RAF Greenham Common GLCM area - August 09

RAF Greenham Common was perhaps the most controversial of all Cold War sites in the UK. Built in the 1980s, it housed Cruise Missiles from the USA, 96 in total. The base was the most talked about and hated of all US installations on UK soil and the protests there lasted for many years.

Decommissioned in the 1990s, the base now consists mostly of heath and parkland to which the public have full access. There are some interesting bits still around like the fire fighting plane, the very sealed control tower and these, the igloos used to store the nukes :w00t

Sealed behind no less than three extremely well maintained fences, it takes a major effort to get in and most don't bother. As this is The Holy Grail of Cold War sites I though the effort was worth it.

Lots more information on RAF Greenham Common HERE

Nice one mate. Youre right those Blast doors must have been massive. Good Shots.

They used to hold car sprints there back in the 70's before the shit kicked off so I remember seeing the place with out that lot. Most impressive report well done

very cool explore, i take it from the sign by the main gate the rozzers are doing some sort of training inside?

Well done for making the effort on entry...............those fences look like a bit of a bitch!

The blast doors are still there - they opened flat so the vehicles could cross them - They can clearly be seen in some of the pics (pic 11 + 14) - The connection eyes have been gas-axed so they can never be closed again.

Nice shots....those fences are formidable!

In 2001, I was privileged to spend a couple of days in Greenham, as part of a film crew making a documentary recalling the 20th anniversary of the first protest march from Cardiff, and we were given access to all areas, including the control bunker....unfortunately none of had brought a stills camera, else I'd be posting myself!

We were shown around the compound by a civilian officer from the MOD, whose task it was to keep the site in some sort of order so that it could be inspected by the Soviet Union as part of the Medium Range missile treaty. He was notably irritated by the Grade 1 listing the site had just received from English Heritage, cos it meant that he (and Berkshire County Council once they took the place back into their possession after the treaty expired) had to maintain it in exactly the condition it was when it was listed....including all the holes and patches in the fences!

Our guide revealed a very interesting fact about the missile launch vehicle silos - namely that not all of them were fully commissioned! The missiles and their launchers needed to be held at a precise internal temperature, and this required complex machinery in each silo bay - this was never installed in some of them.

The shot of the corner of the fences is very evocative for me - we filmed reconstructions of guards and dogs marching up and down at that very spot!

The control bunker is situated in what looks like (and now is) an office block outside the main compound. I just wish that one of us had taken some stills of it. You enter it via the reception to the offices, behind which is a steel blast door with a full complement of wheels, locks, bars etc - very military! Through that is a long corridor, off which are to be found large empty rooms which were once full of office staff, computers, and communications equipment. There are parts of a telecommunications exchange in one area - non operational - but at the very end is the control room itself - big status boards, control desks with all equipment stripped out, a strange telephone kiosk in one corner, and an enormous escape hatch! Off this area is a very weird room, where the launch communications were handled. It's about 12' x 12', painted stark white, acoustically and electronically sealed from the rest of the complex by an amazing door with a razor edge seal to the frame, designed to prevent any radio frequencies escaping from the room. When that door shut, the room became a surreal space, totally dead - science fiction turned into fact.... http://www.bunkertours.co.uk/milhist2/raf greenham common.htm good shots on here

If only I'd had a stills camera......I'll have to go looking for the tapes.....

Fantastic stuff. I know what you mean about abandoned car parks!

Greenham

My late father used to go to Greenham Common at least once a year while he was in the Ministy of Defence police. He would do a few weeks duty there, especially when there were known protests coming up. He often told us stories about wading through thick mud while patroling fences and having to help hold fences up while cnd, greenpeace and other groups did their best to rip them down. He had to do the same at Molesworth too. He also was involved with security when the place was being built. Travelling with the contractors to help keep things moving etc. It's great to see all these photos so i can now see what all the fuss was about!

Nice one

I remember those fences all too well

Not much I can say apart from sweet and cool.