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All the United Kingdom England Lincolnshire RAF Stenigot
RAF Stenigot is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

AO Edited

RAF Stenigot

A quartet of rusting satellite goliaths are all that remain of a communication network that protected Britain from German and Russian air strikes.

Lincolnshire, England

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bob xzx
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RAF Stenigot   http://underclassrising.net/ on Flickr
RAF Stenigot   jarad75
RAF Stenigot   jarad75
RAF Stenigot   jarad75
A photo of the Radar antenna from RAF Stenigot from the tower.   Kraft Kreator / Atlas Obscura User
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  Fragglehunter
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The log book you get to sign after climbing to the top of the RAF Stenigot tower.   Kraft Kreator / Atlas Obscura User
The Chain Home radar mast   Alistair Scott
A photo of the RAF Stenigot Tower from the base.   Kraft Kreator / Atlas Obscura User
Access to the site from the west   Alistair Scott
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About

A Royal Air Force Radar Station in operation between 1938 and 1955, RAF Stenigot was a vital piece of a communications network that detected German attacks during World War II and deterred Soviet air strikes in the years following.  But today the disused dishes simply rust away as enormous relics of wars gone by.

Originally built in 1938 as part of the "Chain Home" network, the station did not initially feature large dishes. In the beginning the site's main feature was an octet of aerial towers, four for receiving and four for transmitting. These were supported by some low-lying buildings and stood on large concrete pads. This initial installation was in place to detect and help intercept German air raids.

Once WWII ended, the site was retooled to serve as a NATO-run early warning station to warn of Soviet airstrikes. To this end, four huge, 60-foot-wide parabolic dishes were installed, replacing the towers. This new network carried the jaunty name, "ACE High," standing for "Allied Command Europe." While this newer version of the station performed well, the whole site was decommissioned in the 1980s, and by 1996 the entire station was all but dismantled.

Despite being decommissioned and taken down, some features still remain. The thick concrete pads that once supported the heavy aerial towers are still visible at the site as well as some of the original buildings, including a pillbox and guardhouse. One of the radar towers is also still standing and features a memorial at the top. The most impressive relics are the four parabolic dishes that have been taken down from their mountings and are simply rusting away in a field nearby. The site is managed by the Ministry of Defense, but the massive dishes can still be visited. 

Update as of May 2019: Three of four dishes on-site were dismantled in 2018. There is currently only one dish remaining.

Update as of March 2021: No dishes remain on site. All that is left are a few supporting beams. 

Related Tags

Military History Abandoned Cold War World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

The entrance gates are locked but access is possible by following the main road to the west of the sit. A few hundred meters further on is a public footpath which runs across a field. You can get to the dish from that path.

Community Contributors

Added By

bobxzx

Edited By

Bateleur, joearcher, rugby007, kokademus...

  • Bateleur
  • joearcher
  • rugby007
  • kokademus
  • obsidianurbex
  • tctracing
  • EricGrundhauser
  • Fragglehunter
  • Kraft Kreator

Published

November 25, 2014

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Sources
  • https://www.obsidianurbexphotography.com/other/raf-stenigot-radar-dishes-england/
  • http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/s/stenigot/
  • http://www.urbanghostsmedia.com/2013/11/abandoned-cold-war-radar-dishes-raf-stenigot/
  • http://www.abandonedplaygrounds.com/the-abandoned-tropospheric-scatter-dishes-of-raf-stenigot/
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Stenigot
RAF Stenigot
Manor Hill
Lincolnshire, England, LN11
United Kingdom
53.327, -0.116
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