Subterranea Britannica: Research Study Group: Sites: RAF Buchan R7 Rotor Radar Bunker

[Source: Nick Catford]

Few R7 Mk III bunkers are accessible but that at Buchan can still be found in a marshy area on the south side of the A90, the Type 79 and sub-station are clearly visible from the road and are both are both still in good condition although stripped of any original fittings. The R7 bunker is 50 yards to the south.

Photo:The roof of the R7, the two personnel hatches are open. The ventilators can be seen either side of the structure and the Type 79 can be seen in the background. The Antenna was mounted to the right of the personnel hatch in the foreground. The two large machinery hatches, either side of the personnel hatch are immediately above the transmitter positions.
Photo by Nick Catford

The bunker is approximately fifty feet long by fifteen feet wide. The top of it is flush with the ground. There are six rectangular apertures and one circular aperture in the roof, the largest of these was for the pedestal for the aerial array.

The two smallest apertures were for personnel access and each still has a ladder fixed to the wall. The remaining hatches were for the installation and removal of equipment. All the original steel hatches are still in place.

One of the personnel hatches is damaged and is permanently open; the other is closed but can easily be opened. A number of ventilators can be seen along the sides of the bunker.

Photo:Model of an R7 bunker (at RAF Signals Museum, Henlow ). The transmitter room is on the left, the rest room in the middle and the generator room on the right.
Photo by Nick Catford

The R7 is divided into three major rooms with a closet for a chemical toilet, adjacent to one of the personnel hatches. The bunker is currently flooded to a depth of four feet; it is unclear if this is water ingress through the walls or rainwater entering the structure through the damaged permanently open hatch. The water is clear.

Your intrepid photographer emerging
from the flooded R7 bunker! - Photo by Gavin Christie

The northernmost room (15' 2" X 12' 6") was the DC plant room with a Ward-Leonard generator set standing on a plinth in one corner with the main DC control cabinet against the opposite wall and a three phase switch panel adjacent to the personnel ladder. The control cabinet and generator have gone although the low concrete plinth for the generator can still be found below the water level. The main three phase switchboard is still in place with the cable entry point and bus bar chamber above it.

The middle room (12' 5" X 12' 6") was a rest room with three equipment racks against one wall, this is now completely empty.

The southernmost room (20' X 12' 6") was the transmitter room with two T3705 transmitters, one against each wall. All evidence of these has been removed although a single phase switch panel is still in place adjacent to the second personnel ladder. The antenna array was mounted above the large hatch in the roof in the centre of the room.

Sources:

For further pictures of the R7 bunker at RAF Buchan click here

For RAF Buchan GCI Rotor Radar Station click here

[Source: Nick Catford]

Site Records

Site Name: RAF Buchan R7 Mk III ROTOR Radar Bunker