RAF Buchan
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Royal Air Force Buchan or more simply RAF Buchan is a former Royal Air Force station near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
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RAF Buchan | |
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Near Boddam, Aberdeenshire in Scotland | |
Coordinates | 57°27′30″N 001°48′43″W |
Type | Radar Station/Control and Reporting Centre |
Site information | |
Owner | Ministry of Defence |
Operator | Royal Air Force |
Controlled by | No. 1 Group (Air Combat) |
Maximum range | 470 kilometres (290 mi) |
Site history | |
Built | 1952 (1952) |
In use | 1952-2004 (2004) |
Fate | Downgraded to Remote Radar Head and domestic site disposed of. |
Buchan opened in 1952 as a radar centre in the ROTOR radar network. It was soon upgraded with the installation of the powerful AMES Type 80 radar, and became a Master Radar Station, directing most air defence activities directly from its radar displays. During the upgrades to the Linesman/Mediator network it was planned to close, but its location and support for air traffic control kept it operational with its Type 80 through this era.
In 1991, Buchan became one of two locations to host a Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) of the new Improved United Kingdom Air Defence Ground Environment that replaced Linesman. As part of this upgrade, it received an AMES Type 92 radar although its Type 80 continued operations for some time before finally shutting down in 1993 along with its associated Sperry TPS-34 height finders. The CRC was hosted in a double-storey underground bunker (R3A).
As part of another modernization, the United Kingdom Air Surveillance and Control System (UKASCS) moved all control to RAF Boulmer and RAF Scampton, downgrading former radar sites to unattended operation. For this role it retains its Type 92 in a pressurised radome. Because it is now operated remotely, it is referred to as RRH Buchan, for "Remote Radar Head".