RAF Llandwrog was opened in January 1941 as a RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

 airfield for training gunners, radio operators and navigators. It was located at Llandwrog

Llandwrog

Llandwrog is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport...

, 4 nautical mile

Nautical mile

The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...

s (7.4 km) southwest of Caernarfon

Caernarfon

Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...

, Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

, 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...

, and it remains in civil operation today as Caernarfon Airport

Caernarfon Airport

Caernarfon Airport is located southwest of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales.Caernarfon Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee...

.

World War II

It was the largest World War II airfield in Wales. The Air Observers School flew Avro Anson

Avro Anson

The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...

 and Westland Lysander

Westland Lysander

The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...

 aircraft.

On 10 October 1941 two aircraft collided at RAF Llandwrog, killing seventeen people.

Mountain Rescue

Early in 1942, prompted by an increasing number of aircraft accidents in the North Wales mountains, the RAF Llandwrog Mountain Rescue Section was formed on a local, volunteer basis.. The initiative came from the medical officer at the base, Flight Lieutenant G V Graham. The team at Llandwrog, and other similar teams elsewhere, were officially recognised towards the end of 1943. The Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service was formed in January 1944.

Chemical weapons storage

Almost 71,000 bombs containing the nerve agent tabun

Tabun (nerve agent)

Tabun or GA is an extremely toxic chemical substance. It is a clear, colorless, and tasteless liquid with a faint fruity odor. It is classified as a nerve agent because it fatally interferes with normal functioning of the mammalian nervous system...

 had been seized in Germany following WWII, and these were stored in the open at RAF Llandwrog, until 1954 when, in Operation Sandcastle

Operation Sandcastle

Operation Sandcastle was a British Ministry of Defence operation conducted in 1955-56 to dispose of chemical weapons at sea. It was the third of four 'phases' to dispose of unwanted chemical ordnance by the British government....

, they were transported to Cairnryan

Cairnryan

Cairnryan is a small Scottish village in Dumfries and Galloway on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan. The village has been of vital importance in maritime history.-Ferry Port:...

for disposal aboard scuttling ships at sea 120 miles (190 km) north-west of Ireland.