























Sections of the runways:






























Some outlying buildings:


















More hangars:












Interiors:


















Paint peelage:


















Bonus sunset shot!





That's it. As ever, there's more on my Flickr here and thanks for having a look.


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## cogito (Mar 8, 2010)

Which hangar is that empty one? As I know that some of them are in use aren't they.

You missed shots of the control tower too, good excuse to go back though.


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## Flexible (Mar 8, 2010)

Cogito - PM sent. 

I intend to return, and I'll find out who owns the old tower now with a view to asking permission to take some pics . . .


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## oldscrote (Mar 9, 2010)

Picture 11 looks like a guard house for an underground ROTOR radar operations centre.


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## Flexible (Mar 9, 2010)

The plot thickens . . . That guardhouse/shed/whatever is well boarded up. I've not heard anything about a ROTOR ops centre at LLandow, but then again you never know. Wouldn't surprise me if there was one there at one time.


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## mexico75 (Mar 9, 2010)

Flexible said:


> The plot thickens . . . That guardhouse/shed/whatever is well boarded up. I've not heard anything about a ROTOR ops centre at LLandow, but then again you never know. Wouldn't surprise me if there was one there at one time.



I think it would be pretty well documented if it was I love those concrete hangars though, only other place I've ever seen them is Cosford, the ones there still have the grass covering them.


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## ww2nut (Mar 31, 2010)

just to confirm. there was a link taxi way between the 2 stations and it can still be seen on G earth, and many many airframes were scrapped in the fields surrounding Llandow including the bigger airframes of Lancasters and Lincons. cheers


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## Flexible (Apr 1, 2010)

ww2nut said:


> just to confirm. there was a link taxi way between the 2 stations and it can still be seen on G earth, and many many airframes were scrapped in the fields surrounding Llandow including the bigger airframes of Lancasters and Lincons. cheers



Sometimes it pays to chat with peeps who live locally. Thanks for confirming those rumours I mentioned, and thank you for your kind email - I will be in touch.


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## craigle (Apr 6, 2010)

If you go onto Google street view you can see a tower, its in the vale business park, the google car goes within a few feet of the building, which has a fence around and some serious looking steel blast type doors.

All on public access to the business park, street view shows most of the area.


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