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No. 20 Group ROC Headquarters was built in 1961 and was part of a nationwide network of monitoring stations as a result of the Cold War. The bunker was maintained in a high state of readiness until stand-down in 1991. It wasn't a shelter to ride out the end of the world; it was for early warning and monitoring, and could accommodate a staff of 60 and be self-sufficient for only 30 days. The canteen is, unsurprisingly, adjacent to the kitchen, and was where the staff would have spent their time when neither sleeping nor on their active duty shift. For the purposes of the tour, it's the location of a short field giving an overview of the Cold War.
The Kelvedon Nuclear Bunker
Hidden in a wood off the A128 Ongar - Brentwood Road, is a small bungalow which hides a big secret. Behind it lies a three floored bunker complex in which 600 people would have been confined behind blast proof doors in the event of a nuclear war.
The deep, 125 foot, bunker was built in 1952/3 as part of Rotor, an urgent government building programme to improve Britain's air defence network. The bunker was the Sector Operations Command for the RAF Fighter Command. Known as SOC - R4, it was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command.
Once into the bungalow, it leads to a 100 yard tunnel before you are in the bunker itself. Above you are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast, one of two, which would have been vital for communications.
The reason for the bunker was to take on a far more potentially catastrophic role in the 1960's. Because of the threat of nuclear war the bunker became the regional government bunker for London. The aim of the bunker was that it was to be one of the government administration centres communicating with the many other smaller bunkers situated throughout the country, organising the country after a nuclear attack.
Avro 698 Vulcan B2 XM598 inside the Cold War Hangar at Cosford. Taken on 13 June 2010 during the annual airshow.
The Kelvedon Nuclear Bunker
Hidden in a wood off the A128 Ongar - Brentwood Road, is a small bungalow which hides a big secret. Behind it lies a three floored bunker complex in which 600 people would have been confined behind blast proof doors in the event of a nuclear war.
The deep, 125 foot, bunker was built in 1952/3 as part of Rotor, an urgent government building programme to improve Britain's air defence network. The bunker was the Sector Operations Command for the RAF Fighter Command. Known as SOC - R4, it was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command.
Once into the bungalow, it leads to a 100 yard tunnel before you are in the bunker itself. Above you are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast, one of two, which would have been vital for communications.
The reason for the bunker was to take on a far more potentially catastrophic role in the 1960's. Because of the threat of nuclear war the bunker became the regional government bunker for London. The aim of the bunker was that it was to be one of the government administration centres communicating with the many other smaller bunkers situated throughout the country, organising the country after a nuclear attack.
The Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.[1] Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the wall completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin until it was opened in November 1989.[2] Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and was completed in 1992.[3] The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls,[4] which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period.
A Cold War Emergency Centre is situated at the back of the staff car park of the Broadland District Council Offices in Yarmouth Road, the structure is a purpose-built two-storey bunker which was completed in 1990 and is believed to have been the last such bunker to have been constructed in the country during the Cold War era. It comprises of two levels, with the upper floor semi-sunken and the lower floor underground and in the event of an emergency would have been used by the council executives involved in the running of government, the building is currently still used for storage by the council.
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 RAF Neatishead Rotor Station was located at TG 346 184. Crew were accommodated at RAF Coltishall and the stand-by set house was located at TG 342 200.
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 9ft 10in thick and the internal walls between 5.9in to 1ft 11in metres wide. The exterior was coated with an asphalt damp course and surrounded by a 5.9in brick wall. The roof was usually flush with the ground surface and up to 14 ft 2in 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 1,000lb 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.
Aerial photography from 1965 shows the R3 operations bunker at the site, as well as a Type 13, a Type 7 and four Type 14 radar plinths. A range of ancillary buildings survive. The area is part of an active base and museum. In March 1947 the station was established as a Sector Operations Centre. Between 1961 to 1963 the station was reduced to care and maintenance and was then reopened as a Master Radar Station. A fire in 1966 destroyed the underground operations complex and the station was closed until 1974 with a new data-handling system occupying the original Happidrome. In 1994 the Air Defence Radar Museum opened at the site, which also continues to serve as an operational base.
Personal experience of working at Neatishead communicated by email states ''I was posted there as a sgt in 1973 and it was fully operational, T85, T84, HF200 and more all working. Furthermore, the other half of my Locking entry was posted there in 1971 and all worked on the operational radars, txs and rxs. I left in 1976 and visited again in 1977. T85, stuff of legends, 60Mw with all 12 Txs running''. Detailed history of the 50 years of the founding of RAF Neatishead 1941-1991. R30 operations room, R12 Radar equipment building and R3 underground operations block; Listed. For the designation records of this site please see The National Heritage List for England. Decommissioned 2006 and sold. Feb 2013, 25 acres of the site were again sold. The Air Defence Radar Museum was not part of the sale.
Information sourced from — www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?ui...
The Kelvedon Nuclear Bunker
Hidden in a wood off the A128 Ongar - Brentwood Road, is a small bungalow which hides a big secret. Behind it lies a three floored bunker complex in which 600 people would have been confined behind blast proof doors in the event of a nuclear war.
The deep, 125 foot, bunker was built in 1952/3 as part of Rotor, an urgent government building programme to improve Britain's air defence network. The bunker was the Sector Operations Command for the RAF Fighter Command. Known as SOC - R4, it was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command.
Once into the bungalow, it leads to a 100 yard tunnel before you are in the bunker itself. Above you are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast, one of two, which would have been vital for communications.
The reason for the bunker was to take on a far more potentially catastrophic role in the 1960's. Because of the threat of nuclear war the bunker became the regional government bunker for London. The aim of the bunker was that it was to be one of the government administration centres communicating with the many other smaller bunkers situated throughout the country, organising the country after a nuclear attack.
A Cold War Emergency Centre is situated at the back of the staff car park of the Broadland District Council Offices in Yarmouth Road, the structure is a purpose-built two-storey bunker which was completed in 1990 and is believed to have been the last such bunker to have been constructed in the country during the Cold War era. It comprises of two levels, with the upper floor semi-sunken and the lower floor underground and in the event of an emergency would have been used by the council executives involved in the running of government, the building is currently still used for storage by the council.
On the east side of Thorney Bay stands a strange looking building next to the former Council Toilets. The building used to have a sign saying “MOD Property” and in the late 1980’s it was still listed in the Private MOD internal phone directory. The building has a balcony that would have had a clear view accross the Thames before the new higher Sea Wall was built in the 1980’s.
Thought to be the last remaining complete Cold War 'Degaussing Station' (Magnetic Loop Station) on the north of the Thames, there were a number of these along the river including one at Colehouse Fort. Magnetic sea mines were a big problem so ships had to be degaussed (de-magnetised) to prevent the mines detecting them, cables ran out under the River Thames from the building and possibly a Boom running from this area. The Degaussing Stations tested that the passing ships degaussing equipment was operating properly before they hit the perilous seas past the Shoeburyness Anti-Submarine Boom.
This Cold War defence building, planned and built from 1962 to 1963, as a result of the 'Cuban Missile Crisis' which almost concluded with a nuclear missile exchange between NATO and the Soviet Union. With this incredibly close call, many Nuclear Defences were reinforced, and many more were added, such as Canvey Island Degaussing Range Station. The Deguassing Station would have sent out a wire loop to the middle of the Thames, which still remains somewhere on the seabed to this day (a piece of the wire is on display in the museum) There would have been two of these loops, which would have ended at the Degaussing Station wired up to surveillance equipment, the loops were used to pick up electrical signals caused by magnetism from passing ships. During WWII magnetically-detonated mines were placed around the English shoreline (especially the Thames and other docks) by the Germans, which would detonate if a ship passed over one, interrupting its magnetic field, causing it to be set-off, creating devastating underwater shock-waves for ships.
The Deguassing Station, or '‘Canvey Loop’' as it was sometimes known, would have monitored passing ships checking their devices (electrified wire loop) wrapped around them to demagnetise the ships and therefore make them immune to magnetic underwater mines. The ships co-ordinates would be measured from a range-finder on the balcony, plus other equipment inside, and marked for needing a ‘de-mag’ device to be fitted. As the Cold War never turned hot and no magnetic mines were emplaced by the Soviets, the station was never used, although still fully kitted out and put on standby by the MOD.
During the Cold War, both magnetic mines left over from WWII, and ‘to be deployed’ magnetic mines by Communist states/Soviet Russia, were a threat, therefore the Degaussing Stations were constructed, not that many exist in the UK, and still just a few exist in the USA. The Bay Museum is undoubtedly the most suspicious and suitably-fashioned station in the country, with others simply being maybe an old house. One other can be seen in the walls of Coalhouse Fort, in Tilbury, a fort which saw dominant fortification in WWII.
Photo taken at Minuteman National Historical Park in South Dakota, USA. These complexes were once part of the nuclear launch facilities dedicated to delivering nuclear missiles in the event of the Civil War. The last treaty with the Soviet Union mandated that each country keep one site "as is" and have it open to the public as a museum.
The launch facility requires advanced reservations to journey into the silos with a park ranger, who explain the daily life of nuclear launch staff and other tales from the days of Mutually Assured Destruction.
The Kelvedon Nuclear Bunker
Hidden in a wood off the A128 Ongar - Brentwood Road, is a small bungalow which hides a big secret. Behind it lies a three floored bunker complex in which 600 people would have been confined behind blast proof doors in the event of a nuclear war.
The deep, 125 foot, bunker was built in 1952/3 as part of Rotor, an urgent government building programme to improve Britain's air defence network. The bunker was the Sector Operations Command for the RAF Fighter Command. Known as SOC - R4, it was to provide command and control of the London Sector of Fighter Command.
Once into the bungalow, it leads to a 100 yard tunnel before you are in the bunker itself. Above you are two more floors, the 'hill' which covers it, and a radio mast, one of two, which would have been vital for communications.
The reason for the bunker was to take on a far more potentially catastrophic role in the 1960's. Because of the threat of nuclear war the bunker became the regional government bunker for London. The aim of the bunker was that it was to be one of the government administration centres communicating with the many other smaller bunkers situated throughout the country, organising the country after a nuclear attack.
The interior of the centrifuge was lit by sealed fluorescent units and heated by radiators on all walls. In the centre of the building is the circular brick-lined centrifuge pit with a diameter of c.8m and depth of c.2.5m. In the centre of the pits the central mounting plate for the centrifuge with a cable duct leading to the north east corner and a lower self contained equipment room. To the south west, north east and south east the pits’ brick wall is interrupted by a concrete section, above which may mark the position of the framework to support the centrifuge and its turning gear. To the south a set of concrete stairs provides access into the pit. It is finished in green paint, the remainder of the interior is yellow. A ledge running at eaves height along the east and west walls formerly supported an overhead travelling crane. At the north end of the building are two self contained instrumentation rooms and a door in the east wall that gave access to the emergency escape passage and the pressed metal outer cladding.