WW2 RN "Y" Station at Southwold, Suffolk?

[G3VKM_Roger]

Hi All,

I know forum members like a mystery, so can I ask for suggestions as to the identities of the antenna arrays and equipment shown in photos of the Royal Navy Southwold "Y" station in 1944, which are available to view on the Imperial War Museum (IWM) website?

http://www.iwm.org.uk/search/global?...wold+Y+station

That link leads to a set of four pix of the watch-keeping huts and dropping the Y Station part of the link and searching on Southwold alone gave a number of antenna pix. There is also a photo of WRNS personnel repairing equipment. Sorry to use links but I'm sure the photos will be Crown Copyright.

The indoor IWM pix are somewhat over-exposed, the light from the windows has obscured a lot of the equipment but I can see a CR100 (maybe two), two, maybe more, Hallicrafters S27s, a possible SX-28, a possible AR-77 and AR88. There seems to be a patch panel and a lot of test gear around, possibly scopes and panoramic displays? Any ideas as to the purpose and bands covered by the caged array and dish antenna also appreciated.

A fellow VMARS member has done a lot of research on this station and has found that the main huts are still extant but the rest has been lost, mostly to coastal erosion. It is known that one of the site's targets was the German E-Boats that plagued the coastal convoys in the East Anglian area. These intruders were known to make use of VHF for their R/T.

Any ideas on equipment or info on the site are welcome.

73

Roger/G3VKM

[ms660]

I think the SX28 is definite.

Lawrence.

[G3VKM_Roger]

Yes, they have a "chrome" strip down each side, which the S27 doesn't have.

Roger

[ms660]

Yes the strips are near the top of the cabinet, on other models with those strips the strips are lower down.

Lawrence.

[gm0ekm cecil]

Hello Roger, I took this photo 5 years ago at Eshaness in Shetland, the brick superstructure is identical to the tower in the IWM photo on this link. There are a few remains of aerial foundations in the Eshaness area.

[G3VKM_Roger]

Hi Cecil,

Hope you're well? Yes, that wall does look the same as Southwold. I bet Eshaness was an unpopular posting, having been up there on a stormy day myself I can imagine the whole wooden top taking flight!

I've been sent a list of Y D/F stations and it shows 2 D/Fs at Sumburgh, established in 1939, both using Marconi receivers.

73

Roger

[gm0ekm cecil]

The WWII Air Ministry D/F station on Ward Hill overlooking Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands. A very good friend of mine the Late Andrew Halcrow GM3KZH was one of radio operators manning this station. The operators were all civilians seconded to the Air Ministry.

[G3VKM_Roger]

Cecil,

Was the T1154 behind the operator used to share bearing info with the rest of the network?

73

Roger

[Dave757]

Hi Roger,

Was this station located up at Easton Bavents? It's the only area of Southwold
that I can remember suffering coastal erosion. I was born at Southwold, and lived there
until the age of 7, so I wonder how long after the war the masts etc survived.

Kind regards

Dave

[gm0ekm cecil]

Originally Posted by G3VKM_Roger

Was the T1154 behind the operator used to share bearing info with the rest of the network?

Roger,

Looking at the original photo with a magnifying glass it looks like the band switch of a R1155 rx below the ops chin.

Cecil.

[ms660]

There's also a Tannoy loudspeaker to the right of the TX.

Lawrence.

[G8BBZ]

Hi,
A very interesting set of photos. The various antennas do pose some problems.
The photo of the octagonal building is the best shot I have seen of what seems to have been the standard RN VHF D/F installation. The octagonal brick lower section still survives at Rew Down Y Station on the IoW, as well as the Eshaness location shown in Cecil's photo. The wooden top housed a four square array of vertical dipoles which I believe were connected to goniometers and receivers in the lower part. In the early years the receivers would be the S27, but by 1944 there may have been other equipments in use.
The "Wigwam" photo is a puzzle to me. At first I assumed that the tent could only be a temporary structure, but on closer inspection I am not so sure. Whilst the roof is obviously canvas the walls look very smooth and straight, more like sheets of ply or somesuch. Also, it appears to be sitting on a concrete base. Perhaps an all wood building to avoid errors in D/F? The parabola antenna is a mystery - unfortunately I cannot make out any detail of the feed arrangement so can get no idea of frequency of operation. The antenna appears to be mounted on a spindle so may have been able to pan in azimuth. The whole antenna and mount sits on the canvas roof, again suggesting that there is some more substantial structure underneath.
The two masts are of a design not previously seen by me, again not temporary as the mast base and guys are set in concrete foundations. The mast nearest the wigwam carries a four square verical dipole array which suggests VHF D/F, the other mast appears to carry a horizontal dipole, though it may just be that the detail has been lost in the photo.
The "Special Aerial" photo appears to show two caged vertical elements of different lengths (if the spacing of the cages is to be trusted) and four further horizontal caged elements between the arms at the top of the tower. Then there are two side arms with vertical poles at the end, but too much detail has been lost to be able to say much more about these. The four horizontal elements arranged in a square could be a D/F antenna, the verticals perhaps being the "sense" element. There also appears to be a caged element suspended between this tower and the other adjacent to it.
The second tower adjacent to the watch hut has a vertical dipole on top, looks like very low VHF operation which would fit in with monitoring E-Boat R/T communications.
The overall photo of the site shows four towers seemingly arranged in a square beyond the watch huts. I believe I can just make out the cage spreaders of a caged element running between the towers. The square configuration would again suggest a D/F application, but the spacing is very large and normally the D/F hut would be in the centre of the square, so maybe these are just HF receiving antennas. I note that the ladies shown in the watch hut photos are clearly Intercept operators rather than D/F operators, so this Y statio seems to have served in the dual role.
A pity more info hasn't survived.
cheers
Peter G8BBZ

[Jon_G4MDC]

I'm laying my bets that the station was at Easton Bavents.

This picture http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205157761
was the clue.

I have been there - road suddenly ends with some ominous signs = go no further coastal erosion!
Under the end of the road viewed from beach are old pipes and cables which lead to what is now in the drink.

The block of cottages with 1+2 chimneys - is a clue. Sadly the white house, with a distinctive triangular end, has been in the drink for a long time now, I suspect.

The building closer to the camera, in the aerial farm, seems to remain.

See this...

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.34.../data=!3m1!1e3

[G3VKM_Roger]

Jon, (and David from Scratby)

You're correct about the location. If you use the date roll-back facility on GE you can see the site in 1945 when the RAF did a big aerial survey of the UK.

Regards


Roger/G3VKM

GE = Google Earth BTW

[G3VKM_Roger]

Peter,

Many thanks for that piece on antennas and it will help to build-up the info already gathered. I too was intrigued by the dish antenna, there may be some sort of azimuth motor below it.

The wigwams look a little like a portable shelter I came across in the early 70s whilst working for Decca Navigator on their HIFIX system. We were working with the RN, who provided "Uniports" to house equipment and accomodation for the techs, a metal sectional structure which was assembled and then covered with canvas. Being metal, though, they might be unsuitable for a D/F site?

I think in one IWM photo there are beehives next to a wigwam, implying the site might have been occupied for quite a while!

Regards

Roger/G3VKM

[m0cemdave]

There are actually a dozen pictures in that IWM sequence, if you know how to find them.

The direct links are:
http://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/517/225/large_000000.jpg
to:
http://media.iwm.org.uk/ciim5/517/236/large_000000.jpg

(the numbers from 225 to 236 will bring up the complete set of pictures)

[Jon_G4MDC]

Thanks for the tip that Google Earth has history that long.
I was just using present Google Maps from web.
Could be interesting.

[trh01uk]

I think there was another of those octagonal brick+wood structures on Garway Hill in Herefordshire. Reportedly erected by the RAF.

There's a picture of that one as it was at https://garwayhill.wordpress.com/201...f-garway-hill/

And 2nd photo down on this page: http://catterblog.blogspot.co.uk/201...g-sota_14.html shows what is left now.


Richard

[Radio Wrangler]

There's another complete Y listening station just NE of Cupar in Fife.

56.330021N -3.007492W on google Earth

This one was kept on through the cold war.

David