Visit to Wartling Rotor R3 Radar Station

A members only opportunity to visit the 1950s RAF radar bunker in Wartling, East Sussex.

Beneath the fields above the Pevensey Levels, in the heart of East Sussex, sits one of the most significant surviving Rotor R3 bunkers in the country — a two-level reinforced concrete structure built between 1951 and 1955 with walls, floor and ceiling cast ten feet thick, designed to absorb a near-miss from Russian pattern bombing. At its operational peak, Wartling held responsibility for all British airspace south of the Thames, and in 1959 provided the last radar trace of the prototype Handley Page Victor before it went down. It closed in December 1964, was stripped, and then became flooded — remaining largely inaccessible for decades.

The bunker’s current state owes a great deal to support from Subterranea Britannica. A major pumping operation removed some 2.75 million litres of water, followed by years of work to seal ingress points, reinstate lighting and make the structure walkable again. The two-hour guided tour takes in both levels and more than thirty rooms — intercept halls, plant spaces, switchgear rooms and the long connecting corridors that once directed Hunters and Javelins through southern English skies.

Booking details have been circulated to members. New members to SMHS are welcome to book tickets, subject to availability.