The Domestic Site from the Air

The following pictures show a few shots of the Saxa Domestic Site from the Air. A couple of plans of the camp have also been included. I have tried to put them in chronological order but a certain amount of guesswork has been involved. I’m grateful to Bob Jenner who supplied some of the pictures.

 

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First Visit by AOC in C Strike Command – Oct 68

Strike Command was formed on the 1st April 1968 following the amalgamation of Bomber Command and Fighter Command. On 16 Oct 68 the first ever visit of the AOC in C took place. Air Marshal Sir Denis Spotswood’s RAF Pembroke was also the first aircraft to land on the new tarmac which had been recently laid at the Unst Airstrip. The visitor was met by the CO Sqn Ldr Jerrold (Jed) Le Cheminant (more usually known as “Chem”)
After a short tour around the Unit the AOC in C left 2 hours later. Sir Denis Spotswood was unusual in this period in reaching such high rank without attending Cranwell as a student. He went on to further promotion and was made Chief of Air Staff, becoming a Marshal of the Royal Air Force on his retirement. He died in 2001.

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Type 13

The Type 13 was designed during WWII and was introduced into service just before the end of the war. When RAF Saxa Vord was being planned it was envisaged that there would be up to 3 Type 13 Heightfinders and 3 separate sites were actually constructed to mount these radars. In the event only one Type 13 was installed.
It had a limited range compared to the Type 80 and was unable to operate in high winds but it was it was to be the only Height Finder for more than 20 years of Saxas operations. The Type 13 at Saxa was never to get a radome which made its wind limitations a frequent problem. The RAF must have purchased significant numbers of the various versions of this radar so that, unlike with some of the other radar equipment, spares seemed to be available fairly quickly. This was fortuitous as the Type 13 was damaged quite often by the elements.

The first 4 photos show the Type 13 as I like to remember it (working). Left click on pictures to enlarge.

In the pictures below I have included 2 photos of the exterior of the building which was used as the Type 13 Workshop and 3 photos showing the interior in the days after the Type 13 had been dismantled. These pictures were taken in 1983/84 when the building was being shared by the Coastguard and the Civilian Aviation Authority. I have included these pictures because the building may have more significance than most of the Type 13 operators and engineers realise. The building was probably built in 1941 as a blockhouse for the CHL (Chain Home Low) Radar site which was located at Saxa during WWII (thanks to Bob Jenner for this information).

The final photos show the Type 13 at the end of its operational life just before decommissioning. These pictures were taken just after the radar was damaged by high winds on on 16 Sep 78.

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Charity Events Part 1

During the life of RAF Saxa Vord many thousands of pounds were raised for charities with local, national and service organisations benefitting. It would be impractical to try to cover all the events involved in one section of the blog and so I have titled this Part 1 with the intention of adding more in the months to come.

The events themselves were sometimes organised by the station as a whole, sometimes by sections of the community such as the Cpls Club or the Wives Club and often by small groups of individuals who didn’t always get the recognition they deserved. In this section I intend to publish the small amount of material available on 2 events. If anyone wishes to be credited with the photos please contact me: gordon.carle@gmail.com

Chariot Race 1995. As part of the longest day celebration in 1995 it was decided to hold a Chariot Race from the Domestic Site to Burrafirth. The event was to raise money for the local charity “Care for Unst”

Triathlon 2002. By 2002 the service strength on the Unit had reduced to around 70 and this was a fairly ambitious project for a unit that size. On this occasion the idea was to raise funds for the Lerwick Branch of the RNLI – Royal National Lifeboat Institute. The pictures below include an extract from The Buchan Bronco – RAF Buchan was parenting Saxa at this time and the Unit was too small to justify its own magazine. The event is described and pictured below:-

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AOCs Inspection 1983 - Air Vice Marshal Ken Hayr

The AOCs Inspection in 1983 took place on 15 Jul and was carried out by AVM Ken Hayr CB CBE AFC RAF. Ken Hayr made a number of visits to Saxa - in fact he had been on Unst just 4 months before this inspection. The Station Commander at the time was Sqn Ldr Stewart Dorward. The first stage of the Domestic Site redevelopment had just been completed and the AOC and his wife formally opened parts of the new airmens accommodation. (Left click on the pictures below to enlarge).

The following article appeared in the edition of the Shetland Times dated 22 Jul 83:-

The story was also covered in the edition of the Aberdeen Press & Journal dated 27 Jul 83 - this was quite appropriate as the Stn Cdr  was an Aberdonian:-

Footnote - AVM Kenneth William Hayr

Ken Hayr had an interesting and distinguished career. He was born in New Zealand and joined the RNZAF before transferring to the RAF. He spent his earlier flying career on Hunters and Lightnings and went on to command 228OCU (Phantom Operational Conversion Unit) at RAF Coningsby. From there he went on to command 1 Sqn (Harriers). He considered this his best flying tour as the squadron had the opportunity to develop operating procedures and tactics for this new type of aircraft. In 1973 he was posted to RAF Binbrook (5 & 11 Sqns) as the CO and was able to increase his flying time on Lightnings.

Following Staff Tours and training courses he was appointed AOC 11 Group on 11 Aug 82 – he was the first New Zealander to hold this post since Sir Keith Park in the Battle of Britain. In 1985 he was posted to command British Forces in Cyprus and this was followed by 2 senior Staff appointments. He was involved in the planning of RAF operations in the Gulf in the early 90s before retiring in 1993.

After that he divided his time between New Zealand and the UK enjoying paragliding and parachuting as hobbies. However, flying remained his main interest and he was very active in the world of display flying whenever the chance arose. It was whilst flying a DH Vampire at the Biggin Hill Air Display in 2001 that he died aged 66. It is thought that the aircraft flew through the wake turbulence caused by a DH Sea vixen, which was taking part in the same display sequence. The Vampire went out of control – there was insufficient height to recover; both Ken Hayr and fellow crew member Jonathan Kerr were killed in the crash.

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