RAF Dry Tree was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

early warning radar An early-warning radar is any radar system used primarily for the long-range detection of its targets, i.e., allowing defences to be alerted as ''early'' as possible before the intruder reaches its target, giving the air defences the maximum t ...

station for detecting enemy aircraft during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was built in 1940 on

Goonhilly Downs Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is a large radiocommunication site located on Goonhilly Downs near Helston on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England. Owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd under a 999-year lease from BT Group plc, it ...

, on the

Lizard peninsula The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a peninsula in southern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at SW 701115; Lizard village, also known as The Lizard, is the most souther ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

, a short distance to the south-east of the

Goonhilly Earth Station Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is a large radiocommunication site located on Goonhilly Downs near Helston on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England. Owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd under a 999-year lease from BT Group plc, it was at ...

. It was named from the

standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be fou ...

on the land known as the Dry Tree menhir.

Purpose

Its purpose was detecting aircraft approaching South Cornwall and the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

. It had four transmitter masts and two wooden receiver masts. Its existence was only revealed after the war had ended. Most of the station was destroyed in the early 1960s to make way for the satellite communication station. Some buildings and structures still exist and are located within a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. The nerve centre was the receiver block which now has public access to the roof, giving excellent views across the Downs. Other buildings and structures which were part of RAF Dry Tree can also be seen.

Dry Tree menhir

The Dry Tree menhir is a ten foot

located on the ex-RAF Dry Tree site at Goonhilly, which the station takes its name from. The menhir was seemingly named Dry Tree due its resemblance to a dry tree trunk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drytree Military units and formations established in 1940 Royal Air Force stations in Cornwall Military history of Cornwall

Purpose

Dry Tree menhir

See also

References