RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

RAF · Cornwall · England · United Kingdom

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

CH = Chain Home was a set of radars that were started prior to WW2 and in 1939/40 covered the east coast of England, by 1945 they had been expanded to cover the whole of the British Isles. The radar was an early form and when switched on it lit up like a row of searchlights. A plane flying towards the light is shown up on a screen and direction, height and numbers could be read out. But as the planes fly over the aerials they cross out of the light and then it was the job of the Observer Corps (later Royal Observer Corps) who were situated all over the country would then report their sightings and passed them on to the RAF and fighters would be scrambled and sent to intercept the bogies.

Radar coverage in the Battle of Britain.
Red - 1939.
Yellow - 1940. — Radar coverage in the Battle of Britain. Red - 1939. Yellow - 1940.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

These are two plans of all the Chain Home stations around Britain between 1940 & 1945. The smaller plan is the 194 stations used in the Battle of Britain.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

This is the main site with two transmitters, two receiver blocks, admin area and aerial arrays.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Entering the site.

30 October 2005

Home Guard or the local infantry battalion would have protect the site in wartime

and RAF Police would protect the site post war.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Just inside the gate on the right is part of its side wall which would have been completely covered in earth.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Entrance to the receiver block.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Plan of the block made of reinforced concrete and covered in earth grassed over.

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Chain Home 18, RAF Trerew, Cornwall.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Main door. Important information on the door.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Entrance to the receiver block.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Inside the main room with the entrance on the right and the air conditioning/filter room through the door.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Gas was always a worry so a filtration plant was always fitted in.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Gas filtration plant and air conditioning. A view held in the National Archives in Kew.

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Ventilation plant.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Ventilation Plant

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. A ventilation fan Part of the ventilation plant..

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Receiver room.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Chain Home receiver room.

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. The small room.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Door to the toilets and small store. Note the glass in the door, this is a throwback from the RAF expansion scheme and was also used in decontamination buildings.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Back of the toilet passage door. All these bunkers were built and then fitted out with the electrical supply and equipment so that's why the wiring is run through conduit tubes.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Vacant.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Just when you need one its engaged!!

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Toilets.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. For coats and hats. All airmen and officers wore hats and in cold weather heavy coats so there would have to be a proper storage for them. Usually there was a hat shelf where the hats could sit.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver block. Underfloor ducting for cables.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Power generation. The whole camp would have been run off the local grid and if that failed these generators would cut in and take over.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Plan of a Standby Set House.

Plan

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Entrance

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Blast wall. The gap between the outer blast wall and the main building.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. An emergency escape out of the space between the blast wall and building. There were two of these in opposing corners.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Main entrance generator room.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Crossley Stand by Generator Set West Coast type.

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Details of where equipment was hung on the wall.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Overhead gantry to lift items.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Generator room.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Now the damp getting in.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Fuel tank store.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. The view across the countryside.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Standby Set House. Generator exhaust pipe.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Aerial bases. Four receiver and four transmitter towers.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

The two pairs of wooden aerials and two pairs of steel aerials. This set is situated somewhere on the coast.

Kew

RAF secret photo of a set of west coast aerials.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block plan.

Plan

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. The entrance

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Blast wall.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Main switchboard west coast switch board.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. West coast switchboard.

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Switchboard.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. British Foundry Engineering Co. LTD.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Central corridor.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Large cable ducts.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Fire extinguisher stand.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Essentials.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block.;

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

West Coast Type 'C' Receiver Block. Ventilation chimney at the far end of the building.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

A bridge to allow the roadway to go over the cable ducts.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

1942 establishment of a Chain Home station.

Kew

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. The tower is the high level water tank and a chimney for a boiler to heat the water.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. Temporary brick hut.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. Crittall steel windows.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. One of the rooms. It would have been painted in two colours, light colour above, green below and a dark green dado line running around the wall.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. Wooden base plate for a light switch.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. The fire places were often removed and re used in old houses.

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Ornate fire place, how it may have looked.

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings. Another pair of water towers.

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RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Administrative buildings.

30 October 2005

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Rose Cliston camping site. Just north of the admin site on the main road is the communal site. This was one of the communal sites. I know there was also a WAAF site as well.

Google Maps

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Rose Cliston camping site. Communal water tower and chimney.

Google Maps

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Part of the domestic site in 1943. Nissan and temporary brick huts.

Via Dave Pittock 1943

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Canteen after Christmas dinner 1943. The clock says 7.00pm and dinner is over.

Via Dave Pittock 1943

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Canteen after Christmas dinner. On the table HP sauce, vinegar, more sauce, sugar, ash tray and butter.

Via Dave Pittock 1943

RAF Trerew, Cornwall. Chain Home Radar Station No.18.

Sergeants Mess 1943. The photographer was Flight Sergeant George Pittock 929394 an electronics mechanic and he met and later married a WAAF Doreen Penny 2021614 and their son Dave sent these photos.

Via Dave Pittock 1943