| Summary : The site of Bawdsey radar station built in the early 1950s as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. This was a replacement station for the Chain Home station at Bawdsey (see HOB UID 1309533), located to the south of this site. The Rotor station was fitted with a Type 7 Mark 3 radar head for local search and control, two Type 14 (Mark 8 and Mark 9) plan positioning radar heads, four Type 13 Mark 6 and two Type 13 Mark 7 height finder radar heads, and three Type 54 Mark 3 radar heads for search and control with no IFF (Identification Friend or Foe). The radar heads were mounted on plinths and 25 feet gantries, apart from the Type 54 arrays that were mounted on 200 feet towers. The site was equipped with a guardhouse designed to resemble a bungalow, which gave access to a two-storey, underground R3 operations block. The R3 bunker was completed in 1954. Newly developed Type 80 radar and its associated modulator building was installed in 1958, with two AN/FPS 6 height finding radars. By 1963 Bawdsey had become a Master Radar Station, but in June 1964 it switched to operating as a satellite station to RAF Neatishead. It resumed Master Radar Station status in 1966 until 1974, after a fire damaged Neatishead's control centre. Bawdsey closed in 1975 and in 1977 features of the Rotor station were demolished, including plinths, towers and the Type 80 modulator building. In 1979 Bawdsey reopened as a Bloodhound Mk2 surface to air (SAM) missile site (see HOB UID 1309161). The guardhouse also remains in derelict condition, and is still attached to the R3 bunker via an access tunnel. The R3 bunker is disused and has been sealed shut. |
More information : 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 Bawdsey Rotor station was located at TM 347 388. The domestic site was situated at TM 335 380. The station had two stand-by set houses, one each located at the technical and domestic sites.
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 guardhouse 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. (1-3)
Aerial photography from 1995 shows the site comprising a guardhouse, an R3 operations bunker, a Type 84 modulator building, an R7 radar plinth and some other aerial arrays. The site has been mostly taken over by a Bloodhound Missile site. (4)
In 1950 RAF Bawdsey was selected to be upgraded as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. The Chain Home radar station would no longer be required and a new Ground Controlled Interception station was built to the north of the old site. A two-storey, underground R3 operations block was completed at the new site in 1954 and it was equipped with one Type 7 Mark 3, five Type 13's, 2 Type 14's and one Type 54 radar. It was manned by 144 Signals Unit from 11 Group. All the radar heads were built clustered around the R3 bunker, apart from the Type 7, which was built at a remote site on Alderton Marshes.
The Type 7 radar featured an underground R7 bunker or 'well' that housed a transmitter and receiver. An accompanying Mark 10 IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) was mounted on a Type 14 plinth to the east of the R7 bunker with an electricity substation. The R7 bunker still survives.
In 1958 an AMES Type 80 Mark 3 radar was installed at the station, with two AN/FPS 6 height finding radars. This development in radar technology meant that the remote Type 7 radar was redundant, but it was retained as a standby set. By 1963 Bawdsey had become a Master Radar Station, but in June 1964 operated as a satellite station to RAF Neatishead. It resumed Master Radar Station status in 1966 until 1974, after a fire damaged Neatishead. In 1975 Bawdsey was closed and in 1977 fteaures of the Rotor station were demolished, including plinths, towers and the Type 80 modulator building. In 1979 Bawdsey reopened as a Bloodhound Mk2 surface to air (SAM) missile site. (5) |