RAF Fauld
Former Royal Air Force munitions storage location in Staffordshire, England
title: "RAF Fauld" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["royal-air-force-stations-of-world-war-ii-in-the-united-kingdom", "royal-air-force-stations-in-staffordshire", "ammunition-dumps-of-the-united-kingdom", "military-installations-established-in-1939", "military-installations-established-in-1973"] description: "Former Royal Air Force munitions storage location in Staffordshire, England" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Fauld" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Former Royal Air Force munitions storage location in Staffordshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox military installation"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | RAF Fauld |
| ensign | Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |
| ensign_size | 90px |
| location | Located near Hanbury in Staffordshire |
| map_type | Staffordshire |
| coordinates | |
| map_caption | Shown within Staffordshire |
| type | Bomb Store |
| built | |
| used | Royal Air Force 1939-1966 |
| United States Army 1967-1973 | |
| condition | Sealed |
| ownership | Ministry of Defence |
| open_to_public | No |
| controlledby | Royal Air Force |
| battles | Second World War |
| :: |
|name = RAF Fauld |ensign=Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg |ensign_size=90px |native_name = |partof = |location = Located near Hanbury in Staffordshire |image = |caption = |map_type = Staffordshire |coordinates = |map_size = |map_alt = |map_caption = Shown within Staffordshire |type = Bomb Store |code = |built = |builder = |materials = |height = |used = Royal Air Force 1939-1966 United States Army 1967-1973 |demolished = |condition = Sealed |ownership = Ministry of Defence |open_to_public = No |controlledby = Royal Air Force |garrison = |commanders = |occupants = |battles = Second World War |events = |image2 = |caption2 = Royal Air Force Fauld is a former Royal Air Force underground munitions storage depot located 2 mi south west of Tutbury, Staffordshire and 10.4 mi north east of Rugeley, Staffordshire, England.
The site was controlled by No. 21 Maintenance Unit RAF which stored munitions underground.
The site was connected to the Stoke - Derby Railway Line and had a number of standard gauge sidings to allow for shipment of materials and munitions. These sidings closed in 1966. A 2ft 0in gauge railway network was also present, both above and below ground. This was in use between 1939 and 1980.
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/RAF_Fauld_tunnel_bombs.jpg" caption="250 lb MC bombs being stacked in one of Fauld's tunnels"] ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Raf_fauld_train.jpg" caption="250 lb MC bombs transported by narrow gauge railway at RAF Fauld"] ::
The explosion
Main article: RAF Fauld explosion
At 11:11 am on Monday, 27 November 1944 an explosion destroyed a large part of the site and killed about 70 people.
Post 1944
The depot was used until 1966 when the site was closed. However, in late 1966 when France withdrew from NATO's integrated military structure the site was briefly used between 1967 and 1973.
References
References
- Baker, Allan C. (1997). "Industrial Locomotives of North Staffordshire". Industrial Railway Society.
- Reed, John, (1977). "Largest Wartime Explosions: 21 Maintenance Unit, RAF Fauld, Staff. November 27, 1944", ''[[After the Battle]]'', '''18''', Pp 35 - 40. [[ISSN. ISSN 0306-154X]].
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::