| Summary : The site of Chain Home radar station, Chain Home Low station and later Rotor station at West Prawle. It was commissioned in January 1939 to provide early warning of enemy aircraft approaching industrial areas in Bristol and South Wales. Chain Home stations comprised transmission and receiver blocks, four 240ft timber receiver aerial towers, four 350ft steel transmitter aerial towers that stood on concrete pads, and other buildings such as dispersed accommodation huts, guard huts and standby set houses. Chain Home Low sites, established in 1940 to detect low-flying aircraft, typically comprised two gantries carrying the transmitter and receiver aerial arrays, a transmitter and receiver hut, a standby set house for the reserve power, and a general purposes hut. From 1940 defensive measures were installed at radar stations, including Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) gun emplacements, pill boxes, road blocks and air raid shelters. LAA emplacements were located at Vulnerable Points. At West Prawle these were located at SX 771 379, SX 781 375, SX 776 371, SX 760 375 and SX 766 375. The station was technically upgraded in the early 1950s as part of the Rotor programme. Aerial photography from 1983 shows that an operations block survives at the site at SX 775 375, six prefabricated buildings now used as farm buildings are located at SX 774 376, an earth-covered building remains at SX 771 374, and a further building survives at SX 769 375. |
More information : RADAR STATION. SRF, with 2 location plans and aerial photograph. SRF, with 2 photographs. West Prawle Farm. Chain Home. Accommodation Blocks. Recorder- B. Horner, and R. Jury. (1)
A Chain Home station at West Prawle, called CH14. It was commissioned in January 1939 to cover the approaches to industrial areas in Bristol and South Wales. Chain Home stations comprised transmission and receiver blocks, four 240ft timber receiver aerial towers, four 350ft steel transmitter aerial towers that stood on concrete pads, and other buildings such as dispersed accommodation huts, guard huts and standby set houses. Chain Home Low (CHL) stations provided early warning of approaching low-flying enemy aircraft . CHL stations used technology originally used by the Army to plot shipping for coastal batteries. In 1940 the Royal Air Force established the series of Chain Home Low stations to supplement the existing Chain Home stations as they were capable of detecting lower-flying aircraft. CHL sites typically comprised two gantries carrying the transmitter and receiver aerial arrays, a transmitter and receiver hut, a standby set house for the reserve power, and a general purposes hut. From 1940 defensive measures were installed at radar stations, including Light Anti-Aircraft gun emplacements, pill boxes, road blocks and air raid shelters. By 1942-1943 West Prawle had five Vulnerable Points where Light Anti-Aircraft gun emplacements were located. These were at SX 771 379, SX 781 375, SX 776 371, SX 760 375 and SX 766 375. West Prawle was an Advanced Chain Home Station by April 1941. (2)
A Chain Home radar station at West Prawle. Aerial photography from 1983 shows that an operations block survives at SX 775 375, six prefabricated buildings located at SX 774 376 that are now used as farm buildings, the remains of a earth-covered building at SX 771 374, and a building at SX 769 375. (3)
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 phase 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 at West Prawle was located at SX 771 374. The domestic site was situated at SX 780 367 and the stand-by set house was co-located at the technical site. (4-6)
As source 3. The partial remains of the site survives, that originally stretched around 900 metres east to west. (7) |