What we found at the Cold War Weapon Stores & Aircraft Shelters

[@davidpickard903]

I was there from 78 to 81 in ASF on Jags and Buccs. Great time and great camp. Good to see parts of it again. Thanks Lads.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@brecklander]

Hi guys, just FYI, the aircraft did routinely start their engines in the HAS. In peacetime they would start up and taxi out on the first sortie of the day and remain outside the HAS for the rest of the day before being pushed back into the HAS at night. In war time/exercise conditions, they would be pushed back into the HAS after every flight. During exercises, they would occasionally taxi nose first back into the HAS if they landed during an air raid. Engineers would carry out engine ground runs inside the HAS, up to a certain power setting only. It got too noisy in there at high power, especially on the Tornado.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Sounds like fun :)

[@columbo7927]

Interesting Andy Dave Thank you

[@kevdenn]

I was at RAF Laarbruch with 2AC Squadron RIC (Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre) in the late 70s with the Jaguar. During exercises we would deploy into a HAS (Hardened Aircraft Shelter) and operate under wartime scenarios processing and printing the film from the Jaguar's recce pod. Thanks for the Laarbruch memories. Oh, the egg banjos on exercise (Taceval) were great...anyone remember them?

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Interesting times and the Sepecat Jaguar was certainly a great aircraft. I do still make the occasional egg banjo

[@DavidWhitley]

great as always, watch your content over and over never get bored thankyou

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello Dave :) thank you very much

[@ιωάννααπόμικροαλωνάκι]

Your video is very interesting my friends !!!!!! Thank you for sharing it !!!

[@ashleystyles6888]

CFE stickers on the doors were applied early 90s as part of the combined forces Europe agreement. Any door smaller than 1 metre had to be identified with them with the idea being during a weapons inspection the inspectors were not permitted inside because only small arms could have be put in them.

[@dartt51]

The buildings at the beginning were known as J buildings they were for storing ready to use weapons to be loaded onto the aircraft. The weapons would come completely assembled from the explosive storage area (ESA) know as the dump so you would not need special footwear or to earth yourself as there was no need. The weapons would usually be on a S type trailer and would be earthed as the weapons were earth to the trailer. the doors were not electric you just used the chains to open them. I remember playing a stupid game in the buildings where you would close the doors, turn off the lights and then throw a golf ball and wait to hear who got hit (silly time when armourers got bored). The HAS;s were used to store aircraft in when serviceable and you started them in the HAS as normal not just for QRA, when the harriers were there you had to tow them out before starting as the nozzles were on the side and the jet wash would circulate around the side and not out the back. The jet blast walls at the back were called eflux tubes and was to let the jet wash out but also doubled as toilets in exercises. Those HAS's are all 1st generation with clam shaped doors there was 1 solitary 3rd generation HAS with sliding doors between 3 Sqn site and the dump but I never seen it used. The trollies are indeed used to store drop tanks and would be kept on massive shelving inside the HAS.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Oh wow that is interesting information. Thank you. The golf ball game sounds fun lol

[@MrBarrylittle79]

I love how much I learn from you videos keep it up 👍

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Thanks 🙏 Barry

[@wetdogFBK]

Thanks for that. It's fantastic you were granted permission for this explore. I get watched with suspicion while walking around Morrisons with no other purpose than buying some snap! Keep up the good work. 🤗

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hey Wetdog, great to see you :) yes it was a great pleasure and a privilege

[@chrisc3614]

The storage buildings were specifically for JP233 weapons. Built away from the ESA (bomb dump) as there was no room in ‘85/‘86. The JP’s were flown in to Wildenrath hub then by road to Laarbruch. Spent a few weeks doing that job.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello there, ah that's very interesting information, the JP233 was rather unique. Thank you so much

[@gordonstoton]

CFE " Certified free from explosives'

[@adrianellis6902]

Fantastic very interesting, thanks for sharing, take care.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello Adrian, you’re very welcome

[@climbforadventure]

Now then both, just to say how much I enjoyed your Laarbruch series of videos, very interesting. For the last few years I've been wondering whether the museum would be worth the journey. I was based there in the mid 80's (1 Squadron, RAF Regt), and never saw any of that apart from the cinema, guard room and glimpses of bunkers when having to run around the external peri track fully kitted 😂. At that time the Harriers had moved to Guttersloh, but there wasn't the accommodation there for the squadron so we had a compound around the corner from 26 Sqn (as I'm sure you, Dave, will recall). We would be constantly on exercise, the Scorpions and Spartans would go by rail from the railhead at Weeze and we would mainly travel by road (on occasion, some by Chinook). It was said that the Harriers life expectancy, come the day, was 48hours max. 1 Squadron's role was to forward recce pre determined operating sites (small woods, supermarkets car parks and even an autobahn on one occasion), dig in, defend and then be gone and on to the next site, so as to try and enable the Harriers to be refuelled, re-armed and re-tasked. 'A' Flight was Landrovers, 'B' and 'C' Flight were Spartans and 'D' Flight was Scorpions. The only guy I knew on 26 was Jock Devine, strange looking back that all Regiment was trained at RAF Catterick, but once you choose Field Squadron or Rapier you went on a completely different path. P.S Saw your channel due the the Hull Barnsley Railway videos, my part of the world, also very enjoyable. Wishing you increasing success here on YT.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello there :) We may well have filmed your 1 Squadron compound as we explored most of the base that was available at the time in 2020/2021. That will be up on the channel over the next months or so. Your recollections are very interesting indeed and paint a very interesting picture of the activity at Laarbruch back in its operational state. Thank you for your detailed experience and for watching too. More to come from Germany in the future.

[@johnkirk5295]

Those drop tank trolleys lived in a drop tank rack in the HAS you could fit 1500 and 2250 litre tanks in them.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Interesting information. Thank You for watching and commenting

[@RHR-221b]

Another insight of which most British people were, at that time, totally unaware. I wonder what is going on today ... Thank you, Andy, Dave and Team (never forgetting - the progenitor - Thomas, and his Gaming Channel). Stay free. Rab 🍻 😎 🎲 🌠

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello Rab :) we could certainly do with this deterrent now with all that is going on :( Thanks for watching and commenting

[@ianwhiting8822]

Ruffen = ring, sprecten = talk I believe

[@ALWResearchTeam]

That’s great information. Thank you :)

[@raybentos3215]

"Rufen" means call "Sprechen" means talk

[@missb5440]

This was a good one guys, are you going to be doing anymore of like ww2 Germany in the future

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello MissB, we have a full series from Germany 🇩🇪 still to come :)

[@missb5440]

@@ALWResearchTeam oh fab, your content is just getting better and better 👍

[@ALWResearchTeam]

@@missb5440 thank you very much indeed

[@DavidWhitley]

C.F.E ether Canadian Forces Europe or Central Fighter Establishment formed by the Royal Air Force

[@gordonstoton]

CERTIFIED FREE FROM EXPLOSIVES

[@anthonydefreitas6006]

Cool video 👍. The American pilots upon take off from a carrier roll to remove any F.O.D. sitting on top the aircraft. Is this true for the British pilots?

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello Anthony, not that I know of although that sounds like fun :)

[@bobarty]

Did visit there in my RAF Career in 1971/2 think they had Canberra Bombers there at that time nothing very exciting just to watch a football match between there resident RAF Regiment squadron and my old Sqn number 16 we were based at Wildenrath for exercise

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello there :) Exploring Dave was RAF Regiment on 26sqn

[@bobarty]

@@ALWResearchTeam I was not a Rock just one of four Cooks spent two years with them great experience

[@DanielGlover]

Just started. Thought a funny name, over here, looked it up on google before watching video. then it says. No. A bit far for a jolly and all over now anyway. This the one 2 weeks, planes over the fence, nearby.

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Hello Daniel :) it’s a long way but it was great to see. Thanks for watching and commenting:)

[@billrand4138]

spent six weeks on detachment installing the specialist power supplies in the PAC ,,1988 i think

[@ALWResearchTeam]

Ah nice information, our research dated most of the equiptment as 1988