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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. However it was not large enough to allow all 60 to work simultaneously, so they would have been divided into three crews rotating between active duty, downtime, and sleep.
At the V&A they're showing Cold War Design. I know most of this stuff -- hell, based in Berlin, I live it! -- but it's nice to see it all laid out in one place.
USS Midway Museum, EA-6 Prowler, the Navy and Marine's electronic warfare version of the A-6 Intruder
Gedser Odde was closed to the public from 1941-89; the original building on the site, dating from the Cold War and threatened by erosion, was pulled down in 2010 and replaced by a new formidlingshus
Siren location is next to a substation and a telegraph pole which would of been linked to a normal working telephone line to send the activation command to the siren.
The most modern room in the facility. I can't remember the name of the system, but apparently it's legitimately exciting if you're a phone engineer.
One of the places I wanted to visit this year before it snowed. I was fortunate that work brought me to the sites. One of the places I wanted to visit this year before it snowed. I was fortunate that work brought me to the sites.
From what I've read, this site bounced signals off the ionosphere to overcome the curvature of the Earth to detect aircraft, ships and even ocean currents. Built in the 80's, it was put in operation in 1990 by the Air Force. With the fall of Communism in 1991, the site was used for tracking drug-trafficing aircraft and mapping ocean currents until 1997 when it was mothballed. In 2002, it was completely deactivated.
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...
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church) in Berlin. Bombed during WWII, left standing as a memorial of the price of war. The newer church is the polygonal building to the right of the old church.
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 Operations Room was where all the work was done. The locations of any blasts would be triangulated using directions shared between the local monitoring stations, and used to keep the authorities and public informed. "Atomic Weapons Detection Recognition and Estimation of Yield" was a digital evolution of the analogue pinhole camera detection system.
This military installation is the transmitter site (TX site) for nearby RAF Neatishead, it houses the transmitter building for the VHF, UHF and high power HF transmitters for the controllers at RAF Neatishead for aircraft communication.
The Post War Yarnold Sanger Guard Post is reminiscent of the World War II Norcon Pillbox it's made of cast concrete sections rather than sections of pipe. Named after it's inventor and manufactured by the Arc Co. The standard design consists of five sections, a floor, two blank sections, a loopholed section and a roof. Extra sections can be added for extra height or added loophole sizes. Halved wall sections can be added to provide a protective screen around the entrance. Banked up earth to loophole level with an access trench gave further protection. Normally a free standing sentry/guard post sited near gateways, they were often painted white, green or camouflage colours. They were used by all three forces, those who regularly stood on guard never complained of their vulnerability, but how cold they were inside !
Original site visit photos from 18th June 2010 – www.flickr.com/photos/139375961@N08/shares/10y2BD8GdM
The Remote Radar Head Neatishead (RRH Neatishead), is an air defence radar site operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Originally known as Royal Air Force Station Neatishead, or commonly RAF Neatishead, it was established during the World War II, and consists of the main technical site located at Neatishead, together with a number of remote, and sometimes unmanned sites.
The station motto is Caelum Tuemur, meaning ''We Watch over the Sky''. The station badge depicts the lowered head of a horned bull; and relates to the origins of the word 'Neatishead', meaning 'the vassal's household'. RAF Neatishead was previously 'parented' (for administrative and support functions) by the nearby RAF Coltishall (a fighter station latterly operating four squadrons of the ground-attack SEPECAT Jaguar). Following the closure of RAF Coltishall in 2006, RRH Neatishead became parented by RAF Marham in West Norfolk.
When RAF Neatishead was first established, its primary function was as a 'Control and Reporting Centre' (CRC) for the south of the United Kingdom. Equipment previously located in the base included: Type 7 GCI, AN/FPS-6 height finding radar, Type 80 'Green Garlic' radar, Type 84 radar, Type 85 'Blue Yeoman' radar, 3 Decca (later Plessey) HF200 height finding radars, and a R15 radar.
On 16th February 1966, a fire broke out in the bunker, RAF station fire teams were unsuccessful in putting the fire out and so local civilian fire crews were called. Three civilian firefighters died and the fire burned for nine days before it was fully extinguished. Later that year, LAC Cheeseman was sentenced to seven years for starting the fire and causing the deaths. The station was closed for eight years, re-opening in 1974 after a major rebuild of the bunker complex.
The operational nature of the work undertaken at Neatishead was transferred to the previously mothballed site at RAF Bawdsey in 1966, with Bawdsey reverting to a care and maintenance programme when Neatishead came back on line in 1974. In November 1982, Group Captain Joan Hopkins took command of the station, becoming the first female RAF officer to take command of an operational station. During July 1990 the Type 85 radar was decommissioned after 23 years of use, it was replaced by the Type 93.
In April 2004, the decision was taken to substantially reduce activities at RAF Neatishead, and by 2006, the base had been downgraded from an RAF station to Remote Radar Head (RRH) status, but its adjacent museum remains open. Its former gate guardian, a F-4 Phantom previously based at RAF Wattisham, was cut up for scrap in 2005 despite interest from the Radar Museum. In October 2006, local news media reported that a buyer had been found for the now disused section of the base. The 25½ acres site was advertised again in January 2010, with an asking price of £4,000,000. The site was subsequently purchased for an undisclosed amount by Zimbabwean-born British entrepreneur William Sachiti.
RRH Neatishead controls the remote site of RRH Trimingham with its Lockheed TPS 77 radar. It forms part of the UK's air defences – namely the UK 'Air Surveillance And Control System' (ASACS), and is part of the larger NATO air defence. RRH Neatishead is adjacent to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum. In July 2022, it was announced that the radar equipment at RAF Trimingham would be moved 8 miles to the RRH Neatishead site due to the threat of coastal erosion, and the increased interference experienced by radar operators from the off-shore wind turbines; the move was completed by the end of 2023.
Information sourced from – en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Neatishead