Leirinbeg, Sango Chain Home And Northern Type 7000 Radar Station

NC46NW 22.00 centred 4153 6750

NC46NW 22.01 Centred NC 4150 6687 and NC 4158 6728 Military Camps

NC46NW 22.02 NC 41473 67558, 41588 67516, 41749 67637 and 41898 67698 Masts; Huts

NC46NW 22.03 NC 41588 67477, NC 41473 67518 and NC 41503 67801 Buildings; Huts

NC46NW 22.04 NC 41928 67514 and NC 41731 67511 Engine houses

NC46NW 22.05 NC 41798 67557 Building; Mast

NC46NW 22.06 Centred NC 40418 66883 Military camp; Buildings; Huts

NC46NW 22.07 NC 41632 67076 and NC 41712 66936 Buildings

NC46NW 22.08 NC 41388 67730 and NC 41448 67717 Buildings

See also NC46NW 23.

Sango or Smoo, Chain Home and Chain Home Low Radar Station occupies much of the area annotated Leirinbeg on the current chart copy edition of the OS 1:10560 map, (1967). Several of the buildings, including the transmitter/receiver block (NC 4150 6780), with tracks and bunkers connected with the radar station are depicted on the map.

The Radar Station, with at least five upstanding masts (NC c.4189 6770, NC c.4159 6749, NC c.4148 6754, NC c.4136 6754 and NC c.4127 6756) and a further two mast bases (NC c.4175 6764 and NC c.4180 6755), is visible on vertical air photographs (CPE/Scot/UK/185, 3160-61, flown 1946). Many accommodation buildings are also visible with what may be the remote reserve generator (NC46NW 22.01).

Information from RCAHMS (DE) and Mr I Brown, February 1999

Situated to the N and S side of the A 838 public road, just E of Durness (NC46NW 8). Many buildings are extant connected with the radar and accommodation sites.

J Guy 2000; NMRS MS 810/10, Part.1, 4, Vol.3, 4-8

The radar station is situated in rough grass to the N of the A838 road at Durness in an area annotated Leirinbeg on the current OS 1:2500 scale digital map. Part of the site is now being used for the local rubbish tip and one brick built building has been modified and is now in use as a rubbish crusher.

The most prominent features are the main mast bases, visible as pairs of tetrahedron shaped concrete blocks, the brick walls around the concrete bases for the former transmitter and receiver huts, concrete transmitter and receiver bunkers, power houses, rectangular angled concrete blocks to anchor steel wire supporting additional masts and several hut bases. Some of the technical support buildings including the remote reserve plus some of the accommodation huts (NC46NW 22.01), were situated to the E of a track leading SSW from the main road, W of the Allt Smoo. Additional ancilliary and reserve power generating blocks also survive to the W and some extant accommodation huts are still in use at (centred) NC 40418 66883.

Most of the military installations relating to the radar station are visible on a series of vertical air photographs taken by the RAF, (CPE/Scot/UK/185, 3159-62, flown 9 October1946), which show that at this date three of the four large masts were still standing and the huts that stood within the brick walled enclosures are still in situ. Two of the smaller masts to the W are also visible along with the greater part of the hutted camps and the later receiver/transmitting blocks (Rx/Tx) were still earth covered.

Visited by RCAHMS (DE), April 2005

This radar station was orginally a Chain Home type, but was altered to a Northern Type 7000 Gee station in 1942. It formed part of a group which included the stations at Burifa Hill, Caithness (ND27NW 8.00), Scousburgh in Shetland (HU31NE 50.00) and Windyhead Hill in Aberdeenshire (NJ86SE 27.00).

Information from RCAHMS (DE), April 2009; I Brown, Radar Archive; PRO AIR 29/147