# RAF Blackgang - Isle of Wight - Feb 08



## Urban Mole (Apr 27, 2008)

Visited with Pinky and myself, and was damn cold too.
A bit of history, dug up from various sources on the net;



> RAF Blackgang. Although official records contain very little about this station, RAF Blackgang had a crew of over one hundred, billeted in the village of Niton. It was a ground control interception station, and was equipped with a mobile rotating aerial. Its role was to report to fighter command with highly accurate up-to-date information on the enemy's exact local location. Using this information, Fighter Command was able to effect a closely-controlled interception of the enemy, which proved invaluable, especially at night.
> 
> It is possible that a 'tip and run' raid made by four FW190s on 1 June 1943 was aimed at destroying this radar station8. The raid destroyed the nearby Undercliff Hotel, where RAF and Army personnel were housed, perhaps under the impression that it was the radar operations room. The operations room survives today, where it is used as a cow shelter.


Taken from - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A612334






Google earth image showing the only existing building, and other foundations.



> RAF Blackgang was created to provide a Ground Controlled Interception function and used the Type 8F as shown below. The station was certainly working effectively by 1942 and operated entirely independently from nearby RAF St,Lawrence and RAF Ventnor. It is believed that a mobile CHL Type 2 was in use there in March 1943. The Type 8 provided heights by the beam splitting technique but a Type 13 was later installed to do that. In 1945 a Type 21 centrimetric radar was also in use and the station belonged to the Nether Wallop Sector Control, its parent station being Tangmere.








> The mode of operation was thus. Targets indentified by the various CH stations were 'filtered' and the location of suitable enemy subjects passed to a 'Sector Control'. They handed on the target to the GCI station most likely to have it in range. That station found the target on its own radar and called up a defending aircraft directly on the newly invented and highly effective two-way VHF radio. As the GCI could also see the fighter on it's radar the Controller could direct it to the target. Several fighters were allocated to work with each GCI station and often one or two would be in the air close by in anticipation of business. Some of our two-man nightfighters were equipped with their own short range radar so that they could conclude the interception, but in the early days it was far from perfect. The Type 8 radar could rotate through 360 degrees but did not turn continuously as it was 'powered' by two men operating a bicycle type drive mechanism within the cabin, and they would halt the cabin on the bearing of the target. Furthermore two Type 8 units were required as one transmitted and one received, so the two had to be kept exactly aligned on the same bearing and that was difficult in any worthwhile breeze.
> 
> A GCI operated on a 24 hour basis apart from a one hour maintenance period. Due to mounting losses the Germans sought out the locations of the GCI stations and by monitoring the transmissions they discovered by their regular hourly breaks when these maintenance sessions took place. On the first of June 1943 Blackgang was attacked during the maintenance period but the bombs were aimed at the nearby buildings in Niton and not at the equipment on the clifftop. Three Trinity House lighthouse keepers were killed and also two soldiers. All the RAF personnel were billeted in Niton and Sheila Barnard an LACW WAAF who was just leaving The Buddle Inn was, incredible though it sounds, brushed aside and knocked over by a horiziontally moving bomb suffering no worse than a severely fractured arm, the bomb exploding 200 yards further on.
> 
> ...


Taken from - http://www.ventnorradar.co.uk/RAFBlack.htm

Anyway, on with the pics;





The operations room, the only building left.















Cows use one end of it.





Hay and stuff kept inside.





The other end, bricked up doorway.





Foundations of the generator room, with plinths still in situ.





Closer...





Getting closer..





Close up.





More foundations, possibly a building with a toilet, as drainage was in the corner.

There was a few more foundations, but thats all thats left of this place, Im guessing much of it was destroyed by the current farmer, pity, seems like it was quite a big site in its day


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## Foxylady (Apr 27, 2008)

Very interesting history info, Mole. A shame there's not a lot left now. Enjoyed seeing your photos though. Cheers.


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## zimbob (Apr 27, 2008)

Look at that cow's eyes :icon_evil

Looks like there's a lot of stuff on the Island, must get down there again soon!


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## Foxylady (Apr 27, 2008)

zimbob said:


> Look at that cow's eyes :icon_evil



It's a Go'ald!


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## Neosea (Apr 27, 2008)

Foxylady said:


> It's a Go'ald!





Nice site with a lot of information, well done!


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## Urban Mole (Apr 27, 2008)

Thanks, I do try 

Hard to believe around 100 were stationed here, where were they all...


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## King Al (Apr 28, 2008)

Nice Pics + report UM, Love that island, like the archive shot


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## Black Shuck (Mar 20, 2009)

Cool site Mole. That cow was proper scary. I was over the IOW last year with the kids at the nearby theme Park.


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## huffhuff (Mar 20, 2009)

Wow, I fly at blackgang. Never knew this was here (I launch nearer Chale). Small world hey. Next time i'm there (next few weeks) i'll go equipped


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## Trinpaul (Mar 21, 2009)

Very informative  given the site's importance it's not surprising it was bombed.


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