Recording the North Cairn Radar Station

In the early stages of the Second World War, the British government rushed to establish a network of cutting-edge early-detection radar stations, designed to provide advance warning of aerial attacks. The Advance Chain Home radar network used state-of-the-art radar technology to provide a chain of monitoring stations across the UK, detecting enemy aircraft and relaying alerts across the British defence network.

One of the ACH stations was based at North Cairn, on the west coast of the Rhins. The station was established in 1940 and operated throughout WW2, before being decommissioned after the war. The transmitter and receiver towers were dismantled and removed, but many of the original buildings still stand.

The Rhins Revealed project has recently carried out a new measured survey of the site, compiling a detailed photographic and 3D record using laser scanning and drone photogrammetry. Each of the surviving buildings of the radar station was recorded inside and out to create a new record of the station that will be used as a condition monitoring tool for future condition assessments of the site.

UPDATE: you can now explore RAF North Cairn, in a page presenting the results of the survey.