Monument record MDO47677 - Second World War Coastal Defence/chain Home Low Station M73, West Cliff, Portland

The site of a Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low (CD/CHL) radar station at West Cliff. It was built by the British Army to monitor shipping and aircraft during the Second World War. CD/CHL sites opened from 1941 and comprised a brick or concrete operations block with an aerial gantry mounted on the roof and a separate standby set house for the reserve power. Staff were billeted where possible, but some stations had a small layout of domestic hutting situated within one mile of the site. Aerial photography from 1968 shows that the station had been removed and the site was used for quarrying.

RADAR STATION. From site list with letter. Isle of Portland. RAF Westcliff. Recorder- R. Perry. <1-3>

A Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low Station located at West Cliff (SY 683 726), called site M73. Coastal Defence/Chain Home Low (CD/CHL) radar stations were operated by the British Army to detect shipping and aircraft. CD/CHL sites opened from 1941 and comprised a brick or concrete operations block with an aerial gantry mounted on the roof and a separate standby set house for the reserve power. Staff were billeted where possible, but some stations had a small layout of domestic hutting situated within one mile of the site. <4>

Aerial photography from 1968 shows that the station had been removed and the site was a quarry. <5>

<1> Council for British Archaeology, 1995, Defence of Britain Project, 2560 (Digital archive). SWX5.

<2> Council for British Archaeology, 2003, Defence of Britain Project Database, 2560 (Machine readable data file). SDO128.

<3> Council for British Archaeology, 2006, Defence of Britain Project Archive DEB01, 2560 (Excavation archive). SDO17227.

<4> Dobinson, C S, 1996, Twentieth century fortifications in England, volume 7. Acoustics and Radar: England's early warning systems 1915-45, 168 (Monograph). SDO12579.

<5> Anderton, Michael J, 2000, Twentieth century military recording project: World War Two radar stations, 63 (Unpublished document). SDO18992.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1413230 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Jan 2 2024 3:51PM