Caernarfon airfield

link_to_welsh_translationtheme page link buttonlink_to_french_translationAerial photo of Caernarfon airfield in 1950

Caernarfon airfield, Dinas Dinlle, Caernarfon

This airfield was created in 1941 as RAF Llandwrog. It was initially used to train crews for bombing raids over Nazi-occupied Europe. The aerial photos are shown here courtesy of the Welsh Governemnt. The lower photo was taken by the Luftwaffe (German air force) in January 1941 and shows the airfield under construction.

Aerial photo of Caernarfon airfield site in 1941There were numerous air crashes in the mountains of North Wales during the war, and RAF Llandwrog was poorly equipped to respond. Flight Lieutenant George Graham organised an informal mountain rescue service, using RAF personnel who volunteered their services (as well as doing their normal work). One of the sites they attended was near Penmaenmawr, where an American Liberator bomber - named Bachelor Baby by its crew - crashed in 1944.

Similar mountain rescue services were subsequently implemented at other RAF stations, and in 1944 the Air Ministry agreed to the creation of the RAF Mountain Rescue Service. Today this service is based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, and has rescued many walkers and climbers from inaccessible parts of Snowdonia.

After the war, the RAF Llandwrog football team sometimes played against German prisoners of war from the PoW camp at Bontnewydd.

The upper aerial photo was taken by the RAF on infrared film in 1950, when there were rows of Belman Hangers on the runways for storage of German nerve-agent bombs awaiting shipping from near Fort Belan for dumping at sea.

Photo of Harrier jump jet at Airworld Aviation MuseumThe RAF stopped using Llandwrog airfield in 1953. Today, as Caernarfon Airport, it provides facilities for pilot training, pleasure flights and private aircraft. Since July 2003 the North Wales helicopter of the Wales Air Ambulance Charity has been based here. It takes casualties from road crashes and other accidents rapidly to hospital.

Alongside the airfield is Airworld Aviation Museum, which explains the history of the RAF Mountain Rescue Service. It also contains records of air crashes in Snowdonia, with engines and other salvaged equipment on display. Among the aircraft in the museum is a 1971 Hawker Siddeley Harrier “jump jet” (pictured), a type which could take off and land vertically.

Postcode: LL54 5TP    View Location Map

Website of Airworld Aviation Museum

Website of Caernarfon Airport

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