RAF Beachy Head
Encyclopedia
RAF Beachy Head was a Royal Air Force (RAF
) base
and one of the many Chain Home Low
radar stations, being situated near Beachy Head
and Eastbourne
in East Sussex
, England
. It featured a Type 16
radar that was monitored from RAF Kenley
.
RAF Beachy Head saw much activity in World War II
covering the area from Brighton to Hastings from ten miles out to sea, but began to decline in importance in the 1950s. In 1952, a ROTOR
site was built, which closed in 1960. The Coastguard
used one of the buildings. It closed with the end of the Cold War
and partly demolished in 1996.
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...
) base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
and one of the many Chain Home Low
Chain Home Low
Chain Home Low was the name of a British radar early warning system, detecting enemy aircraft movement at lower altitudes than and summarily used with the fixed Chain Home system which was operated by the RAF during World War II...
radar stations, being situated near Beachy Head
Beachy Head
Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...
and Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
in East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It featured a Type 16
Air Ministry Experimental Station
AMES or Air Ministry Experimental Station was the way of identifying RAF radar types during and after World War II*AMES Type 1, Chain Home - Early Warning*AMES Type 2, Chain Home Low - Early Warning, LOW altitude...
radar that was monitored from RAF Kenley
RAF Kenley
The former Royal Air Force Station Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley was a station of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and the RAF in World War II. It is located near Kenley, London, England.-History:...
.
RAF Beachy Head saw much activity in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
covering the area from Brighton to Hastings from ten miles out to sea, but began to decline in importance in the 1950s. In 1952, a ROTOR
ROTOR
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...
site was built, which closed in 1960. The Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
used one of the buildings. It closed with the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and partly demolished in 1996.