The following is from memory and hearsay – please correct where possible – atchistory
The facilities used by Midland Radar, like Northern and Eastern Radars, was formerly used as part of the Bloodhound air defence guided missile system. All three were virtually identical sites when handed over for use as long range area radar units.
The three stations used the Type 82 radar, with a stacked beam design that enabled height finding without needing separate additional height finding radars. Unlike Northern and Eastern there was no civil ATS cell. I vaguely remember that Midland perhaps provided a Centralised Approach Control Service for a number of military airfields. The photo above shows the cinema style ops room very well, just off screen was a shared data wall. The four console control position suites are shown very well, with the right hand display used for height finding. Some sectors have an additional high level display showing either a longer range display or a second remote radar picture.
Both Northern and Eastern radars feature elsewhere on this site as does the Type 82 radar.
atchistory 
Another feature we noticed was that it was difficult to get a handover late afternoon while The Magic Roundabout was on! Unfortunately that had gone off air by the time I was posted there
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I served at MidRad in ’88 before being posted to Gibraltar before MidRad closed. I remember Roy Greenock (I think I went to his wedding) and “Steph”Stephanakis and her Morris Minor. I also remember numerous parties at “The Pilton Possie” house, a house rented in Pilton by 3 or 4 lads in the unit (Dom, Al and ???).
Little known fact – I was able to enter both Strike Command and Support Command swimming championships in the same year due to MidRad being Strike and North Luffenham Support.
Every other weekend was a long-ish weekend due to our shift schedule. Great times!
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Ahh Midland Radar, my home from 85-88, think it closed in 89?, came back for the closing doo anyway, Tom Searle, Tony Vaughan, Teresa Gallagher, Mark Harris, Andy Padgett (RIP), Dick Elwell of course! (he’s been on 15 to 1 you know) Bev Taylor, Wally Walsh, Gary Wood, Phyl Williams, Vaughan Fraser to name a few, Heights 3 was always a dream ticket if you’d had a long night at the bop!, now resident in Fife after finishing my time at Leuchars in 2004
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I may have been on 15 to 1 Roy but I was never stationed at Midland. I knew Tony Vaughan at Cranwell, the Flight Sergeant wouldnt let him have leave “because he hadnt done night flying” so I got a long weekend!
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Apologies of course you weren’t there, given you an unnecessary posting!, shame there are no more pictures of the Ops room, I do have a piece of it though that I borrowed at the closing doo, hence the weather here is forever BLU (yes a bit of the weather boards)
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Stationed at Midrad 75 to 79 as an assistant and have a group photo taken around 78 that I will post in the next few days.Hope it may bring back a few memories even if it’s only playing endless rubbers of bridge!
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Do you remember my father Michael Uglow at all.
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Hi Jenny,
I knew your father, How can I help?
Regards.
Paul.
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I was stationed at MIDRAD 77 to 80 as an assistant and remember hating the call to go to heights 3. I think may have the same group photograph of the unit. Were you part of the unit football team?
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When I was at Midland Radar in 1966 it was 24/7 provided Airwork Services were able to keep it servicable! MATO shift pattern in operation. Left in October 1967.
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Terry Clark commented
“Ah the dreaded ‘Midland Radar Overhead’!”
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Wasn’t dreaded at all – we quite enjoyed it!
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Drove through North Luffenham today, it’s now an army barracks, but the Midland buildings are visible from the road. No Radar head obviously, but also NO OVERHEAD!
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I was at midland radar as clerk sec on the office. I used to raise the flag every morning. I was there from 1971 to 1973. SAC McNiven
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I’m seeking Sgt Sue Brew or Bruce. Sue was at Midland Radar and had the room next to me in the Sgts Mess at N Luffenham between 1982-86 ISH! A very pretty blonde. I was with TETOC ‘C’ FLIGHT at RAF North Luffenham. Anyone know where Sue is please!
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I was there for the closing of Midland Radar – most of us had our postings but some were staying on to close up the place and be de-mobbed from there – I remember a SAC(W) who had a Morris Minor – think she was moving to the States!
some really good people there
there was an impromptu bonfire, which caused the fire brigade to turn out – a few exuberant SAC’s brought out wooden boards to burn
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That was me (“Steph”Stephanakis) with the Morris and I did move to the US for about 5 years. I have some photos of the party we had somewhere.
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I worked with a chap called Roy Greenock at Leuchars, he was at Midland when it closed.
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When did Midland Rad close? Can anyone remember?
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IIRC it closed in 88.
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I was there late 60s. Climb outs let downs Waddington, scampton, bassingbourn, w. Raynham, Markham plus other bits of crap. Anything under 10,000′ was indistinguishable from hailstones, still there was only a couple of fatalities! I have a vague memory of a Hastings doing a regular trip that we had to track… Something like a chapter out of catch22….God, it was boring there!!!
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I was stationed at Midland Radar from 1981 to 1983, having previously been at Northern. (Same setup, but Northern was larger, and had civvy controllers as well as RAF)
I was never banished to HF 3, as in view of my 4 yrs experience at Northern, I was given a training role when I first arrived at Midland, later to move to the ‘Stats’ room – a bit of a General Dogsbody role, maintaining/repairing the backlit data wall (not operating it, that was even worse than any HF role….), providing stats info to the Sqn Ltr Ops, etc. So I was quite lucky, as we were quite autonomous, with a cushy job, could walk around for hours with a clipboard……
I recall that Midland, unlike Eastern and Northern, didn’t operate 24/7, but closed at weekends, and approx 11.30pm during the week, which reflected its role as climbout/letdown rather than mainly transit control
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Correction, I was at Midland from ’71 to ’73. (Demobbed in ’75)
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From memory we provided approach and climbout services to: Binbrook, Finningley, Scampton, Waddington, Marham and Coningsby.
The highest desk at the back or the room (Console 3) was for general radar services including aircraft crossing airway Blue 1, which were mainly F-111s and A10s going to & from the bombing ranges. I spent many a snoozy hour on ‘Heights 3’, the most dreaded position in the room as there was no escape from the tedium – the other consoles were only staffed as needed but 3 was always open.
The building is still there and I often wonder what is left of the inside..
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I don’t recall Midland doing Binbrook. Northern, console 7 undertook this, usually manned by Flt Lt Grogan.
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In that case it’s possible we took traffic from Binbrook and provided a crossing service through Airway Blue 1 to the North Sea training area? Too long ago for my ageing memory..
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You also did the CAC for Woodford.
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Midland radar provided a CAC(centralised approach control) facility for airfields in Lincolnshire and for Finningley and for Marham in Norfolk. There was always a bit of banter about Midlands overhead, but the reason why it did the CAC for Marham was due to Easterns overhead!
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Midland’s overhead was legendary. There were stickers all over the place saying “Midland’s Overhead Ends Here”. I remember seeing one in one of the loos at West Drayton and I understand another appeared at Port Stanley in the Falklands!
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I was supposed to be posted here in May 80, but managed to avoid. Its not that I didnt want to go to Midland, I didnt want to go to any ATCRU!
Midland took on the Binbrook CAC after Northern closed. And yes Midland closed at 2330 and didnt do weekends. As North Luffenham was a Support Command station I dont think they would have liked having a 24/7 Strike Command unit on the station.
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And can someone please explain why Midland and Eastern had civvy technicians?
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Airwork had the MOD contract
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Wasn’t Highland Radar part of the same defence system. I worked there as a cadet in 1975. It also had. Type 80/82 but if memory serves me right it also had a height finder.
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