MOD St Athan

MOD St Athan
MOD St Athan
St Athan, Vale of Glamorgan in Wales
	One of several entrance gates to MOD St Athan.
	MOD St Athan Location in the Vale of Glamorgan MOD St Athan MOD St Athan (the United Kingdom)
Coordinates	51°24′17″N 003°26′09″W / 51.40472°N 3.43583°W
Type	Military base
Site information
Owner	Ministry of Defence
Condition	Operational
Website	www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/stations/mod-st-athan/
Site history
Built	1936
In use	1938–Present
Garrison information
Occupants	University of Wales Air Squadron (RAF); No. 634 Volunteer Gliding Squadron (RAF); Special Forces Support Group (JFC); The Band of The Prince of Wales's Division (Army);
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: N/A (formerly DGX), ICAO: EGSY (formerly EGDX), WMO: 03716
Elevation	50 metres (164 ft) AMSL
Runways
07/25	1,828 metres (5,997 ft) Asphalt
	Airfield transferred to civilian use.; Source: NATS eAIS Package United Kingdom

Ministry of Defence St Athan or MOD St Athan (Welsh: Maes awyr Sain Tathan), formerly known as Royal Air Force St Athan, or more simply RAF St Athan, is a large Ministry of Defence unit near the village of St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, southern Wales.

The base was home to the RAF No. 4 School of Technical Training throughout its life,^[2] as well as a major aircraft maintenance unit. St Athan has also been used to house British Army units, including the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards. At one time it was home to a large collection of historical aircraft.

The only flying unit to operate out of St Athan on a regular basis is the Universities of Wales Air Squadron. This unit is one of fourteen RAF University Air Squadrons, flying Grob Tutors. 2300 Squadron of the Air Training Corps is also located on the Station.

Between May 1947 and August 1973,^[3] St Athan was also home for the Administrative Apprentice Training School, which provided a 20-month training programme for boys who enlisted to become clerks or work in accounting, supply and administration, prior to posting to other RAF units for a 12-year term of service.^[4]

St Athan was the designated site for the United Kingdom's new defence training academy, but the programme was cancelled in 2010. The airfield part of the site was transferred from military to civilian control on 1 April 2019. It is now owned by the Welsh Government and known as Bro Tathan airfield, and is home to Bro Tathan Business Park. MOD St Athan continues to exist, comprising the barracks area which is adjacent to the airfield.

The airbase is a prominent scrapping facility, used by eCube, together with Horizon Aircraft Services (formerly Hunter Flying).

^ "EGSY — St Athan – AIS Package United Kingdom". www.aurora.nats.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
^ "St Athan – 4 School of Technical Training". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
^ "A History of the Administrative Apprentice Schemes". Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Association. 2014. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
^ "RAF St Athan History". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

[1] "EGSY — St Athan – AIS Package United Kingdom". www.aurora.nats.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2020.

[2] "St Athan – 4 School of Technical Training". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 22 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

[3] "A History of the Administrative Apprentice Schemes". Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Association. 2014. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

[4] "RAF St Athan History". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

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