Report - RAF Bishops Court - Downpatrick - September 2016

[Krypton]

RAF Bishops Court was established as an airfield used for training in World War Two. In later years the base became part of the ROTOR radar project, and in 1955/56’s a Control Centre was established on the flying field with a remote radar head at Killard Point. The site was closed around 1978, and the radar and R8 building at Killard Point was removed with very little being left to see today. The RAF continued using the main site and in 1982 installed new mobile radars, but by the late 1980’s the decision was taken to close the whole site and and by 1991 it was put up for sale. In Sept 1989 the IRA fired 9 mortar bombs on the base, luckily there were no casualties.

A few buildings and some control equipment for the radar's remain today.








Secondary Radar Trigger Control Switch













Krypton ​

 

[lazyclimber]

I visited the site this weekend; it remains in a very similar condition to the 2017 report above with buildings accessible and some equipment of no financial value remaining (mainly that which is attached to walls etc). Some of the larger buildings are being used to store farming machinery/waste and some tractors were parked up on the site.

I explored a variety of the buildings across the site, and walked the perimeter road/runways. There didn't appear to be any obvious way up the tower, not without, at least, bringing a ladder or cherry picker!

To the west of the site, a race circuit has been constructed, and a wind turbine has been built near the centre where the runways meet.