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| HER Number | MWB22090 |
|---|
| Record Type | Monument |
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| Name | Petroleum Oil Lubricant (POL) Tank 21, RAF Greenham Common Airbase |
|---|
Summary
Subterranean aviation fuel tank, one of the largest of over 20 tanks installed during the 1950s Cold War era of the airbase
Monument Type(s):
- FUEL TANK (Mid 20th century - 1951 AD? to 1955 AD?)
Full Description
A landscape survey of Greenham and Crookham Commons identified archaeological and historic features with the aim of providing information for management of the historical environment <1>. Systematic fieldwork was followed by the plotting of all remains on Ordnance Survey base maps.
The survey noted the position of former and extant fuel installations: twenty-two underground aviation fuel tanks installed during the reconstruction of RAF Greenham Common in the early 1950s were linked with a pumping station at Padworth via an eight mile long pipeline <2>. Four others were planned, but were never constructed. They were to hold Petroleum Oil Lubricant (POL).
Most of the fuel tanks were removed during the restoration of the common, but POL Tank 21 was left in place alongside the Old Thornford Road at the eastern end of the airfield as a reminder of the Cold War. It was one of the largest on the base, with a volume of 4400 cubic metres. The tank, which is below a prominent flat topped mound capped with a concrete slab, retains its painted headgear including the pump and an inspection cover <1>. The 5th Epoch Ordnance Survey mapping <3> depicts the mound with two rectangular features on top; it is over 50m in diameter.
Sources and further reading
Related Monuments
| MWB6570 | Greenham Common Airbase (RAF Greenham Common) (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB1256 | Historical Environmental Survey and Management Plan for Greenham and Crookham Commons |
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