Whale Head Radar Station, Standby Set-house
Engine House (20th Century)
Site Name Whale Head Radar Station, Standby Set-house
Classification Engine House (20th Century)
Alternative Name(s) Lopness
Canmore ID 269789
Site Number HY74SE 23.04
NGR HY 76180 43721
Datum OSGB36 - NGR
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/site/269789
- Council Orkney Islands
- Parish Lady
- Former Region Orkney Islands Area
- Former District Orkney
- Former County Orkney
HY74SE 23.04 76180 43721
A large shuttered concrete building with butresses at the W end with an extension on the E side. The upper storey is in brick.
During WW II the structure was partially covered in earth (visible on WL/10, 2.81, flown 4 July 1942) and lacked the N to S addition that can now be seen. This addition is also absent from the 1946 coverage (106G/Scot/UK 137, 3347-3348, flown 3 July 1946), which would suggest that it is a postwar agricultural extension.
The building is presently in agricultural use.
Immediately to the N is a concrete oil barrel rack.
Information from RCAHMS (DE), January 2005
Field Visit (1999)
This was one of the primary chain of WWII air-defence radar stations. The site comprises of a complex of buildings, including an engine house, magazine, transmitter and receiver blocks, power station and standby power station. There are spread out over an extensive grassy plain. The buildings survive relatively intact and some are accessible; the majority lie over 50m from the coast edge. See also HY74SE 23.02 (SY32), the site of the accomodation camp for radar station personel.
Coastal Zone Assessment Survey, 1999
