Castlemartin Training Area
Encyclopedia
The Castlemartin
Army Training Area was established in 1939 and covers 2390 hectares (5900 acres) of Pembrokeshire
in South Western Wales
. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
its is located within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
.
The ranges are active for 44 weeks of the year and when in use can include a coastal exclusion zone of some 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) off the coast, or as little as 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) depending on weapons systems/munitions being used.
for the British Army of the Rhine
(BAOR), an agreement was made whereby armoured training for German recruits was undertaken in the UK so the Bergen-Hohne Training Area
could be freed for use by the British Army
. This carried on until the 1990s when additional ranges in Eastern Germany became available on reunification.
Within the Pembrokeshire Estate there are:
Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire
Castlemartin is a village, parish and community in the Hundred of Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire, West Wales.- Location :...
Army Training Area was established in 1939 and covers 2390 hectares (5900 acres) of Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
in South Western Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
its is located within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in West Wales.It was established as a National Park in 1952, and is the only one in the United Kingdom to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline...
.
The ranges are active for 44 weeks of the year and when in use can include a coastal exclusion zone of some 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) off the coast, or as little as 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) depending on weapons systems/munitions being used.
History
In 1962 there was a shortage of suitable tank training areas in Northern part of GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for the British Army of the Rhine
British Army of the Rhine
There have been two formations named British Army of the Rhine . Both were originally occupation forces in Germany, one after the First World War, and the other after the Second World War.-1919–1929:...
(BAOR), an agreement was made whereby armoured training for German recruits was undertaken in the UK so the Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area
Bergen-Hohne Training Area is a NATO military training area in the southern part of the Lüneburg Heath, in the state of Lower Saxony in northern Germany. It covers an area of , which makes it the largest military training area in Germany.It was established by the German armed forces, the...
could be freed for use by the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. This carried on until the 1990s when additional ranges in Eastern Germany became available on reunification.
The Ranges today
In 1999 the Defence Training Estate was formed and units from all over the UK and NATO have trained on the ranges.Within the Pembrokeshire Estate there are:
- Castlemartin ranges - one of the UK's armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) ranges with direct live firing gunnery exercises and armoured vehicle manoueuvres,
- ManorbierManorbierManorbier is a village on the south coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales.The name means the 'Manor of Pyr'.-History:The Norman knight Odo de Barri was granted the lands of Manorbier, Penally and Begelly in gratitude for his military help in conquering Pembrokeshire after 1003. The first castle was motte...
, PenallyPenallyPenally is a coastal village near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The village is known for its Celtic Cross, Penally Abbey, with neighbouring St.Deiniol's Well, and Penally Training Camp .Served by Penally railway station Penally is a coastal village near Tenby in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The...
and Templeton AirfieldRAF TempletonRAF Templeton was a World War II Royal Air Force airfield in Pembrokeshire operational from December 1942 and closed in July 1945. It is named after the village of Templeton....
- air defence systems - Pembrey Sands - air to ground training, every RAF fast jet pilot is trained here