Cold War Radar
An isolated bungalow near Market Deeping hides a legacy of the Cold War, an
underground radar control bunker with a protected operations room capable of
withstanding a nuclear blast.
The UK radar system was
run down towards the end
of the Second World War
but urgently overhauled
to bolster air defences
against nuclear and Cold
War threats under the
codename Rotor.
170 radar sites
were consolidated
to 66 sites. The
west coast had
surface bunkers
or semi-sunk
ones. The
distinctive
feature of
this east
coast
site
was
the
42
bungalow serving as access and
guardroom to the bunkers.
RAF Langtoft, also known
as RAF Market Deeping, was
originally a Class 2 night landing
ground for 90 Home Defence
(HD) Squadron operational at
Buckminster from August 1918
to June 1919. One location is
listed as one and half miles
from Deeping St James railway
station, another is on the A16
Stamford to Spalding road
between Frognall and Deeping
Common.
In WWII it became a Ground
Control Intercept (GCI) station
as part of RAF Digby Sector and
became operational in spring
1943 for fighter and searchlight
control.
Post World War II the station
was upgraded to its new radar
role and became operational
in summer 1953. The station
was only operational for a short
period of time and went into
Care and Maintenance in
summer 1958, before being
sold off.