Falcon memories mean the force is still with us (From Western Telegraph)

Falcon memories mean the force is still with us

11:42am Thursday 7th June 2007 in News

A long time ago (30 years to be precise) in a galaxy far, far away, the face of cinema was being changed forever by George Lucas and the release of Star Wars: A New Hope.

Just a few years later one of the most secret building contracts ever to take place in Pembroke Dock was uncovered by the Western Telegraph.

In 1979 a full-scale Millennium Falcon starship was built at the dockyard in a hanger once used to house RAF Sunderland flying boats. Causing quite a stir at the time, it is still one of the town's most exciting claims to fame.

Former Western Telegraph reporter Hugh Turnbull recalls: "It was certainly one of the most unusual things to be built in Pembroke Dock. Every time you drove past the building you could see a rather strange object sticking out of the door, they never seemed to be shut properly."

People in Pembroke Dock began to spread the word that a flying saucer was being built, fuelled by recent sightings of UFOs above the county.

Hugh added: "People recognised the shape from the first film and although it was supposed to be a secret, everyone seemed to know about it."

The only full-scale Millennium Falcon to be built for the original films, the Pembroke Dock model was used in the second instalment, The Empire Strikes Back. The model was a massive 65 foot and weighed 16 tonnes, but despite its hover pads it could only rise a few centimetres from the ground.

People did not know at the time what a huge phenomenon Stars Wars would become. Six chapters of the saga have now been made, and Pembroke Dock's engineering heritage is seen by thousands ever year.