RAF Wartling
Encyclopedia
RAF Wartling was a Royal Air Force
station located near the village of Wartling in East Sussex. It was an a Second World War and later Cold War Ground Controlled Interception (GCI)
station built to complement the nearby Chain Home
station at RAF Pevensey.
air defence radar system and a protected underground operations rooms was built at Wartling. Construction started at the end of 1951 but was not completed until February 1955. In 1956 a new Decca Type 80 search radar was installed to replace the earlier equipment. With the increased range of the Type 80 radar other radar stations in the South East began to close and in April 1958 it became a Master Radar Station responsible for all British airspace South of the Thames. When other Master Radar Stations were modernised in the 1960s Wartling went out of use and finally closed on 3 December 1964. The site was sold in 1976
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
station located near the village of Wartling in East Sussex. It was an a Second World War and later Cold War Ground Controlled Interception (GCI)
Ground-controlled interception
Ground-controlled interception an air defense tactic whereby one or more radar stations are linked to a command communications centre which guides interceptor aircraft to an airborne target. This tactic was pioneered during World War II by the Royal Air Force with the Luftwaffe to follow closely...
station built to complement the nearby Chain Home
Chain Home
Chain Home was the codename for the ring of coastal Early Warning radar stations built by the British before and during the Second World War. The system otherwise known as AMES Type 1 consisted of radar fixed on top of a radio tower mast, called a 'station' to provide long-range detection of...
station at RAF Pevensey.
Second World War
Wartling became operational in 1941 and was used to control fighter aircraft and guide them towards approaching German aircraft. Originally based in caravans the station had a brick-built operations block that came into operation in July 1943. Wartling helped track and destroy 380 German V1 flying bombs. Although the nearby RAF Pevensey had closed in December 1945, Wartling remained open as one of the few remaining GCI stations in the South of England.Cold War
With the threat of attack using nuclear weapons the station was used as part of the ROTORROTOR
ROTOR was a huge and elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers...
air defence radar system and a protected underground operations rooms was built at Wartling. Construction started at the end of 1951 but was not completed until February 1955. In 1956 a new Decca Type 80 search radar was installed to replace the earlier equipment. With the increased range of the Type 80 radar other radar stations in the South East began to close and in April 1958 it became a Master Radar Station responsible for all British airspace South of the Thames. When other Master Radar Stations were modernised in the 1960s Wartling went out of use and finally closed on 3 December 1964. The site was sold in 1976