Royal Air Force Bempton or more simply RAF Bempton is a former Royal Air Force station situated at Bempton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) north of Bridlington. During the Second World War it was established as a radar station, becoming part of the Chain Home Low (CHL) network.
RAF Bempton | |
|---|---|
| Located near Bempton, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England | |
 | |
  RAF Bempton Shown within the East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| Coordinates | 54°09′00″N 0°10′40″W / 54.1499°N 0.1778°W |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Air Ministry |
| Operator | Royal Air Force |
| Controlled by | RAF Fighter Command |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1940 |
| In use | 1940–1972 |
Operational history
edit- 1940 The first CHL radar station was installed in early 1940 a few hundred feet from the lighthouse at Flamborough Head. This was at an elevation of 130 feet (40 m); at this height performance proved to be very unsatisfactory. A new higher site was found four miles up the coast on the 350 feet (110 m) cliffs at Bempton.[1]
- The new site was opened in July 1940 as RAF Bempton. It was a CHL station.[2]
- 1941 became a CHL/Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) radar station.[3]
- It disbanded on 1 August 1945.
- 1945 – Air Ministry Experimental Station Type 31
- 1 June 1949, re-established as a CHL/CHEL radar station.
- 17 February 1950 – transferred to RAF Fighter Command.
- On 1 November 1951 it was renamed as 146 Signals Unit Bempton rebuilt as a Centimetric Early Warning (CEW) radar station, part of the ROTOR Programme.
- The 146 Signals Unit was disbanded on 1 December 1961
- Bempton became a satellite station of RAF Patrington until its final closure in April 1972.
The site was also used for a secret High Speed Passive Array RADAR codenamed 'Winkle'.[4][5] The distinctive Y-shaped concrete stanchions on the cliff edge are indicative of Winkle.[6]
Current use
editThe site was sold in 1980/81. The stairs down to the bunker were removed and other entrances were sealed over with concrete.[1]
In 2010, a teenager from Hull went missing after his car was found abandoned by Bempton Cliffs. Police conducted a search for a missing person around the cliff area and inside the former bunker as the teenager had been given a memory stick detailing the pornographic artwork that a cult had painted on the walls of the bunker.[7]
Despite the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service later searching the area again for a body, no trace of Russell Bohling has been found.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Airfields". Hull & East Riding at war. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "British Air Defence System". Bomber History. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Historic England. "RAF Bempton (1415819)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "RAF Bempton, 'RMF' CEW R1 Rotor Radar Station, Yorkshire". Timechamber. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Simons, R. W.; Sutherland, J. W. (1988). "Forty Years of Marconi Radar from 1946 to 1986" (PDF). Radar Pages. GEC review. p. 15. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Brigham, T.; Jobling, D. (January 2011). "RAPID COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT YORKSHIRE AND LINCOLNSHIRE Bempton to Donna Nook English Heritage Project 3729 PHASE 2". Historic England. p. 34. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ "Student may have been lured to 'occult' bunker, father fears". Yorkshire Post. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
- ^ Campbell, James (6 March 2015). "Family of missing Russell Bohling 'still clinging to hope' five years on". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
External links
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