Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent

The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, Monmouthshire, UK, (later RAF Caerwent) was dedicated to the manufacture of explosives or the storage of ammunition from 1939 to 1993.

It is a large military site and is situated north of the A48 road five miles (8 km) west of Chepstow and 12 miles (19 km) east of Newport. Since 1993 it has been used for a variety of military and civil purposes, including field exercises, car rallying, storage and breakdown of railway vehicles, nature preservation, and playing Airsoft. The site has its own standard gauge railway system (no longer linked to the national network), many private roads and a wide range of buildings, from small earth-banked stores to large four storey lightly built brick buildings. It is about two miles (3 km) east-west, and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-south. The perimeter road inside the security fence is, on its own, over seven miles (11 km) long.

The site was created as a Royal Navy propellants factory in 1939.

Note: The Royal Navy Propellant Factory, Caerwent, like the Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath, were never part of the Ministry of Supply/Royal Ordnance Factory management chain; they were controlled by the Admiralty. However, they were functionally very similar to Explosive ROFs.

In the summer of 1936 the site requirements for a new factory were drawn up. The main priorities were:

Like all explosive factories of this type, a capacious supply of water was required for use in the manufacturing processes. To manufacture 150 tons of cordite per week the factory would need 3 million imperial gallons (14,000 m³) of drinking quality water per day.

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