The Warcop Training Area (WTA) is a UK Ministry of Defence military training area near the village of Warcop in Cumbria. Part of the Defence Training Estate, the area consists of approximately 24,000 acres (9,700 ha) of MoD freehold land.[1][2]
| Warcop Training Area | |
|---|---|
| Warcop | |
 Mickle Fell | |
  Warcop Training Area Location within Cumbria | |
| Coordinates | 54°37′02″N 02°22′53″W / 54.61722°N 2.38139°W |
| Type | Training Area |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Ministry of Defence |
| Operator |  British Army |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built for | War Office |
| In use | 1942-Present |
History
editThe training estate was established in 1942 originally as a tank gunnery range and tanks still use it to this day.[3]
On 19 October 1944 a Short Stirling bomber (LK 488), crashed on Mickle Fell whilst on a training flight from its base at RAF Wratting Common in Cambridgeshire; of the seven crew, only one survived.[4]
On 22 April 1999 a soldier died when a grenade exploded in his pocket.[5]
On 4 June 2014, one soldier died and two others were injured in a training accident when a military vehicle rolled over.[6]
Coverage of the training area
editWithin the training area are Little Fell (745m) and Mickle Fell (790m[7]), Burton Fell, Warcop Fell, Cronkley Fell and part of Murton Fell.[8]
Most of the training area is in Cumbria but a portion is County Durham. The area forms part of the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and about two-thirds of the area falls inside the Appleby Fells Site of Special Scientific Interest.[9][10]
Army use
editWarcop Training Area is used six and a half days a week by the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick Garrison, other regular British Army and Army Reserves using the Warcop Training Camp.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b Ministry of Defence - Defence Estate and Environment, What we do(website accessed: 26 August 2010)
- ^ North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (website accessed: 26 August 2010)
- ^ English Heritage - Warcop Training Area National Mapping Programme (NMP)(Website accessed: 26 August 2010)
- ^ "Stirling LK488 on Mickle Fell". Aircraft accidents in Yorkshire. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
- ^ "Grenade exploded in teenage soldier's pocket". Cumberland and Westmorland Herald. 11 September 1999.
- ^ "Warcop army base crash soldier Josh Osborne making 'remarkable recovery'". BBC News. 13 June 2014.
- ^ Streetmap, Warcop Training Area (Website accessed:26 August 2010)
- ^ Dillon, Paddy (1991). Walking in the North Pennines. Cicerone Press Limited. pp. 71–82. ISBN 0-7146-5657-7.
- ^ Cumbria County Council - Access on MOD Warcop training area (Website accessed: 26 August 2010)
- ^ Appleby Fells SSSI map, MagicMap, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs