Monument record MDO29694 - Second World War to post war VHF Fixer Station , Southwell, Portland

A Second World War to post war radar mast and enclosure, later developed into a VHF Fixer Station, is visible as a structure on aerial photographs of the 1940s to the south of Barleycrates track, Southwell. The site of Weston Very High Frequency (VHF) Fixer Station. This was one of a network of 57 stations established in England by the Royal Air Force. It was built by 1951 as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. The station operated under the command of Southern Sector as part of Fixer Organisation One and provided directional finding equipment, enabling fighter aircraft crews to receive positional data by transmitting a signal. By 1968 the site had been given over to agricultural use.

RADIO MAST. From site list with letter. Isle of Portland. Recorder- R. Perry. <1-3>

Very High Frequency (VHF) Fixer stations formed a network of 79 stations across the United Kingdom established by the Royal Air Force (57 of which were in England). They were built in the early 1950s as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. The stations were divided into thirteen Fixer Organisations and provided directional finding equipment, enabling fighter aircraft crews to receive positional data by transmitting a signal. <4> <7>

The VHF Fixer at Weston was located at SY 682 708. It was operational by 1951 and as of that date is listed as being operational for the foreseeable future. The stations in Fixer Organisation One of Southern Command included Carisbrooke (SZ 475 879), Bury (TQ 212 082), Bisham (SU 848 823), Pewsey (SU 184 574) and Sherborne (ST 637 190). <5>

Aerial photography from 1968 shows that the site is used for agricultural use. <6>

This is the site of a Second World War radio mast and the later Weston VHF Fixer Station and it is visible as a structure on aerial photographs of the 1940s <8> to the south of Barleycrates track, Southwell. The structures consist of a radio mast and another structure within a sub-rectangular enclosure. Two small buildings outside the enclosure and two trackways appear to also be associated with the site.

The components of the site appear to be the same on aerial photographs of 1946 and 1951 <9>, but is described as having been developed as a VHF Fixer Station by 1951. The site went out of use by 1968. VHF Fixer Stations were built in the 1950s as part of the Rotor programme to modernise the United Kingdom's radar defences. The stations were divided into thirteen Fixer Organisations and provided directional finding equipment, enabling fighter aircraft crews to receive positional data by transmitting a signal (see AMIE UID 1489624 for more details). This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset).

<1> Council for British Archaeology, 1995, Defence of Britain Project, DoB Non Anti Invasion Database UID 2565 (Digital archive). SWX5.

<2> Council for British Archaeology, 2003, Defence of Britain Project Database, DoB Non Anti Invasion Database UID 2565 (Machine readable data file). SDO128.

<3> Council for British Archaeology, 2006, Defence of Britain Project Archive DEB01, DoB Non Anti Invasion Database UID 2565 (Excavation archive). SDO17227.

<4> Dobinson, C S, 2000, Twentieth century fortifications in England. Volume XI.1. The Cold War, 41, 44 (Monograph). SDO18653.

<5> Dobinson, C S, 2000, Twentieth century fortifications in England. Volume XI.2. The Cold War, 164 (Monograph). SDO18654.

<6> Anderton, Michael J, 2000, Twentieth Century Military Recording Project: Cold War Rotor Stations, 45 (Unpublished document). SDO18655.

<7> Cocroft, Wayne D, and Thomas, Roger J C, 2003, Cold War: Building for Nuclear Confrontation 1946-1989, 109 (Monograph). SDO18652.

<8> Royal Air Force, 13-APR-1946, RAF 106G/UK/1411 4051-2 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13031.

<9> Royal Air Force, 17-APR-1951, RAF 540/457 4068-9 (Aerial Photograph). SDO13036.

<10> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1489624 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<11> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1413235 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jun 1 2023 11:32AM