Remote Radar HeadTrimingham or RRH Trimingham is a TPS-77radar station situated on the coast in the English county of Norfolk. The site is located on the coast road between Cromer and Mundesley, 1 kilometre east of the village of Trimingham. The radar station is a satellite station of RAF Neatishead. This radar station is controlled and maintained by a section of Radar Technicians and Operators and supported by a team of Ground Engineers. Trimingham provides extensive coverage of the East coast of the United Kingdom and helps contribute to the recognised air picture and defence of the United Kingdom. The type 93 became operational on the site in April 1997.
History
The radar station was established on the cliff top at Trimingham by the British Army in the latter part of 1941. It was used to detect German E-Boats and low flying aircraft and was then equipped with a CD Mk.4 radar. The station also operated as an Oboe Navigation Station. Oboe worked using two stations at different and well-separated locations in England to transmit a signal to a MosquitoPathfinderbomber carrying a radio transponder. The transponder reflected the signals, which were then received by the two stations. The round-trip time of each signal gave the distance to the bombers and guided them to their target. In April 1942, Trimingham was transferred from the authority of the War Office over to the Air Ministry. The site had now been installed with a Chain Home Extra Low /CD Type 54 radar on a tower. By 1945 the 'Oboe' equipment had been removed. In 1947 Trimingham was placed in the Northern Signals Area under No 90 Group. Between 1948 and 1949 the site was placed under care and maintenance. In January 1949 the site was re-activated and in 1950 was renamed No 432 Signals Unit. In June 1950 RAF Trimingham was selected to be a Centimetric Early Warning Station. Between this event and 1961 the radar station had various systems installed at the site and operated constantly as part of the UK’s ROTORearly warning systems until February 1964 when the site was mothballed. By 1965 the station had been largely dismantled and all the radar arrays had been removed apart from the Type 54 behind Beacon Hill Cottage but that had been removed by 1972. In 1981 RAF Trimingham was closed and the site had been sold and the guardhouse converted into a private house.
1980's to date
By the latter part of the 1980s the now Ministry of Defence decided to re-purchase the site. The RAF installed a MarconiType 91Martello radar acting as a Ready Platform for the UKADGE Series II Radar System controlled from the R3 underground control centre at RAF Neatishead. The guardhouse was converted into staff accommodation and offices and basic mess facilities. In May 1996 the Marconi Type 91 'Martello' radar at Trimingham was sold to the Turkish Ministry of Defence and it was replaced by what used to be known as No 86 Signals Unit, with a Type 93 that had been moved from Hopton when that base was closed. The Type 93 was originally a mobile installation, but at Trimingham it was fixed to a permanent mounting, due to constant cracking issues with the frame and mobile trailer. The Kevlon dome composed of irregular polygons erected around it and became known locally as the Trimingham golf ball. The Type 93 was replaced by the Type 101 radar, which was itself replaced by the TPS-77 radar which has increased capabilities to detect targets in the vicinity of the now prolific wind farms along the North Sea coast. According to Minister Philip Dunne, the TPS-77 radar at this station has reached Initial operation capability. Today the TPS-77 feeds constant data back to the Control and Reporting Centres at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland and RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. RAF Neatishead has now been downgraded to a remote radar head which is actually at Trimingham. Neatishead only being retained as the circuits from Trimingham pass through Neatishead.
Controversy
In November 2006, the station became involved in controversy when motorists on the coast road blamed the station for causing car engines and lights to cut out. Speedometer dials swung up to 150 mph as motorists drove past, and a local garage owner who runs the nearest garage at Mundesley, said he had dealt with 30 calls over a couple of months.
