Erection of the Type 80 Radome (Updated 10 Jan 15)

Following the bad gales at end of Jan 1961 it was decided that the Type 80 should be provided with a radome to protect it from the weather. Work on this began in early 1963. Obviously this meant that the Type 80 was off the air for a large part of the year.

The Type 14 was in use as a replacement and, although the performance was greatly reduced, the station stayed operational for most of the time. The Unit was involved in an incident towards the end of June 63 when assistance was requested by HM Coastguards who were trying to locate an overdue Norwegian ship – the Nesbakk, M-992-G. The ship was detected  on radar over 40 miles north-east of the site. An RAF aircraft and a surface vessel were directed to the vessel which had broken down. Eventually a Norwegian rescue ship took the Nesbakk under tow and escorted her safely to Alesund in Norway.

A  Norwegian firm was engaged as the main contractor but a number of local firms and people were involved in the construction. The first photo, taken from the air, shows the site at an early stage. The hut used by the contractors are marked with an arrow on the left-hand side of the picture. (Left click on photos to enlarge).

  The next sequence of pictures shows the progress of the building as shown in official photos.

 

 

 

 

 

As I said earlier, a number of local folk were employed on the project. One of them was Bryan Edwardson and I'm grateful to Bryan and his wife Beth for allowing me to use the next three photos:

The construction of the radome was completed on 25 Aug 63 and Flight Trials, which were held shortly afterwards, confirmed that the dome had very little effect on the radars performance. However, soon afterwards there were severe gales which damaged a number of the radome panels and the radar had to be taken off the air from 20 Sep 63. The Norwegian contractors had to be recalled to repair the radome and, once again, some local people helped finish the job. The gales also delayed the painting of the structure.  The next image shows where a couple of panels have been blown out and, workers can be seen scaling the ladder on the right-hand-side of the radome.

The Type 80 had to be kept off the air until 13 November whilst these problems were rectified.  An image of the completed, newly-painted radome in 1963,  is below:

 

For the outsider it is hard to envisage the scale of work involved but for the next 15 years the 90 ft circumference radome was home to the 18 ½ ton, 75 ft wide Type 80 scanner assembly. Two photos, taken inside the radome, follow:

 

Although the structure was eventually demolished and replaced, it was the first "golf ball" on Saxa and became a memorable landmark.

As the Unit was to confirm in the early 90's  – radomes don’t offer total protection from the Shetland climate!

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SSAFA Fun Day 2001

In 2001 a Families Fun Day was held on camp to raise funds for SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association, a service charity). At the time Saxa was not an independent station – it was known as RRH Saxa Vord (RRH standing for Remote Radar Head) and RAF Buchan parented the Unit, providing most of the services. The number of personnel had been reducing since 1999 and by this time there were under 70 servicemen and women at Saxa Vord. The base didn’t become an independent command again until 2004.

It was rather gratifying to see that many of them, their families and a number of local folk turned out in what appears to have been  rather poor weather and yet still have fun (Left click on photos to enlarge).

 

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AOC's Inspection 1992

In 1992 the CO was Sqn Ldr Nick (Flash) Gordon. The AOC 11 Group was Air Vice Marshal John Allison CBE, RAF. He seems to have an interesting CV. Although he spent a large part of his RAF flying time in Phantoms he is believed to be the last RAF Pilot to have flown a Lightning whilst in service. After retirement he has flown Spitfires, P47’s, P51’s & an Me109. He has also flown a number of old types in the Shuttleworth Collection and has been instrumental in the restoration of a number of others. He left the RAF in 1999 and spent a few years working for Jaguar Racing. More parochially his main claim to fame is as a chauffeur for me on one of the 2 back seat Phantom trips I had from 228 OCU at RAF Coningsby in 1976.
 

The photos below were all taken during AVM Allison’s visit. I have been able to title the AOC in C’s Commendation to C/T McCaffrey as the commendation could actually be read the in the original picture. I have no information about the award in the last picture and will happily title it if anyone can give me the information needed. (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

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Three Steps to Heaven (or Two Hundred & Twenty-one Steps to the Radar Heads)

The view from the top of Saxa was so spectacular that the MOD was kind enough to provide special access for the Tech/Eng Staff. An exclusive set of 221 steps were constructed so that they could enjoy their watches gazing at the panorama all around them. In the old days they were even allowed to use this route in inclement weather. The poor operators in the R101 – R10 never heard a complaint, well hardly ever – come to think of it some of the Techies were very ungrateful for the privilege they had been given. I have attached a few photos of this scenic highway to provide memories for those who used to use it (ie, the days when they were fit). (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

 

Following one or two light breezes and some attempts by the staff to imitate the birds and take flight, the authorities decided that the view should be ruined by providing a covered walkway. After that the route was only suitable for Station Commanders and children.

 

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The Type 80 is Off (Literally) - 27 January 1961

Most servicemen posted to Saxa remember “The Big Storm”. The funny thing is that they are often remembering different events. There was a bad storm whilst the radars were being erected and before the camp was opened. There was another one in 1961 which is the subject of this section. I have more information on damage caused by storms in 1963, the late 70s and again at the beginning of the 90’s. Once I have gathered enough data I hope to publish information on those events as well.

Towards the end of January 1961 the winds increased – no one knows what speeds they eventually reached, at that time the anemometer only went up to 100mph and it was certainly well over that speed for a long time. It was unsafe for personnel to venture outside. On the 27^th the T13 Height finder suffered major structural damage, one support fractured and the other was badly strained. The hinge broke and a number of reflector rods were torn out and loosened.

However, the event for which this date is most famous is the Type 80’s attempt to leave the site. The entire rotating assembly above the turntable broke away. The scanner caused damage to the motor platform and alternator room before coming to rest upside down a short distance away. If I remember correctly the T80 aerial measured 75 x 25 ft (about 23 x 8m) and must have weighed a considerable amount. The Type 80 was off the air until September and needed outside assistance and heavy lifting gear.

The much smaller Type 14 survived but it too had to have its antenna replaced in March. The Type 13 was repaired on site, coming back serviceable in February.

The Unit role was reduced to “Standby” until April with the Type 14 being used to cover RAF Buchan’s daily routine maintenance periods when the winds permitted. After April and a change of Type 14 Aerial the Unit returned to 24hr operations using the Type 14 but it’s performance was nowhere near as good as that of the Type 80.  Operational efficiency also suffered because the Type 14 was not used when the winds got above 25knots (not unusual at Saxa).

In those days occurrences such as these were treated with great secrecy – whilst the whole episode was common knowledge throughout Unst and beyond – there was no coverage in the media. Following the episode higher authority decided that the Type 80 should be housed in a radome.

Pictures of the damaged Type 80 are below: (Left click on pictures to enlarge).

  

 

          

 

CONTENTS LIST

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