| Summary : The site of a Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) radar station at Sopley. GCI stations were developed by the Air Ministry from 1940 to detect, locate and track enemy aircraft and provide inland radar coverage for Britain. Sopley opened in January 1941 and originally functioned as a Mobile station reporting to Middle Wallop Fighter Sector. Mobile stations comprised transmitter and receiver aerial arrays mounted on trailers spaced no more than 220ft (67.1 metres) apart, with equipment stored and operations carried out from trucks. By January 1943 the site had been developed into a Final station. Final GCI or AMES Type 7 stations comprised a single rotating aerial array with transmitter equipment stored beneath in an underground well, plus an operations block, a standby set house for reserve power and a guard hut for the site entrance. In 1946 Sopley was classified as a master GCI station and reserve Sector Operations Centre. In the early 1950s the station was remodelled as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the UK's radar defences. The station was fitted with a Type 7 Mark 2 radar head for local search and control, two Type 14 (Mark 8 and Mark 9) plan positioning radar heads, and two Type 13 Mark 6 and three Type 13 Mark 7 height finder radar heads, all mounted on plinths and 25 feet gantries. The site was equipped with a guardhouse designed to resemble a bungalow, which gave access to a two-storey, underground R3 operations block. In 1956 the new Type 80 radar and its associated modulator building was built at the site. The station continued in use until 1974, from when it was occupied by the Army's signal command. It closed in circa 1991. The R3 bunker is still extant at the site and owned by a private company. The guardhouse has been refurbished and is currently in use. The only other surviving surface features at the site include a generator building and a small blockhouse that houses the emergency exit of the bunker. |
More information : SU 1608 9781. The Radar Station was established 1 km to the northeast of Sopley in late 1940. Its function was as a Ground Control Intercept (GCI) station, whose task was to direct intercept fighters close enough to intruding aircraft for the interceptor's short range airborne radar to detect the target. The southern air-space monitored from Sopley was so important that it was the first of six stations to be equipped with the first copy of the experimental GCI equipment. Close to the Radar Station was an Advanced Landing Ground (SZ 19 NE 20).
In a reorganisation of the air defence system soon after the end of the war Sopley was designated as a Master GCI station. At this date it was probably eqipped with one Type 7 search radar, one Type 11 search radar, and two Type 13 height finding radars.
Under a comprehensive restructuring of Britain's early warning defences intiated in the late 1940s codenamed ROTOR, Sopley was substantially rebuilt. In the early 1950s a double-level underground bunker, termed an R3, was built to house the station's personnel and display screens. The main contractor for this work was John Mowlem. During the mid-1950s the station's radar was updated with the installation of a powerful Type 80 search radar. From the late 1950s Sopley took on a new role, when it was agreed that the military radars could be used to assist civilian air traffic control, and from this time onwards civil controllers worked alongside their military counterparts. The Radar Station probably operated in this role until the late 1960s.
The bunker, however, remained in government ownership and in the late 1970s or early 1980s it was taken over by the army's signals command, No.2 Signals Group. Its main task was to maintain radio comunications for units engaged in home defence. The bunker is now owned and occupied by a data storage company.
The site is divided roughly equally in two by a north to south lane. The field to the east is enclosed by a wire fence with concrete posts about 1.5m high. This probably delimits the area of the wartime station. At the northern end of the field is temporary wartime building with cement rendered brick walls and a pitched asbestos sheeting roof. In its southern gable is a wooden louvred vent; which suggests it was a technical building containing equipment which was liable to overheat. To the south of this building are two small brick radar plinths; these may be the bases for the Type 13 height finding radars. At the southern end of the field, and set obliquely to the lane, is a single storey brick building with a single pitch roof. In the gable closest to the lane is a blocked cable duct and in its southwestern elevation is a door and two window openings with a vent beneath. This building probably dates from the late 1940s or 1950s.
The field to the west of the lane is enclosed by a tall wire mesh fence with out-turned tops supporting three strands of barbed wire. This field was probably acquired in the early 1950s to construct the R3 bunker. The bunker is visible in the centre of the field as a slight rise in the ground, above are two vents and transformer house. Entry into the bunker is controlled by a guardhouse adjacent to the lane. If it was of a standard type it probably originally had a pitched roof which has subsequently been removed. Next to the guardhouse is a brick motor transport shed. (1-3)
A Ground Controlled Interception station located at Sopley (SZ 161 979), called site 02G. Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) radar stations were developed by the Air Ministry from 1940 to detect, locate and track enemy aircraft and provide inland radar coverage of Britain. The stations worked in cooperation with local Fighter Sectors that had Airborne Interception (AI) radar fitted in it's aircraft to enable the crew to accurately home in on targets. Sopley worked with Middle Wallop Fighter Sector, initially as a Mobile station and by 28-JAN-1943 a Final GCI station.
Mobile stations comprised transmitter and receiver aerial arrays mounted on trailers spaced no more than 220ft (67.1 metres) apart, with equipment stored and operations carried out from trucks. Final Ground Controlled Interception sites were AMES Type 7 stations that comprised a single rotating aerial array with transmitter equipment stored in an underground well beneath, a brick operations block, a standby set house for reserve power, and a guard hut for the site entrance. Some sites were provided with additional huts for offices and recreation rooms. (4)
Aerial photography from 1982 shows that the site had been removed, but two ancillary buildings and two radar plinths remain at the site. (5)
The Rotor programme was developed to advance the wartime radar technology in detecting and locating fast-flying jets. It was approved by the Air Council in June 1950. The first stage of the programme, Rotor 1, was to technically restore existing Chain Home, centrimetric early warning, Chain Home Extra Low and Ground Controlled Interception stations and put them under the control of RAF Fighter Command. There were three main components to the Rotor stations: the technical site, including the radars, operation blocks and other installations; the domestic site, where personnel were accommodated; and the stand-by set house, a reserve power supply. The technical site for Sopley Rotor station was located at SZ 163 977. The domestic site and stand-by set house were co-located at SU 177 982.
The two main constructions at Rotor stations were the operations block and guardhouse. Operations blocks were the largest structures built at Rotor stations. They were constructed of reinforced concrete and designed to withstand 2,000lb bombs. The outer walls and roof of the Rotor operations blocks were 3 metres thick and the internal walls between 0.15 to 0.6 metres wide. The exterior was coated with an asphalt damp course and surrounded by a 0.15 metre brick wall. The roof was usually flush with the ground surface and up to 4.34 metres of earth was mounded on top. The operations blocks, identified by a 'R' prefix, contained technical equipment, domestic facilities, workshops and a plant for air conditioning and gas filtration, all within a single complex. Four of the blocks (R1-R4) were underground constructions designed for the more vulnerable sites on the east and south-east coasts. Others were semi-submerged (R6) or above ground (R5, R7-R11) heavily protected structures built to withstand 1000lb bombs. The guardhouses were designed to resemble bungalows. They were single-storey buildings capped with a flat, concrete roof, above which a pitched roof contained water tanks. They were generally constructed of brick, but were built to blend in with the local architectural style. The guard rooms also contained an armoury, store, rest room and lavatories. Those associated with underground operations blocks featured a projecting rear annex that housed a stairwell leading down to an access tunnel. (6-9)
Aerial photography from 1982 shows the R3 operations block and guardhouse visible at the site. An ancillary building to the side of the guardhouse and two aerial plinths (possibly Type 13) survive. All appear in good condition. (10)
After the Second World War RAF Sopley continued to operate as a GCI station until it was extended and converted into a SOC/GCI station. This was a reserve Sector Ooperations Centre (SOC) that each sector was assigned should anything happen to the designated SOC. It was operational by 1950. In the early 1950s it was remodelled as part of the Rotor programme. The new Rotor station was operational in 1954. In 1956 the new Type 80 radar and associated modulator building was built at the site. In 1958 the School of Fighter Control moved into the site and from 1959 an Air Traffic Control Research Unit (ATCRU) Area Radar Service was established at the site. In 1960 the School of Fighter Control disbanded and the station taken over by Air Traffic Control. RAF Sopley continued in use in various roles until it closed in September 1974. In the mid 1970s the R3 operations bunker was modernised and occupied by a Royal Signals unit from Signals Research and Development Establishment at Christchurch. By 1980 the site was an army headquarters. For the duration of the Cold War the site was used by 2 Signals Brigade from the UK Land Forces at Wilton. The R3 bunker is still extant at the site and owned by a private company. The guardhouse has been refurbished and is in use. The only surviving surface features at the site include a generator building and a small blockhouse that houses the emergency exit of the bunker. (11) |