Was the Star Wars Millennium Falcon based on the design of a Welsh village?

Yesterday was May 4th and as all knowledgeable sci-fans are aware it’s also known as Star Wars Day, when it’s obligatory to say May the fourth be with you.

Every year the day throws up some surprising oddities, none more so than a post that has since gone viral on a local community group on Facebook.

There, one poster has made the rather lavish claim that the Star Wars Millennium Falcon was based on Oakdale in Caerphilly County Borough.

Layout

However, once you look at the image posted by Facebook user Ralph McPhlugg comparing the Millennium Falcon to the layout of Oakdale village, it does make you wonder because once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

Ralph wrote: “Proof that the Millennium Falcon was based on Oakdale Village in Wales. Oakdale has truly earned it’s rightful place in the fight against the Evil Empire. May The Fourth Be With You.”

Of course, the history of the Millennium Falcom has its inception and creation here in Wales, so maybe there is something in it after all.

A life-sized model of the starship was famously created in Pembroke Dock in 1979 for the Oscar-winning film The Empire Strikes Back.

Craftsmen from a local engineering firm built the model – the first of its type ever constructed, in the Western Hangar – a former RAF aircraft hangar in the town’s dockyard.

The Millennium Falcon was the last ship built in the Royal Pembroke Dockyard.

“It was the worst kept secret in Pembroke Dock – everybody in the town knew they were building a UFO in the hangar and that period of time and that story is an important part of the town’s living memory” recalled Gareth Mills, a trustee of the Pembroke Dock Heritage Trust.

“George Lucas set a new standard in both storytelling and film making with Star Wars and the story of the Millennium Falcon being built in Pembroke Dock was big news at the time. The whole world knew about it, then the story faded into legend.

“The idea of a town in West Wales making a significant contribution to this incredible story by being the place where one of the most iconic starships in science fiction history was built, creates a mixture of disbelief, awe and pride.”