THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AT HAWK'S TOR

Words and photograph Mike and Andrew Passmore

The armed forces have had a long association with Dartmoor from the 19th century, through the troubled years of World War II, to today. The presence is controversial, and there are frequent calls from some bodies for the military to leave the National Park, while others recognise the need for training areas and the contribution to the local economy.

Military activities often leave visible remains. Some can be readily identified; others are less obvious. Redundant aircraft dispersal pens at the former RAF Harrowbeer at Yelverton and the target railway on the northern moor are among those that fall into the former category, while traces of one-time buildings such as those at Sharpitor can be somewhat enigmatic. Even these reminders of military training or enterprise are often contentious; some seek their removal as scars on the landscape, while others wish them to be preserved as important features of Dartmoor’s rich and varied heritage.

This article will not enter ‘military on the moor’ debate but will briefly outline the findings of recent historical and archaeological research into the vestiges of military occupation below Hawks Tor, on southern Dartmoor, for here was a small, but important, RAF station during the early part of World War II.

Eight substantial concrete plinths on the hillslope below the tor have possibly puzzled many a visitor to the area, as no doubt have the adjacent footprints of former structures. Guidebooks provide no clues, and little documentary evidence as to their significance exists. Until recently, the remains have been the subject of limited interpretation and, once thought to be the vestiges of an anti-aircraft battery1, the features have since been correctly identified as those of a one-time radar station2.

Now a detailed analysis of the site has been carried out by the authors of this article and the results are included in a recently published book that presents the history and archaeology of the 12 permanent RAF air-defence radars stations in operation in Devon during World War II and those active during the subsequent Cold War era.

RAF Hawks Tor came into being in May 1940, a crucial link in Britain’s early World War II air-defence network, being in existence at the time of the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940).
The development of radar came about as a result of political concerns in the 1930s when Germany began to re-arm and to re-form its air power. Following a successful demonstration at Weedon, near Daventry, when echoes from the transmission of radio waves over a given search area indicated the presence of an aircraft, research was undertaken at first at Orfordness and then at Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk, resulting in the setting up of a number of early-warning, high-looking radar establishments along the east and south coasts, known as Chain Home (CH) stations. Later, for operational reasons, developmental work transferred to Dundee, then to Worth Matravers in Dorset and finally to Malvern in Worcestershire. The radar network itself was extended to other parts of the country, including the southwest.

Among other systems that formed the WWII radar network were: Chain Home Low (CHL) – to detect aircraft flying below the detection capabilities of the CH system; Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL) – for very low-flying aircraft; and, later, Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) – a system that could control RAF fighters and place them in contact by day and by night with an invading force. Army Coast Defence/Chain Home Low (CD/CHL) radar, capable of seeking out both low-flying aircraft and surface shipping, was also taken over by the RAF. All such radar categories were located at various sites in Devon during World War II, and beyond in some cases.