ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era systems, notably the original Chain Home radars for the early warning role, and the AMES Type 7 for plotting and interception control. Data from these stations was sent to a network of control stations, mostly built underground, using an extensive telephone and telex network.
Royal Air Force Boulmer or more simply RAF Boulmer is a Royal Air Force station near Alnwick in Northumberland, England, and is home to Aerospace Surveillance and Control System (ASACS) Force Command, Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) Boulmer.
Royal Air Force Buchan or more simply RAF Buchan is a former Royal Air Force station near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Royal Air Force High Wycombe or more simply RAF High Wycombe is a Royal Air Force station, situated in the village of Walters Ash, near High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It houses Headquarters Air Command, and was originally designed to house RAF Bomber Command in the late 1930s. The station is also the headquarters of the European Air Group and the United Kingdom Space Command.
Remote Radar Head Saxa Vord or RRH Saxa Vord, is a Royal Air Force radar station located on the island of Unst, the most northern of the Shetland Islands in Scotland. As of July 2019 it is once more a fully operational radar station, after closure in 2006. The station's motto Praemoneo de Periculis reflects its role. RAF Saxa Vord is further north than Saint Petersburg in Russia, and on the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. The station was named after Saxa Vord, which is the highest hill on Unst at 935 ft (285 m). It holds the unofficial British record for wind speed, which in 1992 was recorded at 197 mph (317 km/h) — just before the measuring equipment blew away.
Remote Radar Head Neatishead, and commonly abbreviated RRH Neatishead, is an air defence radar site operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It is located approximately 11 kilometres north-east of Norwich in the county of Norfolk, England.
RAF Carlisle was a Royal Air Force establishment, now closed after being used for a variety of roles over a period of fifty eight years and formerly located 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Carlisle city centre in Cumbria, England.
RAF Daws Hill was a Ministry of Defence site, located near High Wycombe and Flackwell Heath, in Buckinghamshire, England, close to the M40 motorway.
RAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box, was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Bath, England, between the settlements of Box and Corsham, in Wiltshire. It was one of several military installations in the area and covered three dispersed sites. They are now used by Defence Digital, some are vacant and some have been sold, including Rudloe Manor.
Remote Radar Head Portreath or RRH Portreath is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It has a coastal location at Nancekuke Common, approximately 1.25 kilometres (0.78 mi) north east of the village of Portreath in Cornwall, England.
Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located 15 miles (24 km) north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.
Royal Air Force Ventnor or more simply RAF Ventnor is a former Royal Air Force radar station located 0.7 miles (1.1 km) north east of Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, England. It was initially constructed in 1937 as part of a World War II coastal defence programme codenamed Chain Home. The site played an important role during the Second World War, providing early warnings of incoming bomber attacks carried out by the Luftwaffe.
Remote Radar Head Trimingham or RRH Trimingham is a former TPS-77 radar station situated on the coast in the English county of Norfolk. The site is located on the coast road between Cromer and Mundesley, 1 kilometre east of the village of Trimingham but the activity has now moved to RRH Neatishead due to the threat from coastal erosion. The radar station was a satellite station of RAF Neatishead. This radar station was controlled and maintained by a section of Radar Technicians and Operators and supported by a team of Ground Engineers. Trimingham provided extensive coverage of the East coast of the United Kingdom and helped contribute to the recognised air picture and defence of the United Kingdom. The type 93 became operational on the site in April 1997.
RAF Sopley was a World War II station, codenamed Starlight, near the village of Sopley in Hampshire. The Radar Station was opened in December 1940. In 1959 it became an air traffic control radar station, and finally closed on 27 September 1974. Nearby Sopley Camp was built in the early 1950s as a domestic site for the radar station and is probably best known as the initial home of the Vietnamese Boat People, in 1979. The camp was sold in 1993 to a local partnership under the name Merryfield Park. Most of the old barracks site had been redeveloped as housing, but the 2-storey building at the Sopley end has been converted into a museum/education centre by Friends Of New Forest Airfields (FONFA). The museum opened in May 2016.
Royal Air Force Holmpton or more simply RAF Holmpton is a former Royal Air Force Cold War era nuclear bunker that was built in the 1950s as an early warning radar station as part of the ROTOR Radar Defence Programme. Located just south of the village of Holmpton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, RAF Holmpton remained a part of the Defence Estate right up to 8 December 2014 when it was sold into private ownership after 62 years of military service.
RAF Weybourne was a Second World War anti-aircraft establishment. 'X' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based at the station between 16 May and 14 September 1939, with 'T' Flt, No 1 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit there between 25 February and 29 April 1942. No 6 Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit were based there between 7 December 1942 and 30 November 1943.
Royal Air Force Pitreavie Castle or RAF Pitreavie Castle was a station of the Royal Air Force located at Pitreavie Castle in Dunfermline and near Rosyth, Fife, Scotland.
The Battle of Britain Bunker is an underground operations room at RAF Uxbridge, formerly used by No. 11 Group Fighter Command during the Second World War. Fighter aircraft operations were controlled from there throughout the War but most notably during the Battle of Britain and on D-Day. Today it is run by Hillingdon Council as a heritage attraction with attached museum. The museum was opened in 1985, with an above ground visitor centre opened in March 2018.
Royal Air Force Portland or more simply RAF Portland is a former Royal Air Force and ROTOR radar station on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Located close to the Verne Citadel and East Cliff, the station was established in the 1950s as part of a nationwide air defence radar system built by the British Government during the Cold War. The station became a scheduled monument in 2004 and is now the site of the community farm, Fancy's Family Farm.
The Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment, normally shortened to either UKADGE or IUKADGE, was the Royal Air Force's (RAF) ground-controlled interception system covering the British Isles during the 1990s. It consisted of a number of ground-based radar sites, links to airborne early warning aircraft and Royal Navy ships, a telecommunications system to send digital data and voice communications on a protected network, and processing systems based on VAX-11/780 computers. The network ultimately contained a dozen long-range radars including four Marconi Martello, two General Electric TPS-592, and six Plessey AR-320.
