RAF Crosslaw
Home to 617 Signals Unit
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Operational from 16th April 1953 to the 31st August 1956
RAF Crosslaw was Home to 617 Signals Unit and was a Chain Home Extra Low (C.H.E.L) Radar Station equipped with a Type 14 Radar and a R2 underground operations bunker. It was operational from 16th April 1953 to the 31st August 1956. Kevin Lloyd-Jones
RAF Crosslaw was a C.H.E.L site equipped with a R2 underground operations block and was handed over to the RAF on the 6th January 1953 from Marconi with Air Commodore R.L Phillips, C.B.E, A.M.I.E.E in attendance with other representatives from the Air Ministry, HQ Fighter Command, HQ 12 Group, HQ 90 Group and the Sector Operations Centre at Barton Quarry.
Operations did not commence until the 16th April 1953 under the command of Flight Lieutenant J.C.F Williams, some five days after the main body of the operational staff had been accommodated in the new station domestic buildings some 2 miles to the South East in the village of Coldingham. Prior to this date the Unit had taken part in two Caledonian Sector Exercises.
The first of these exercises was conducted on the evenings of the 9th and 10th of March 1953. Radar operators were supplied by RAF Macmerry an airfield some 39 miles to the North West where they were temporarily accommodated while the domestic site had been under construction. Squadron Leader Marshall was detached from RAF Barton Quarry (Caledonian Sector Operations Centre) to provide controller duties. During these exercises, interceptions were carried out from the track telling room within the R2 operations complex, due to the unavailability of consoles in the purpose built controllers cabin. A temporary remote control V.H.F control installation was on loan from the G.P.O which consisted of a microphone, amplifier and loud speaker this was installed into the track telling room and allowed the controller to communicate with aircraft under Crosslaw control.
Figure 1: In order to provide communication between the controllers in the R2 bunker at RAF Crosslaw and the intercepting aircraft, two VHF/UHF multi-channel radio transmitter and receiver blocks were built at remote sites. The photo here is of the receiver site which exists off the Dowlaw Road some 2.50 miles to the North West of the Operations Site. The receiver Site still has its 60 feet wooden aerial standing alongside and is one of only two that are still extant. The other one being at the ROTOR site at Ventnor Isle Of Wight. Photo By J M Briscoe 2010.
Although no interceptions were made until the latter part of the exercise, the effort in installing the equipment was deemed a success in the training it provided to the controller and operators manning it. The second exercise the Unit was involved in was a reporting exercise and took place on the 29th March 1953. Once again operators were once gain brought in from RAF Macmerry to conduct operations within the R2 complex. The O.R.B stated that once again the installation proved satisfactory throughout the duration of the exercise, but some difficulty was experienced with the Type 14 M ark VI picking up "Sea Clutter" which made plotting inshore more difficult for the operators. To further exasperate this further faults were experienced on the G.P.O telling and liaison lines back to the Sector Operations Centre at Barton Quarry. The exercise was finally curtailed at midday on the 29th March due to bad weather, and the results of the exercise were annotated within the O.R.B as unsatisfactory. From the 16th April 1953 the Unit commenced operations as a permanent part of the Caledonian Sector organisation. The O.R.B states that the equipment worked well and during the first week of active operations a total of 208 tracks were reported with the average of 9.56 plots per track. Total operating time for the week was 29 hours and 51 minutes.
Type 14 Radar at RAF Hartland Point in c.1982. Crosslaw was fitted with a similar Type 14. Photo from the RAF Air Defence Museum Neatishead
On the 19th April 1953 the Unit took part in its first exercise using personnel recently posted in. During this R.O.C exercise 90 tracks were told from 801 plots and average of 8.9 plots per track. Details derived from the O.R.B stated that the early operational use of the Unit that the radar a Type 14 was exceptionally good, there being no Blind Spots or Sectors within their area of responsibility. Operators had reported responses from the Type 14 radar were being detected in excess of 20,000ft at some considerable distance with no drop in radar performance at low-level, an exceptional performance for a C.H.E.L Unit. On the 27th April 1953 an Oxford aircraft from RAF Leuchars made a calibration run against the Unit on a bearing of 360 degrees at 60 miles range and at a height of 500ft. The aircraft then carried out another run on a reciprocal heading to the previous run at a height of 1000ft. The records say that during these runs the aircraft was seen at all times and proved the radar was performing correctly.
The Unit took part in a D.R.W exercise on the 30th April, in which a response was passed to the S.O.C at a range of 115 miles with an estimated strength of 9 plus, and reported as possibly window. The response was later confirmed as Window by Barton Quarry. Though quantity was not known the OC commented in the O.R.B that the responses had no adverse on the operational efficiency of the Unit. During the exercise a total of 38 tracks were told with an average of 22.65 plots per track. The Unit became unserviceable on the 2nd May 1953 due to a technical fault and continued to be unserviceable until the 18th June 1953.The ORB recorded no specialised activity during this period and this period was used as a warming up period in preparation for "Exercise Momentum" which was to take place between the dates 14th - 23rd August 1953. Post analysis of the Units involvement in this exercise appeared to be satisfactory with all members of the operational teams gaining valuable operational experience and their enthusiasm and commendable energy being documented within the Units record book. The Units operational hours for the month of August totalled 225 hours.
The month of September proved a busy period for the Unit with three exercises planned:
Exercise Window Box 14th September 1953
Exercise Premraf 15-16th September 1953
Ex Marnier 24th Sep - 4th October 1953
The exercises provided invaluable training for the operational and engineering staff at Crosslaw and allowed them to sharpen operational and technical skills honed during the early work up phase of the Units operational status. Sector command at Barton Quarry took an avid interest in the Units capability and dispatched various staff to the Unit to evaluate operational effectiveness throughout September. Total hours for the month of September were not exhaustive despite the high temp of operations and totalled 272 hours and 14 minutes. Although the Units strength grew steadily throughout the summer months the OC commented within the ORB that there were some deficits within certain trades. The current Officer strength remained at two with Flight Lieutenant J.C.F Williams (O.C) and Flight Lieutenant A Goldstraw (Ops Supervisor).
Flight Lieutenant Williams wrote to Sector Command at Barton Quarry to complain at the inadequacy of the accommodation at the new domestic site. The new buildings being incapable of housing the established Unit's personnel strength without overcrowding. All domestic site buildings were finally completed by the contractor on 4th September 1953 and were officially handed over to the RAF which eased the overcrowding situation.
During the month of October 1953 a 24 hour watch was maintained within the R2 operations complex in support of "Ex Mariner" with operators reporting all maritime movements to Naval Headquarters. This was not without its difficulties as the operations supervisor reported that their counterparts at Naval Headquarters were not operating on a 24 hour basis. October saw a big decrease in the operational availability of the Unit with only 186 and 15 mins being recorded. The Unit was declared unserviceable to Sector HQ on the 8th, 28th and 31st October for a total of 17 hours and 38 mins with the Type 14 radar earmarked as the cause. A servicing team from Marconi arrived at the Unit on the 15th October to carry out maintenance and modifications for a total 3 hours and 12.
Aerial View of RAF Crosslaw Domestic Site c.1980s. All traces of the former RAF presence at this site have now gone apart from the Married Quarters on the A1107 outside the Caravan Park. Photo by Crosslaw Caravan Park.
The OC reported continuing problems with the domestic accommodation throughout October with defects in roof beams drying and cracking and falling plaster falling around hot water pipes. There was two additions to the officer establishment with Flt Lt Fenwick posted in from Middle Wallop on the 5th October and Plt Off O'Dwyer from Lichfield on the 22nd October taking the established strength to 4.
Of interest within the O.R.B is that reference is made that fighter control personnel were still being detached from the former G.C.I station at Dirleton to provide cover for night flying duties. The station at Dirleton 15G had various radar types including a type 7, which was a final G.C.I. version consisting of a large fixed aerial with equipment in an underground well below; a type 8, mobile G.C.I. and a type 21 which was a development of the G.C.I. comprising type 13 (height finder) and 14 (accurate detection, giving range and bearing radars operating in conjunction. The type 21 thus provided three dimensional information, range and bearing and also height. During its operational life it worked closely with the night fighter Units from Charterhall and Drem. The G.C.I closed down in 1946 but the site was used for training purposes until 1954. Although some of features identified include the stance for a Type 13 height finding radar, the foundations of the administration block and a guard dog enclosure. The main Happidrome structure has been converted into a private dwelling and retains some of its original features. Some of the associated structures with the station also survive. These include a second IFF cubicle and the stance for a Type 7 radar aerial, and a Stanton air raid shelter.