EXCLUSIVE | The underground Royal Air Force Krendi Station

EXCLUSIVE | The underground Royal Air Force Krendi Station

Me and Pierre will explore the Royal Air Force, Operations, Administrative and Signals underground offices which were built during World War II by the British to protect Malta.

The station was officially inaugurated in 1941 as a diversion airstrip for the main operating bases such as nearby R. A. F. Luqa. Other diversion airstrips similar in function to Krendi were located at R. A. F. Safi and on Malta's second island of Gozo. Later, in November 1942, the British began basing fighter squadrons at Krendi. These remained until late 1943. After the war, the airfield was used as a tracking station and vehicle park, before falling into disuse.

R. A. F. Krendi was constructed at a time when Malta was under intense aerial bombardment and Malta's Air Command needed to have alternative diversion airstrips on Malta, as the R. A. F.'s main operating bases were being bombed. During construction the airfield at Krendi was used as a decoy for other main bases on Malta, switching on runway lighting as enemy bombers approached.

The station opened on 10 November 1942 and received its first squadron of Spitfires a few months later.

The base was officially inaugurated by AOC Malta Sir Keith Park in 1941.

In February 1942, R. A. F. Krendi appears to be acting as a decoy site for R. A. F. Luqa. Although a shortage of materials, labour and transport delayed its development, in December 1942 one runway at Krendi came into use, and after this progress became more rapid.

After the war, Krendi was one of a number of military facilities retained on Malta by the British due to the island's strategic location. Reduced in terms of operational functionality, in 1953 it would become a vehicle storage area for British Army units. The base would also remain a weather radiosonde tracking station in the 1960s. The RAF left in 1979 following a decision not to renew the lease on R. A. F. Luqa.

Whilst RAF Krendi's concrete runways have long gone, the outline of the airfield is obvious from the air. The runway is commonly used by vehicles heading towards Wied-iż-Żurrieq and the Blue Grotto areas. Info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Krendi

A special thanks to Emanuel Muscat, Ray Polidano and the National Archives for providing me with the necessary information about this station.

May I remind you that this is not a public place to visit as you will need special permission from the San Niklaw Farm (79289641) who are currently managing the area. Special thanks to Angelo Bilocca who made the necessary arrangements to go over there, film it and share it with you all.

⏲️Time Stamps⏲️
00:00 Welcome
00:26 Going down the stairs
01:01 Exploring what seems to be an escape root
02:46 The generators room
03:30 The exhaust shaft
04:43 The store room
07:07 The Orderly room
08:00 A small tunnel - ventilation shaft
09:22 The gap between the wall and the rocks
10:03 Transformer room
10:22 And old telephone
10:44 Electrical equipment in the main area
12:07 A wine bottle
13:12 Some bullet cases
14:35 Exiting the underground station
15:44 Thank you. Please Like, Comment, and SUBSCRIBE.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: | 🔔 Make sure to enable ALL push notifications 🔔
▶️ Watch our latest videos: Follow    / angelocaruana  
▶️ Facebook:   / angelocaruan  
📷 Insta:   / angelocarua  
---------------------------------------------------------------
ℹ️ Video Title: EXCLUSIVE | The underground Royal Air Force Krendi Station
🎬 Production Credits
📷 Filmed by: @angelo caruana
✍️ Edited by: @angelo caruana
💡 Produced by: @angelo caruana
🎶 Music:
Track: Freed — Land of Fire [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch:    • Freed — Land of Fire | Free Backgroun...  
Free Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/freed
---------------------------------------------------------------
▶️ Other Similar Content:
Exploring - https://bit.ly/3HN8rZ8
Latest Videos - https://bit.ly/3uJYqZh
---------------------------------------------------------------
📜 About Angelo Caruana
I post various adventures one can imagine such as trekking, cycling, abseiling, kayaking, caving, quad biking, abandoned places, skydiving and more, mostly done in the beautiful island of Malta, a small island in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea. Here you can watch various adventures that we do as a team of three persons me, Pierre Farrugia and Vince Bonello Pukka.
Made with love,
Angelo Caruana

#RAFKrendi
#Exploring
#SiggiewiMalta