RAF Dry Tree

RAF Drytree
Near Helston in Goonhilly Downs, Cornwall in United Kingdom
Type	Chain Home radar station
Height	four 360 feet (110 m) transmitter masts
Site information
Owner	Royal Air Force
Open to the public	yes
Site history
Fate	demolished with the exception of ground level buildings and concrete hardstandings

RAF Dry Tree was an early warning station for detecting enemy aircraft during the Second World War. It was built in 1940 on Goonhilly Downs, on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, a short distance to the south-east of the Goonhilly Earth Station.

Its purpose was detecting aircraft approaching South Cornwall and the Western Approaches. It had four 360 feet (110 m) transmitter masts and two 240 ft (73 m) wooden receiver masts. Its existence was only revealed after the war had ended. Most of the station was destroyed in the early 1960s to make way for the satellite communication station. Some buildings and structures still exist and are located within a nature reserve. The nerve centre was the receiver block which now has public access to the roof, giving excellent views across the Downs. Other buildings and structures which were part of RAF Dry Tree can also be seen.

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  View inside the receiver block at RAF Dry Tree.