taken to RAF Fairwood Common by Group Captain David Atcherley for interrogation. Faber was piloting the latest enemy fighter, the Focke-Wulf 190A-3, a type the RAF had only seen flying over France. The depths of Faber's despair at providing his enemy with an intact Fw 190 can be gauged by the fact that he subsequently attempted to commit suicide. As news broke of his landing in Pembrey, Fighter Command dispatched pilots to photograph and return the aircraft to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. The RAF finally had an Fw 190 to compare with its V.S Spitfire IX and Hawker Typhoon Ia aircraft. Post-war In September 1953 a Vampire crashed at the airfield, killing the pilot, Squadron Leader Lionel Hubert Wakeford DFC. Shortly before closure, in June 1957, a Hunter I (WT563) crashed on approach to the airfield, killing Pilot Officer Frederick William Rupert Vernon Jacques when he ejected at low level; the aircraft crashed into Kidwelly railway station. Both airmen were buried in St Illtyd Churchyard, Pembrey, along with 32 wartime RAF casualties, including seven from the Polish Air Force. In 1968 a bomb exploded at the airfield, seriously injuring a warrant officer; in the "climate of sporadic bomb threats" the BBC interviewed people in Kidwelly about whether they believed the Prince of Wales should come to Wales. On 22 August 1997 Pembrey was officially opened as a civil airfield and named Pembrey Airport. Pembrey Sands Air weapons range Pembrey is still associated as a service facility with the former RAF Pembrey Sands Air Weapons Range, now a Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) establishment. The airfield is now split into a number of facilities: the Welsh Motor Sports Centre occupies most of the area, part of the land has reverted to agriculture, part contains a hangar formerly used by the Dyfed-Powys Police Air Support, whilst of the north east portion of the former RAF Runway 04/22 was opened as Pembrey West Wales Airport in August 1997. It remains a working airfield and operates charter flights into the airport. The airfield is also home to the Llanelli Model Flying Club. Former units Former squadrons include: Nos 595/5, 92, 118 (Spitfires) Nos 32, 79, 316 – formed at Pembrey. (Hurricanes) Nos 238, 248. (Beaufighters) Nos 256, 307. (Boulton Paul Defiants) No. 233 OCU (Vampires, Tempests, Mosquitos, Meteors and Hunters) Other former units include: No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School RAF No. 14