Ex-RAF Aerial Erectors Association Website

Places Past and Present.

RAF LEEMING

No. 90 Signals Unit.

Most of the RAF's Air Combat Service Support (Communications) Units are now located at RAF Leeming in Yorkshire. The Aerial Engineering Flight, No.1 Expeditionary Radar and Airfields Squadron moved from RAF Sealand in March 2006 where it became part of the Tactical Communications Wing, 90 Signals Unit.

No 90 Signals Unit riggers on parade.

The ERAS will be joined at Leeming by the remaining 650 personnel of the Tactical Communications Wing currently detached at RAF Brize Norton by the end of 2009 thus bringing the majority of the Aerial Erectors serving in the RAF together in one place.

Working in the Big Freezer.

A line of 16 share antennas at the British Antarctic Survey base Halley 2005.

During the Antarctic summer months, in recent years, the RAF has had a number of teams of Aerial Erectors on detachment to the British Antarctic Survey Bases to assist in improving communications. In the picture above, riggers from the Aerial Engineering Flight of 90 Signals Unit can be seen working on a line of 16 share aerials. The boom has been attached to the crane and is about to be lowered to the ground for servicing. Once the boom is removed, reducing the weight on the mast, checks are carried out on the bolts that secure the mast sections together looking for any metal fatigue caused by the severe weather.

Working in Afghanistan.

90 SU Riggers assembling a Radome.

A completed radome.

In the photograph on the left several riggers of a Fitting Party from the Aerial Engineering Flight, Tactical Communications Wing, 90 Signals Unit based at RAF Leeming can be seen assembling one of a number of radomes at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. In the photograph on the right, a completed radome can be seen with two rather battered older inflatable type radomes in the background.

Standing, left to right:- Cpl Scott Hughes, rigger, "Fish" (5001 Sqdn Techie), Sgt Paddy Fagan, rigger, Sac Rob Hall, rigger, Sac Steve Wills, rigger, Cpl John "Mitch" Mitchell, rigger.
Kneeling:- Cpl "Mick" (5001 Sqdn techie), Sac Lee Bolton, rigger.

More information about No. 90 Signals Unit can be found by using the link to the No. 90 Signals Unit Website on our links page.

Falkland Islands 1982.

Following the surrender of the Argentine Forces in the Falkland Islands in June 1982 a fitting party was assembled to establish permanent signals communications with the RAF Headquarters in the United Kingdom. The fitting party was tasked with building a transmitter site, a receiver site, airfield radar and a ground to air communications network to replace the temporary equipment of the Tactical Communications Wing.
In September 1982 the fitting party's team of aerial erectors was hastily gathered together from the staff at RAF Digby, RAF Henlow and RAF North Luffenham. The team was flown by VC10 to RAF Wideawake on Ascension Island and then by sea on board the roll on - roll off ferry Norland to Port Stanley.
A transmitter site was quickly established at Windy Ridge and a receiver site at The Canache. The receiver site was located on boggy ground and there were problems with the mast bases sinking into the boggy ground. No concrete was available but the difficulty was overcome by placing old cable drum sides on the ground and mounting the mast bases on them thus spreading the weight of the masts.

Windy Ridge Aerial Section.

The Rx Aerial Section at The Canache.

HF communications were quickly estabished with the Signals Centre at RAF Stanbridge thus relieving the pressure on the satellite communications links.
The team also carried out repairs to the gearbox of the AR1 radar unit and the TACAN unit was moved from its original tent into a re-cycled radome.

The radome under construction can be seen above with the airfield in the distance.
The corner of the tent which is housing the TACAN can be seen in the bottom lefthand side of the photograph.

Back row, standing, left to right:- Steve Linstead, Mark Tarr, Richard "Dick" Hogarth and Nick Chaitow.
Front row, left to right:- Dave Crooks, Tony John and Gordon "Jock" Hays.

RAF Chia Keng Receiver Site, Singapore

RAF Chia Keng from the air 1958.

RAF Chia Keng was the receiver site for Signals Centre based at RAF Changi which served the Headquarters of the Far East Air Force and also the Foreign Office.
RAF Changi also administered the RAF element of the Joint Air Traffic Control Centre at Paya Lebar (civil) Airport and the airfield on Labuan Island in the Crown Colony of British North Borneo, later (1963) part of the Malaysian Federation.
Many thanks to Brian "Sailor" Luttman for passing on the details of the RAF Chia Keng Receiver Station website run by the Late Derek Lehre in New Zealand. Derek passed away in April 2009 and the Website is currently being run by Ruck Nicholls. The Website has, with permission from Derek who also supplied the photograph, now been connected to our Links Page.

RAF Jurong Transmitter Site, Singapore.

RAF Jurong was the transmitter site for the Signals Centre of the Far East Air Force Headquarters based at RAF Changi. RAF Jurong was located in the south western part of Singapore Island and was linked to the Signals Centre at Changi and the Chai Keng receiver station by landline. Jurong and Chai Keng also served as relay stations in the Commonwealth Air Forces Network (CAFNet). Although Jurong was an outstation of Changi much of its administration was carried out by RAF Tengah which was the nearest major RAF airfield.

RAF Jurong transmitter building, 1963. Photograph courtesy Ex J/T Chris Meadows.

A view of part of the aerial farm with the buildings of Nan Yang University in the background, 1963.
Photograph courtesy of Ex J/T Chris Meadows.

Further information about RAF Jurong can be found by using the link to the RAF Jurong website on the links page.

Joint Air Traffic Control Centre, Paya Lebar (Civil) Airport, Singapore.

Joint Air Traffic Control Centre, 1961.

The construction of a new civilian airport for Singapore began at Paya Lebar in 1952 and it was opened in 1955. In the early 1960s the airport had to be enlarged due to greatly increased air passenger traffic and the communications systems at the jointly run (RAF and Civil) air traffic control centre were upgraded.
In July 1961 a team of riggers from the Aerial Installation and Servicing Section, Radio Repair Squadron, No.390 Maintenance Unit based at RAF Seletar erected four type 23 masts and associated eight-wire cage dipole aerials at the centre. In the photograph above the JATCC building can be seen in the foreground and the masts just beyond the building. To the right is a wooden post supporting several VHF and UHF aerials

Assembling the mast sections.

Tea break time.

In the left hand picture the mast sections are being assembled by riggers (left to right) Ian "Muscules" Mackay, Terry Russell and "Brummy" Baynham. Ian is standing on the end of a mast section to prevent it sliding while Terry is holding a wooden block in place to stop the end of the centre spigot from being damaged as Brummy hammers it into place.
In the right hand picture (left to right) riggers Terry Russell, Ian Mackay and "Brummy" Baynham are taking five. Note the large Thermos flask in the back of the Bedford 3tonner.

The riggers, seen above, constructing one of the eight-wire cage dipoles are, left to right, Terry Russell, "Brummy" Baynham and "Mac" McLeod. Terry is separating the eight copper wire elements and is about to insert one of the spreaders. A second spreader can be seen on the ground nearby along with a roll of 100lb per mile copper wire from which the aerial is being constructed. Two pairs of Strainers are being used, one pair to keep the elements under tension and the other pair to stop the picket being pulled out of the soft ground.The ends of the elements which will be used to connect up to the feeder ladder can also be seen curling down below towards the ground.
Further information on the construction and rigging of eight-wire cage aerials can be found on the Odds and Sods page.

RAF Labuan, British North Borneo.

Unit Headquarters & Administration building 1959/62.

RAF Labuan was located on the island of Labuan in the Crown Colony of British North Borneo. In 1963 British North Borneo was granted full independence from the United Kingdom and shortly after joined the Federation of Malaysia. The island was captured and occupied by Japan in January 1942 and recaptured by the Australian 9th Division in June 1945. RAF Labuan played an important role during the Confrontation with Indonesia.
RAF Labuan was under the administrative control of RAF Changi in Singapore. The airfield was run by the RAF who provided most of the airfield services.The servicing and maintenance of the radio equipment and associated aerials was carried out by the Radio Repair Squadron, 390 Maintenance Unit based at RAF Seletar in Singapore.The airfield was also an important operating and maintenance base for Borneo Airways.

RAF Labuan.

Signals Office and Commanding Officer's Office

All signals traffic between Singapore and Labuan was by morse code. The Signals Office and the CO's Office were in the same building seen on the left in the right hand photograph above. The deciphering and encoding of important messages was done in the CO's Office.

Pete and Jerry.

Jim and Jerry "talking" to Changi.

In the two photographs above the three wireless operators based at Labuan can been seen sending and receiving messages to and from the Signals Centre at RAF Changi by morse code.The receiver sets and morse keys can be clearly seen on the bench.

Transmitter Hut.

The Billets and a Mast type 34.

In the right hand photograph a 52ft Mast Type 34 is being lowered for servicing by a team of riggers from the Radio Repair Squadron, 390 Maintenance Unit. Once on the ground the mast, guy ropes and other fittings will be checked for corrosion. Any corroded parts will be replaced and the guys will be greased to protect them from the weather and the mast re-erected.

A row of ¼wave vertical aerials,Tx site.

An experimental wide band ¼wave vertical aerial.

The experimental wide band ¼wave aerial was designed by Flt Lt Sears. The array has six ¼wave elements each cut to a different frequency.
Further information on the construction of 1/4wave vertical aerials can be found on the Odds and Sods page.

Borneo Airways Dragon Rapide.

Borneo Airways Twin Pioneer.

Borneo Airways operated a number of services between small airfields and air strips in the region, such as Anduki, Bintulu, Brunei, Jesselton, Kuching, Keningau, Kudat, Lahad Data, Lutong, Ranau, Sibu, Sandakan and Tawau.

RAF DIGBY

The Aerial Erector School

The Aerial Erector School is to move from RAF Digby and to be relocated to RAF St. Athan under changes announced by the Ministry of Defence as part of the recent Defence Training Review. The move is expected to be completed by 2017. This will be the 4th time the Aerial Erector School has moved since its foundation in the Autumn of 1950.

In 1950 as part of a major training reorganisation being carried out throughout the RAF it was decided to institute a proper training course for Aerial Erectors. The former RAF Barrage Balloon Depot at Chigwell in the outskirts of London was already being used by the Central Trade Test Board and several radar calibration units including No 4 Ground Radio Servicing Squadron. The station had a number of suitable empty buildings plus the area used for balloon anchorages could be used to erect training aerials and masts and Chigwell was thus chosen to house the new training school. The redundant Chain Home Radar Station at Canewdon near Southend on Sea had several 360ft steel towers that could be used for testing selected airmen for their climbing ability and was only a two hour drive away from Chigwell.
The first school staff consisted of one Officer Commanding usually a General Duties Flight Lieutenant or Flying Officer, one Flight Sergeant (Chief Instructor), one Sergeant Instructor, two or three Corporal Instructors and a workshop/stores airman.
A twelve week course was devised consisting of instruction in aerial theory, fibre rope and wire rope handling, splicing, mast and tower erection, aerial construction, rough carpentry, soldering, feeder systems etc.
The first course commenced on Friday 22nd September 1950 and this initial course of 12 trainees passed out on the 16th January 1951. During the time the school was a RAF Chigwell 28 courses were held and 560 aerial erectors successfully trained.
In September 1956 the Aerial Erector School moved from RAF Chigwell to RAF Norton in Yorkshire. RAF Norton was another former barrage balloon depot located on the south side of Sheffield and the home of No 3 Ground Radio Servicing Squadron. The testing of selected airmen for climbing ability was then transfered to the former CH Radar station, RAF Stenigot in Lincolnshire.

The Aerial Erector School, RAF Norton, July 1959.

The school occupied the foremost of the long low buildings seen in the old photograph above and consisted of a workshop, classroom, stores room and two small offices. There was a number of aerials, masts and an open wire feeder system which were used of instruction located in the area of the former barrage balloon anchorages.

The staff at the Aerial Erector School in August 1959 comprised of:- Commanding Officer Flt Lt. "Bud" Abbott, Flt Sgt Alan Roberts, Sgt Dave Barrett and Cpl Terry Davis, Cpl Fred Holden, Cpl Roy Pullinger, Cpl "Jeep" Jones and Cpl "Eddie" Edwards.

Left to right:- Instructors Sgt Dave Barrett, Cpl Fred Holden and Cpl Eddie Edwards outside the classroom August 1959.

Instructor Cpl Jeep Jones August 1959.

Instructor Cpl Roy Pullinger August 1959.

The Aerial Erector School remained at RAF Norton until the 10th September 1959 when it moved to its present location, RAF Digby. Climbing tests continue to be carried out at RAF Stenigot.
During its stay at RAF Norton 532 trainees passed through the school, of which 314 successfully completed their training as aerial erectors.

The Aerial Erector School Staff 2008.

From left to right,
Front row:- Sgt Stuart Gibson, Sgt Darren "Charlie" Shann,  Sgt Tony Donaldson,  Flt Sgt Mark Davidson,
Sgt John Summerson,  Sgt Tony Tyrer.
Back row:-   Cpl Graeme "Santa" Walker,  Cpl Paul Topping,   Sac Adam Neary,   Mr Carl Hill,
Cpl Pete Glassman,  Sac Rhys Griffith,   Cpl Carl Knight.  Seven other members of the staff are not in the photograph.

The Aerial Erector School, as part of the Defence College of Communications Information Systems through No1 Radio School at RAF Cosford, is primarily responsible for conducting Basic and Further Training Courses for Trade Group 4 (TG4) RAF Aerial Erectors. They also provide specialized training courses in Climbing Aptitude, Scaffolding and Climbing and Working at Height to meet the requirements of Defence Estates Safety Rules and Procedures for Working at Height on Restricted High Places (SRP WaHRHP).
The school is also one of the few specialist- training providers to offer an in-depth course in Advanced Fibre Optics, which includes both Single and Multi Mode Fibre systems. In addition to military personnel, the school is able to train civilians drawn from a wide variety of commercial companies, many of who require their job applicants to be graduates of the school.

RAF Stenigot

Stenigot 360ft Tower in 1958.

Stenigot 360ft Tower in 2003.

The Aerial Erector School at RAF Digby is now under the command of the recently formed (joint services ) Defence College of Communications Information Systems. The Aerial Erector trade has moved from RAF trade group 5 into the RAF trade group 4, the new Communications and Information Systems trade group. Stenigot has had a face lift with the investment of £50,000 into the training facilities at the site. Brigadier John Terrington opened the new training facilities and Ft.Lt. Grahame Cooke took over the new training area on behalf of the school.

The new training facilities being inspected by members of the Ex-RAF Aerial Erectors Association during the 7th Reunion visit on the 17th October 2009.

Stenigot opened in 1940 as part of the Chain Home Radar network and played an important part in the defence of the country during the war. The site was made redundant by advances in radar technology following the end of the war. All the wooden receiver masts have been demolished and only one of the 360ft. steel transmitter masts remains standing on the site and it is a grade 2 listed building.

In 1959 Stenigot was one of five sites within the United Kingdom selected for the establishment of the Ace High NATO communications network. The Ace High network was finally abandoned early in the 1990s and all the equipment removed except for the dishes which are still on the site. In 2008/9 the buildings associated with Ace High were demolished.

The one remaining CH tower has been used for height training and testing of personnel since the Aerial Erector School moved to RAF Norton in Sheffield in 1956 and it then continued to be used by the school, now at RAF Digby, to the present day. Personnel of all three services and MOD civilians now receive height training for a variety of jobs, not just aerial erecting, at the school.
An Aerial Erector School spokesperson stated to the RAF News that "Working at height is a specialist field that needs special qualities which HAVE to be tested before acceptance into the RAF (for training as aerial erectors). Only 33% of the population can climb at height and of that 33%, only 33% can CLIMB and WORK at height".

RAF GIBRALTAR

The RAF transmitter site at Middle Hill has now been closed down.

The early 1950s transmitter site was at North Front and housed a number of Marconi SWB8s with a smaller transmitter site housing about six 1509s and a pair of SWB8s at Middle Hill.

Middle Hill Tx site in the distance, 1955.

The Middle Hill Tx Hall entrance, 1955.

Thanks to ex-J/T Chris Meadows who supplied this information about the early 1950s and kindly gave permission to use the two photographs seen above.

The Middle Hill transmitter site was re-constructed and refurbished in 1958 along with the Rock Gun receiver site.
The site was fitted out by No.9 Radio Fitting Party from the Ground Radio Installation Squadron ( known as the Gypsy Squadron ) of the Radio Engineering Unit which was a lodger unit at RAF Henlow.
The fitting party included a team of eight aerial erectors led by the late Sgt Ron "Spike" Law. One of the riggers, Darrell Whitham, took the photographs seen here.

The Middle Hill Tx site seen in the photograph above in 1958 when the construction of the buildings was almost complete.
All the radio equipment was installed by the fitting party Ground Wireless Fitters and Mechanics and all the aerials and associated cabling by the team of riggers.

The Transmitter Hall can be seen in the photograph above during the installation process. Note the work benches and tables made from the wooden packing cases in which the equipment was transported from the UK to the site.

Riggers installing the UHF and VHF aerials on one of the 90ft Wooden Towers at the Rock Gun Rx Site.
Following the closure of Middle Hill and its associated sites there are no riggers permanently based at RAF Gibraltar, lately RAF North Front, and all the signals traffic is now civilianised.
RAF Gibraltar/Gibraltar Airport continues to be managed by the RAF who look after all the incoming and outgoing air traffic including all the civilian airline flights.
There are no RAF aircraft currently stationed at Gibraltar and the remaining fifty or so RAF personnel handle all RAF aircraft in transit and form part of the Combined Forces Unit in Gibraltar.

In Memoriam.

Aerial Erector (2473869) Dennis "Billy" Bowes.
Killed while working on the aerial farm by a rock fall on 15th December 1969.
We will remember him.

Signals Centre, RAF Negombo, Ceylon - Sri Lanka.

With the withdrawal of most of the British Forces in Ceylon following Independence from the United Kingdom it was decided to move the HF receiver site located at Gangodawila into the perimeter of RAF Negombo. The HF transmitter site located at Ekala could not be moved into Negombo for technical reasons.
In 1957 No 1 (Ceylon) Radio Fitting Party from the Ground Radio Installation Squadron of the Radio Engineering Unit commenced the construction of the new HF receiver aerial farm alongside the Signals Centre. RAF Negombo was situated within a vast coconut plantation and many trees had to be felled to allow the erection of the masts and aerial arrays.

Site clearance in progress

The guyed masts used were old ex-Army Mast Type 35A's. These masts were composed of three cigar shaped sections and could be assembled to give three different heights, 92ft high, 97ft high or 102ft high depending on the length of the central spigot used. However the standard size used by the RAF was the 97ft version. The mast sections were joined together with a universal joint between each section of the mast. The masts were erected using a derrick (which was a spare mast section ) and lifting tackle.

Raising the derrick.

Mast ready to be erected.

The photograph above on the left shows the Derrick being raised into the upright position and the photograph on the right shows the mast with the derrick raised into position ready to erect the mast. Great care had to be taken when moving about the site as the tree stumps had not been removed.

Collapsed mast.

Post Mortem Time.

The photograph on the left shows a mast which collapsed while it was being erected. The mast was almost upright when it fractured, one section remains standing and other two sections fell narrowly missing the riggers who were hauling it up. The photograph on the right shows the remains of the mast on the ground after the remaining upright section had been lowered to the ground. The crew were about to dismantle the wrecked mast to recover all the undamaged parts and the post mortem was about to start.

Some of the riggers, left to right,
Back row:- Baz White (RFP), Brian "Sailor" Luttman (RFP), Cpl. Andy Plain (S Cen) Cpl. Eric Underhill (RFP), Bob Betts (GWMech RFP).
Front row:- Sgt Roy "Hank" Henderson (RFP), Cpl Paul Bennett (RFP), Chris Cook (S Cen),
Johnny Barker (RFP), Sgt. Alan "Ginger" Swalwell (S Cen).

Once the masts were erected the "Fish Net" aerial arrays were built and the open wire feeder lines were installed and connected up.The fitting party technicians installed all the new receiver facilities and the new system became operational. The go-ahead was then given to close down Gangodawila.

Signals Centre, RAF Negombo 1957.

The Signals Centre seen here in late 1957, two of the newly erected masts can be seen behind the building. On completion of the aerial farm the fitting party riggers volunteered to assist in the demolition of Gangodawila. When that task was completed the Fitting Party was re-designated as No.1 (Singapore) Fitting Party and flew to RAF Changi.

More information about the Mast Type 35A can be found on the Odds and Sods page.

R.A.F. Ekala Transmitter Station, Ceylon - Sri Lanka

RAF Ekala was the transmission site for the Signals Centre at RAF Negombo, later RAF Staging Post Katanayake and was located several miles from Negombo beside the Ja-ela to Miniwagoda road. The camp was self-contained and staffed by 35 to 40 men and was administered by the Signals Centre. Most of the staff were radio technicians working shifts to provide and maintain the 24 hour radio relay link with the United Kingdom, some 5,000 miles away. The station was also part of the Commonwealth Air Forces Network (CAFNet) which provided world wide signals relay connections to many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kenya, Aden, Cyprus, Malta, Canada and the United States.
A small team of aerial erectors maintained the huge aerial farm which surrounded the camp and extended beyond the site into the neighbouring cinnamon plantations. There was also a number of RAF Police dog handlers, a cook, two assistant (local) cooks, a fireman and a Royal Signals signalman.
The domestic site was located adjacent to the road in one corner of the camp. It consisted of two barrack rooms, two short rows of NCO rooms, a cookhouse/dining room, a small club house with a bar and a small bungalow for the CO.

A view of the Domestic site.
Watch workers billet to the rear and Day workers billet to the right. The latrine and shower building is behind the Day workers billet and the cookhouse/dining room is off the picture to the left.

A number of the married personnel lived off camp in hirings.
The unit transport consisted of a 3 ton lorry, a Standard Vanguard Utility car and a small fire engine.

The Ekala Express.

The Ekala Fire Tender.

The Transmitter building was located in the centre of the site with the electricity generating plant nearby. The Tx Hall housed all the transmitters plus several workshops and the administration office.The aerial farm consisted mainly of three wire Rhombic HF aerials fed by a open wire feeder system. The telephone network on camp and between the Signals Centre and the Receiver site at Gangodawila was maintained by the Royal Signals 19th Air Formation Squadron.

Tx building as seen from the south.
Note the double bank of lead-in insulators.

RAF Ekala was originally built in the 1940s but was greatly enlarged in the early 50s to cope with the increased signals traffic to and from the Far East created by the removal of all the British Forces from India and Pakistan. Once RAF Gan and the Hittadu transmitter site became fully operational most of the signals traffic was transfered there.
The base finally closed down in 1961 when the last British forces left Sri Lanka. The base was handed over to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces who still use Ekala for training service personnel but it no longer operates as a radio station.

R.A.F. Gangodawila Radio Receiving Station, Ceylon - Sri Lanka.

RAF Gangodawila was the receiving station for the Signals Centre at RAF Negombo in Ceylon. Following Independence from Britain RAF Negombo became known as RAF Staging Post Katanayake.
Below is a photograph of RAF Gangodawila in 1957 as seen from one of the aerial masts prior to the camp closing down.

Viewed from left to right:- RAF Police Dog Kennels, Rigger's Workshop, a Mast Type 32 (known as Snow White), the latrine block(in foreground), Receiver Hall - Accommodation - Office building (Note the watch tower on the roof), the camp flag pole and the Guardroom. A Bedford 3 tonner and a Vanguard estate car can be seen in the camp. In the far background the camp boundary is marked by local housing and the bus to Colombo passing along the road.

In 1957 a new receiver aerial farm was constructed alongside the Signals Centre at Katanayake by the riggers of No 1 (Ceylon) Radio Fitting Party from the Ground Radio Installation Squadron, Radio Engineering Unit based at RAF Henlow assisted by the Signals Centre riggers. The technicians of the fitting party installed new radio receivers within the Signals Centre. Once the new receiver site became operational, the aerial farm was handed over to the Signals Centre riggers. The fitting party then dismantled RAF Gangodawila.

Some of the Demolition team at Gango.
Top row:- Brian "Sailor" Luttman (RFP).
Middle row, left to right:- Keith "Chick" Denson (Sig Cen), Cpl. Paul Bennett (RFP), Alan "Petal" Daley (Sig Cen),
Cpl. Norman "Norrie" Barker (RFP), Sgt. Alan "Ginger" Swalwell (Sig Cen).
Front row:- Johnny Barker (RFP).

There is a very interesting website run by Tony Cunnane featuring this RAF Receiver Station and much more including extracts from his diaries written during his stay there.

Signals Centre, Hong Kong, RAF Kai Tak.

Map showing the location of RAF Kai Tak, 1958.

RAF Kai Tak occupied the area to the north east of the main runway which runs from the north west to the south east of the map and the camp extended beyond the end of the runway almost as far as the dark hatched patch. The approximate position of the Transmitter and the Receiver Sites are marked on the map. The Signals Centre was located in the Station Headquarters Building which is in the cluster of buildings below the Rx site marker. The civilian airport occupied the area on the left of opposite RAF Kai Tak. The new runway, then under construction, can be seen extending out into Kowloon Bay at the bottom left of the map.

Transmitter Building from 90ft tower.

The Transmitter Buildings.

The Transmitter buildings, seen above, consisted of a pair of nissen huts linked together by a short nissen tunnel forming a 'H' shaped building. One of the huts was almost entirely filled by two rows of SWB and VHF transmitters with a small space in which sat the duty controllers desk. The other nissen hut contained a toilet, small kitchen and the radio repair and aerial riggers workshops. Nearby was a shed containing the standby electricity generator. A ex-USAF UHF trailer was squeezed in between the nissen huts containing a pair of UHF transceivers.
The buildings were surrounded by a densely packed aerial farm comprising mostly of 78ft type 23 masts supporting two and three wire rhombic and eight-wire cage dipole aerials. There were two 90ft wooden towers with VHF and UHF aerials attached and both towers had warning lights mounted on top. All the masts were painted in red and white to make them more visible as they were very close to the runways of the airfield.
The RAF Police dog kennels can be seen in the top right corner on the left photograph.The rural area across the main road is now densely packed with skyscrapers and the road is a dual carriageway.

RAF Kai Tak as seen from one of the 90ft towers.

The water tower which stood near the Station Headquarters can been seen on the left in the distance. The main runway is to the right. Some of the accommodation nissen huts which included the NAAFI and Cpls Club are in the centre of the picture. Part of the aerial farm and the emergency generator shed are in the foreground. The Sgts Mess and some Airmens Married Quarters are on the right of the picture.

NAAFI and Beer Garden 1958

Station Headquarters and Signals Centre 1958.

The NAAFI seen here in the left hand photograph was a very spartan place with the usual 1950s NAAFI formica and steel tables and chairs. Its redeeming factor as far as riggers were concerned was the price of the beer, a pint of draught Tiger Beer cost just 45 cents. A night out normally started in the NAAFI drinking the cheap Tiger until closing time at 22-30hrs. Then it was out the camp gate and catch the bus down to Nathan Road and the bars and clubs of Kowloon. Here the RAF had a distinct advantage as they could stay out all night. The Army personnel all had to be back in barracks by midnight.
The Station Headquarters seen in the right hand photograph with the Post Office in front of it on the right. The Signals Centre was located in the SHQ. There were several VHF aerials located on the nearby water tower and a HF three wire folded dipole was rigged between the chimney stacks for emergency communications. The Signals Centre Aerial Erectors consisting usually of one Cpl and three Sacs were based at the Transmitter Site and were responsible for the maintenance of all the various Aerials at the Tx and Rx sites. They also serviced the aerials at Sek Kong airfield and the Army airstrip at Sha Tin in the New Territories. Later the servicing of the aerials of 117 Signals Unit was added to their duties when the new radar station at Tai Mo Shan commenced operations.
Further information on the construction and rigging of three-wire folded dipole, eight-wire caged and rhombic aerials can be found on the Odds and Sods page.

RAF Kai Tak from the Receiver Site 1958.

The old runways from the Rx site.

These two photographs were taken from one of the towers of the Receiver site. In the foreground of both pictures the tops of several towers can be seen by the Officers Mess buildings. In the left picture the MT yard and workshop is in the centre with the Marine Craft Unit with its flying boat anchorages and the Yacht Club across the end of the runway by the waters edge. In the distance out in Kowloon Bay the new runway can be seen under construction. In the picture on the right some of the Barrack Blocks can be seen as well as both runways, the main runway is running left to right across the picture. The Civilian airport buildings are in the distance, top centre of the runways.
The new runway under construction opened in 1958 and has now been superseded by the Chek Lap Kok airport which opened in 1998.
Further information about Hong Kong's airports can be found on the Batjung website www.batgung.com/kai-tak-airport-history. The book "Mapping Hong Kong" has many useful maps and plans.

RAF Tai Mo Shan. (Project Cabbage Leaf.) 1957-58

Project Cabbage Leaf was the construction of a new radar station at Tai Mo Shan in the New Territories of Hong Kong to replace the aging Mount Davis radar on Hong Kong Island. The project was carried out by No2 (Hong Kong) Radio Fitting Party from the Radio Engineering Unit at RAF Henlow assisted by personnel from the Signals Centre, Hong Kong and 117 Signals Unit, Mount Davis. The construction of the US supplied FPS 6 and FPS 8 Radar equipment was supervised by staff from a Communications Construction Squadron of the United States Air Force based at Clark Field in the Philippines.

In the photograph above the partly completed FPS 6 tower can be seen on the left and the FPS 8 tower to the right. In the foreground are the kitchen, mess and administration tents and the Bedford 3tonner which transported everyone to the site each day. The jib of the Coles crane used to lift the girders into place can be seen through the framework of the "8". The ramshackle huts in the centre belong to the civilian contractors who did all the groundworks on behalf of the MPBW. All the steelwork etc was delivered to the site from Kai Tak by two short wheelbase Bedford tipper lorries which were the only vehicles able to negotiate the hair-pin bends on the track up the mountainside without shunting.

FPS 8 (Arctic).

FPS 6 (Arctic).

In the lefthand picture above, the steel framework for the FPS 8 is almost completed and the crane is about to move down to the lower level. In the righthand picture the FPS 6 has had the outer cladding, doors, windows and the catwalk fitted. The equipment lifting gantries are in place. The crane can be seen in the bottom left corner where it came to rest after the brakes failed as it was being backed down to the lower level. Fortunately no-one was injured in the accident.

The Tai Mo Shan Construction Team 1958.

Left to right - Standing:- Slim Greenslade, Ground Radar Mechanic(Radio Fitting Party). - Cpl Eddie Edwards, Aerial Erector(Signals Centre, Hong Kong). - Bert Faraday, Ground Radar Fitter(RFP). - Cpl Johnny Johnson, Cook(RAF Kai Tak). - Ernie Heagren, Ae/E(RFP). - Bennie Fox, Ae/E(SCHK). - Curly Chalcroft, GRM(RFP). - Frenchie Smith, Ae/E(RFP). - Lennie Newbit, Ae/E(RFP). - Brian Smith, Ae/E(RFP). - Hank Wilkinson, GRM(RFP).
Seated on bench:- Cpl Willie Wilson, Ae/E(RFP). - Sgt Dutch Holland-Merton, (RFP). - Flt Lt. Phillipson, (RFP). - Tech Sgt Fred King, USAF.
Seated on ground:- Cpl Jim Cook, MT Driver/Crane Operator (RAF Kai Tak). - Meatloaf Deegan, USAF. - Tex Solgerner, USAF. - Curly Cohen, GRM(RFP).
Four people are missing from the photograph, Jock Ritchie, GRM(117 Signals Unit). Jock Monroe,Cook,who later replaced Johnson(RAF Kai Tak) . Brummie Dudley and Albert Strong, Ae/Erectors(SCHK) who were on standby duty at the Tx site, RAF Kai Tak.

Operations Block under construction.

The new guardroom.

In the left photograph above the construction of the Operations/Administration building has commenced. Across the road, tracks lead round the mountain to old observation posts facing the border with China established by the British Army prior to the Japanese invasion. During the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong the Japanese Army built a crude radar post on the mountain which is thought to have been destroyed by Allied bombing in 1945. The various tracks on the summit were used by the RAF Regiment(Malaya) to establish a barbed wire perimeter around the site. They also built a sandbag guard post which was replaced by a proper guardroom as seen in photograph on the right. The RAF Regiment laid a field telephone cable to another guard post at the base of the mountain where the track joined the Twisk Highway and it was used to control the traffic using the rough narrow track up to Tai Mo Shan.

Twisk Junction Guard Post.

The new access road.

In the left hand picture the RAF Regiment(Malaya) guard post at the junction of the track and the Twisk Highway can been seen and in the background are rows of tree seedling in a Forestry Department nursery. On the right, the new, shorter, surfaced access road to replace the old rough meandering access track up the mountain to the site can been seen under construction in the distance.

The completed FPS6 and FPS8 Radar Towers as seen in 1973. Photograph courtesy of Cliff Dawes.

RAF Sek Kong Airfield as seen from Tai Mo Shan on a cloudy day.