RAF Bempton: Difference between revisions

Royal Air Force Bempton
Royal Air Force Bempton
Located near Bempton, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
	Royal Air Force Bempton
Site information
Open to; the public	No
Site history
Built	1940
In use	1940 - 1972

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Revision as of 20:10, 15 February 2016

RAF Bempton was an RAF station situated at Bempton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Bridlington. During the Second World War it was established as a radar station and in later years became part of the Chain Home Low network.

Operational history

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/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 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 final closure in April 1972

The site was also used for a secret High Speed Passive Array RADAR codenamed 'Winkle'.^[4] The distinctive Y-shaped concrete stanchions on the clif edge are indicative of Winkle.^[5]

Current use

The site was sold in 1980/81 and is now privately owned. Because of trespass, the stairs down to the bunker were removed and other entrances were sealed over with concrete.^[1]

In the 1970s, a satanistic cult were known to be practising their rites in the tunnels and open spaces of the former bunker. 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 teenage had been given a memory stick detailing the pornographic artwork that the cult had painted on the walls of the bunker.^[6]

Despite the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service later searching the area again for a body, no trace of Russel Bohling has been found.

References

^ ^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, Centrimetric Early Warning Station, Yorkshire". Timechamber. 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" (PDF). 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.

RAF Operational Record Books

External links

[:0-1] "Airfields". Hull & East Riding at war. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

[2] "British Air Defence System". Bomber History. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

[3] Historic England. "RAF Bempton (1415819)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 15 February 2016.

[4] "RAF Bempton, Centrimetric Early Warning Station, Yorkshire". Timechamber. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

[5] Brigham, T; Jobling, D (January 2011). "RAPID COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT YORKSHIRE AND LINCOLNSHIRE Bempton to Donna Nook English Heritage Project 3729 PHASE 2" (PDF). Historic England. p. 34. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

[6] "Student may have been lured to 'occult' bunker, father fears". Yorkshire Post. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

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@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 *Bempton became a satellite station of [[RAF Patrington]] until final closure in April 1972
-The site was also used for a secret High Speed Passive Array RADAR codenamed 'Winkle'.<ref>{{cite web|title=RAF Bempton, Centrimetric Early Warning Station, Yorkshire|url=http://thetimechamber.co.uk/beta/sites/military/rotor-radar-stations/raf-bempton-centrimetric-early-warning-station-yorkshire|website=Timechamber|accessdate=15 February 2016}}</ref>
+The site was also used for a secret High Speed Passive Array RADAR codenamed 'Winkle'.<ref>{{cite web|title=RAF Bempton, Centrimetric Early Warning Station, Yorkshire|url=http://thetimechamber.co.uk/beta/sites/military/rotor-radar-stations/raf-bempton-centrimetric-early-warning-station-yorkshire|website=Timechamber|accessdate=15 February 2016}}</ref> The distinctive Y-shaped concrete stanchions on the clif edge are indicative of Winkle.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brigham|first1=T|last2=Jobling|first2=D|title=RAPID COASTAL ZONE ASSESSMENT  YORKSHIRE AND LINCOLNSHIRE  Bempton to Donna Nook  English Heritage Project 3729  PHASE 2|url=https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/rczas-bempton-donna-nook-phase2/rcza-phase2-bempton-donna-nook.pdf/|website=Historic England|accessdate=15 February 2016|page=34|format=PDF|date=January 2011}}</ref>
 ==Current use==