 The base reverted to its local name Nancekuke and became an outstation of Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE) Porton Down.Manufacture of the nerve agent Sarin in a pilot production facility commenced there in the early 1950s, producing about 20 tons of the nerve agent from 1954 until 1956.Nancekuke became an important factory for stockpiling the UK's Chemical Defences during the Cold War.