RAF Bempton - August 2010

[KingElvis]

One of my old faves is RAF Bempton. While on holiday in the area recently, I decided to get an early start and check out all the surface structures including the WW2 GCI / CHL structures which sit behined the CEW Station. They're not very exciting but are not visited very often due to the land owner who doesn't take kindly to explorers. They are part of the original CHL installation.

If you want a full tour underground, myself and many others have done it. Just type Bempton into the search utility.

A brief bit of history:-

R.A.F. Bempton started life in February 1940 as R.A.F. Flamborough Head, but later that year was renamed Bempton. It was a *GCI station for the remainder of the war years, disbanding on 1st August 1945.

It then had a brief spell as an Air Ministry Experimental Station Type 31 until 1st November 1945 when the station was shut down. It was then allocated to the Northern Signals Area (90 Group) and placed on a care and maintenance basis. On 1st June 1949, the station was declared operational again as a CHL/CHEL station. On 17th February 1950 it was transferred to Fighter Command, with whom on 1st November 1951, it was renamed as 146 Signals Unit Bempton.

146 Signals Unit disbanded on 1st December 1961, and the station was renamed R.A.F. Bempton. It soldiered on as such until 1st April 1964 when it was disbanded. Bempton was then reduced to a domestic satellite station of R.A.F. Patrington. It remained as such until April 1972, when there was no further requirement for the quarters. It was then reduced to redundant station status. Bempton was finally disposed of, some time in 1980/81.

The site underwent a massive rebuild in the early 50's to provide a new bunker and convert the site into a part of the Rotor Programme.

Here is a photo of the technical site in 1962 with radar still intact



Now all that remains are the empty plinths that the Type 80 radar sat on.



Suprisingly, lots of control gear and electrical stuff remains inside the small radar buildings.



Type 80 Modulator Building, MK 1, later the design was improved.



This shot gives a good layout of the station.



Air vent building for the emergency exit for the R1 ROTOR bunker that lays beneath.



This is (was) the guardhouse for the bunker, now seriously delapidated.



The entrance corridor to the bunker.



Main blast doors, now very rusty.



Main R1 corridor with burned out ops room to the left complete with photographic pit and support funtions to the right.



Close up of a radar support building, these would've had sand filled blast doors.



Track between the WW2 GCI and CEW installations



A few WW2 vintage buildings remain among loads of derelict farming equipment.









WW2 shitter.



A few more support and switch rooms from the CEW Station.





Looking back at the CEW statiion through the now broken MOD fence.

[boxerheaven]

nice pics

[boxfrenzy]

Nice stuff, and good to see the above ground features, something often overlooked by the reporter

[wevsky]

nice pics there king..liked the one of the flakey paint theres a few of them near us id like to get into underground but no means of entry

[ERNIE99_UK]

I never get bored of seeing cold war stuff. Its nice to compare it to Holmpton (which is where i was friday evening)

[Rebel]

I never bothered looking at this because I was told it was full of asbestos but there seems to be plenty to see even on the surface, much more than Holmpton. Great stuff

[freebird]

Nice to see the place above ground as well as below. I had been a bit put off by the asbestos but it doesnt look as bad as I expected it to look.