| Remote Radar Head Neatishead | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941 – present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Air Defence |
| Role | formerly: Sector Operations Centre, then: Control and Reporting Centre, now: Remote Radar Head |
| Part of | No. 2 Group RAF |
| Nickname | "Neat" |
| Motto | Caelum Tuemur Latin: "We Watch over the Sky" |
| Station crest | |
| Equipment | Type 7 Radar, FPS 6 height finding radar, Type 80 radar, Type 84 radar, Type 85 radar, R15 Radar |
RRH Neatishead, is a Royal Air Force military radar station in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, and was established during the Second World War. It consists of the main technical site, and a number of remote, and sometimes unmanned sites.
The station motto is Caelum Tuemur, meaning "We Watch over the Sky". The station crest depicts the lowered head of a horned bull; and relates to the origins of the word "Neatishead", deriving from old Anglo Saxon language "Nethes Herda", meaning the "abode of the keeper of cattle". It is a co-incidence that Neatishead is near the village of Horning.
The primary function of Neatishead was as a "Control and Reporting Centre" (CRC) for the south of the United Kingdom; it forms a part of the UK's air defences - namely the UK "Air Surveillance And Control System" (ASACS), and is part of the larger NATO air defence. It uses radar, ground-to-air radio and digitally encrypted data links.
On 16 February 1966 a fire broke out in the bunker, station fire teams were unsuccessful in putting the fire out and so civilian fire crews were called. 3 civilian firefighters lost their lives. Later that year LAC Cheeseman was sentenced to 7 years for starting the fire and causing the deaths.[1]
RRH Neatishead controls the remote site of RAF Trimingham with its Type 93 Radar. It also controls the site at RAF Weybourne with its two AEGIS aerials.
Neatishead is adjacent to the RAF Air Defence Radar Museum.
In April 2004 the decision was taken to substantially reduce activities at Neatishead, and by 2006, the base had been downgraded to Remote Radar Head (RRH) status, but the museum remains open. The gate guardian, a Phantom previously based at RAF Wattisham, was cut up for scrap in 2005 despite interest from the Radar Museum.[2]
In October 2006 local media reported that a buyer had been found for the now disused section of the base.[3] The 251/2 acres site was advertised again in January 2010, with an asking price of £4,000,000.[4]
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