RRH Staxton Wold
Summary
Operating Country | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Location | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Status | ◉ Active |
Usage | Military only |
Year built | 1936 |
Operating Organization | Royal Air Force |
Units |
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Description
RRH Staxton Wold is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force, located near Scarborough in North Yorkshire, England. It has been a continuous radar site since 1939, making it one of the oldest working radar stations in the world. The site was first selected for early warning in 1937 as part of the Chain Home system, becoming fully operational in April 1939. Building work began in December 1938. Just before World War II, the base was equipped with a Bofors anti-aircraft gun. Operations were scaled back in 1945 but reactivated in 1951 for training, with a GEE H radar installed in 1953. In the 1990s, it was maintained by No. 129 Signals Unit. All original Chain Home buildings were demolished in the late 1950s for new radar installations. The Type 85 radar was decommissioned in 1990 and replaced by the Type 93. Today, it functions as a Remote Radar Head (RRH) within the United Kingdom Air Surveillance and Control System (UKASACS). The radar system was upgraded from a Lockheed Martin AN/TPS-77 to an INDRA LTR-25, housed within a new radome. As part of Programme HYDRA, the Ministry of Defence initiated a major upgrade in 2020 to install new communications buildings, radar towers, and perimeter security. The station is controlled by No. 1 Group (Air Combat) and operated by the Royal Air Force. Notable personnel who served here include Sir Bernard Lovell and Eric Eastwood.