|
RAF Holmpton is a former Cold War era nuclear bunker that was built in the 1950s as an early warning radar station as part of the ROTOR Radar Defence Programme. Located just south of the village of Holmpton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, RAF Holmpton remained a part of the Defence Estate right up to 8 December 2014 when it was sold into private ownership after 62 years of military service. The site runs to about and comprises a number of surface structures along with a secure command bunker which is about below ground. ==History== The Bunker Design type R3-M2 (R3=Rotor Bunker Design R3 - M2=Including 2 additional mezzanine floors) was first built in 1951-3 and started life as an early warning radar station, part of the ROTOR program. An R3-M2 is a larger version of the standard UK R3 Bunker and RAF Holmpton was the only example of this type of structure in the UK as 1: It combined several Radar functions in the one building and 2: was a prototype for three similar bunkers built in Europe during the Cold War. The Bunker is set in an excavation of about , it is encased in of solid concrete all round with tungsten rods providing additional stability to the outer shell. The shell is then encased in brickwork and lined with pitch to form a waterproof membrane. Between the top of the bunker and the surface there is a concrete burster slab inserted to provide a deflection of any incoming ordnance. In the late 1960s it became a Master Comprehensive Radar Station trialling the Ericsson 'Fire Brigade Auto Intercept Radar System' and later going on to house a massive Elliott & Plessey computer system for the 'Linesman Radar Project' All Radar functions at the site eventually closed in 1974 and for the next few years the site was used for training. In the 1980s the Bunker was converted to form the new Emergency War Headquarters for RAF Support Command However with the ending of the Cold War in 1991 this function ceased and the site returned to training until 1994 when it was given a major refurbishment to become the first experimental (trialling) headquarters for the new UK Air CCIS system Electronic Warfare Advanced Communications System. This function remained at RAF Holmpton until 2002 although the CCIS Operations Room, known as AREA 7 remained intact until the end of July 2012. Throughout its years as a Radar Station and through the years of Support Command & CCIS, the site also contained an operations area for the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) and although the Corps was 'stood down' in 1992 with some ROC units remaining as NBC cells until the end of 1995, one last Monitoring Unit remained at RAF Holmpton until December 1997, during the planning and implementation of a new electronic monitoring system. This made RAF Holmpton the very last place in the UK where any members of the Royal Observer Corps ever served, and is a unique part of the site's history. In 1997 this project was abandoned and the site was then maintained under contract until 2003 by AQUMEN Defence. During this time it was used for occasional training by the RAF Regiment & the TA. In 2003 the site was leased for 25 years by the Ministry of Defence to RL(FRAFS)BLC Limited and the day-to-day management passed to HIPPO (The Holmpton Initiative Project Planning Office) By Late 2003 plans were underway for a public exhibition on the site which opened to visitors in 2004. In 2012 as a result of Government cutbacks and following a review of the Defence Estate the Ministry of Defence decided that the site was no longer required by the Air Force and the decision was made to terminate the lease and sell the whole site to RL(FRAFS)BLC who already held the original 25-year lease - During this period of transition the Public Visits continued to operate and the sale was completed on 8 December 2014. The last of the Guided Tours was held on 21 December 2014 and plans are now underway to close and completely refurbish the site during 2015 and Re Open it to Public Visits with a totally new visitor experience for Easter 2016. 1952 - Formerly known as Hodgkin's Fileds the Site was Purchased by the Air Ministry. 1952 to 1953: Construction. 1953 to 1974: Operating initially as a ROTOR later LINESMAN MEDIATOR Radar Station. 1974 to 1984: Used for Training. 1984 to 1991: Converted into a new HQ for RAF Support Command. 1991 to 1994: Used for Training. 1994 to 2001/2: Used as a test site for UK Air CCIS (Area 7). 2002 to 2003: Care & Maintenance under AQUMEN Defence. 2003 to 2004: HIPPO starts restoration Project. 2004: Public Exhibition Opens with Fully Guided Tours. 2007: The area around Hull was hit by extensive flooding and the bunker was severely damaged requiring some major restoration work. 2009: HIPPO completed its restoration works and all maintenance of the site passed to the Joint Support Unit. 2010: Public tour and exhibitions expanded into new areas with additional tours coming into operation. 2011: Further improvement works were completed for the 2011 Visitor Season. 2012: The visitor season closed (early) at the end of August to allow work to start on opening up areas of the bunker never before seen by visitors. 2012: The Ministry of Defence decide the site is no longer required by the Air Force. 2013: An entirely new PUBLIC TOUR opened, and for the very 1st time visitors were able to visit the long forgotten 'heart of the bunker' that once housed the original twin level 1950's operations room - The new tour also included the formerly secret 3rd floor of the bunker revealing for the first time AREA 7 where the test facility for UK Air CCIS HQ remained until 2012. 2014: The visitor season began on 15 February 2014 and it was soon apparent that due to increased popularity with the new areas now being accessible most of the tours were reaching capacity or overloading. It was clear that the operation of a single fully guided tour each day was no longer an option and that a new format would be needed for the future. 2014: On 8 December the Ministry of Defence Sold the site into private ownership bringing to an end 62 years of Military Service. 2015: Now under new ownership will be closed throughout 2015 to carry out essential works and a major refurbishment of the whole site to cater for increased numbers of visitors with a totally new visitor experience scheduled to re-open for Easter 2016 2016: Scheduled reopening - Easter 2016 with a totally new visitor experience. 〔Owner & Management Updates & Public Record Resources〕 〔Public Record Office Kew〕 〔Land Registry〕 〔Ministry of Defence & Defence Infrastructure Organisation〕 〔The Time Chamber〕〔English Heritage Archive〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「RAF Holmpton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|