Raf Stenigot

Raf Stenigot is located close to Donington on Bain in Lincolnshire. It was a Chain Home High World War II radar station and later part of the Ace High communications network in the cold war.

Raf Stenigot opened in 1940 as part of the Chain Home High radar defence program. This provided an early warning against air raids from the Luftwaffe for the midlands. It was also linked to the Chain Home Low radar at Ingoldmels on the coast.

The station was built to the east coast design, the same as the experimental radar prototype at Bawdsey from 1936, which included separate protected transmitter and receiver blocks with transmitter aerials suspended from four 350' steel towers the receiver aerials mounted on wooden 240' towers close by. A buried reserve transmitter and receiver blocks were also located close to the site, these have now been demolished.

The surviving Chain Home High Transmitter mast is used for training purposes by the Aerial Erector School.

After World War II the site was kept on, radar had proved its worth and was still a vital part of Britain's security. It was in 1959 that Raf Stenigot became part of the Ace High communications program. Chain Home had been replaced as it was now obsolete. Four large tropospheric scatter dishes were erected on the site between the two Chain Home blocks.

Ace High was an 'L-Band' troposcatter radio system, which provided long range radio communications for Nato in the form of telephone and telegraph signals. Around two hundred channels were available to Nato and these could be multiplied by twelve to provide even more capacity via specialist equipment.

Ace High became obsolete in the late 1980's and Raf Stenigot was decommissioned and most of the Ace High buildings and equipment was demolished in 1996. The dishes still survive, pushed into a corner near the old Chain Home receiver block.

Today the old mounting blocks and building platforms are being dug up. The future of the dishes and the remaining buildings is in doubt.