Royal Air Force Bempton or more simply RAF Bempton is a former

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station situated at

Bempton Bempton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, near the border with North Yorkshire. It is near the North Sea coast and Flamborough Head, and is situated about north of Bridlington. It lies on the B1229 road b ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, north of

Bridlington Bridlington is a coastal town and a civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is about north of Hull and east of York. The Gypsey Race enters the North Sea at its harbour. The 2011 Cen ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

it was established as a radar station, becoming part of the

Chain Home Low Chain Home Low (CHL) was the name of a British early warning radar system operated by the RAF during World War II. The name refers to CHL's ability to detect aircraft flying at altitudes below the capabilities of the original Chain Home (CH) rada ...

(CHL) 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 ; at this height performance proved to be very unsatisfactory. A new higher site was found four miles up the coast on the cliffs at Bempton. *The new site was opened in July 1940 as RAF Bempton. It was a CHL station. *1941 became a CHL/

Chain Home Extra Low A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. ...

(CHEL) radar station. *It disbanded on 1 August 1945. *1945 –

Air Ministry Experimental Station AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasions ...

Type 31 *1 June 1949, re-established as a CHL/CHEL radar station. *17 February 1950 – transferred to

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

. *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 Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

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'. The distinctive Y-shaped concrete stanchions on the cliff edge are indicative of Winkle.

Current use

The site was sold in 1980/81. The stairs down to the bunker were removed and other entrances were sealed over with concrete. In 2010, a teenager from Hull went missing after his car was found abandoned by

Bempton Cliffs Bempton Cliffs is a section of precipitous coast at Bempton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is run by the RSPB as a nature reserve and is known for its breeding seabirds, including northern gannet, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, common ...

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

References

External links

Subbrit – Photo tour of the bunker
{{Royal Air Force radar stations

Military history of Yorkshire Military history of the East Riding of Yorkshire