Anthorn Radio Station

Anthorn

Location	Anthorn, Cumbria
Mast height	227 metres (745 ft)
Coordinates	54°54′40″N 3°16′48″W / 54.911°N 3.28°W / 54.911; -3.28Coordinates: 54°54′40″N 3°16′48″W / 54.911°N 3.28°W / 54.911; -3.28
Grid reference	NY179581

Anthorn Radio Station is located near Anthorn, Cumbria, England, overlooking the Solway Firth, and is operated by Babcock International (with whom former operators VT Communications are now merged). It has three transmitters: one VLF; one LF; and an eLORAN transmitter.

The characteristic triangular pattern of roads is a remnant from the World War II military airfield which was operated by the Royal Navy Air Service as HMS Nuthatch.

John Laing & Son began building an airfield at Anthorn for the Fleet Air Arm in late 1943, with Royal Naval Air Station Anthorn, or HMS Nuthatch opening on 7 September 1944, with three tarmac runways. It was the base of No. 1 Aircraft Receipt and Despatch Unit (No. 1 ARDU), which had the job of receiving aircraft fresh from manufacturers, modifying them to Service standards and despatching them to operational squadrons, with the unit specialising in the Vought F4U Corsair. No. 1 ARDU continued to operate from Anthorn following the end of the Second World War, while a number of Fleet Air Arm Squadrons were also based at the airfield in the immediate post war years. The airbase shut down in March 1958.

Source:

The VLF transmitter is used primarily for transmitting orders to submarines on 19.6 kHz. Its callsign is GQD. VLF transmissions are relatively unaffected by atmospheric nuclear explosions and Anthorn was once part of the link between Fylingdales early warning radar, North Yorkshire, and the United States' air defence system.

It is a NATO facility, controlled from Northwood Headquarters along with three other VLF transmitters in Norway, Germany and Italy. In accordance with the procedure for NATO projects, the project was the subject of a competition among the organisation's member countries. The British Post Office, acting as technical adviser and agent of the Ministry of Defence, chose the site, negotiated the contract and supervised the work, with the assistance of the Ministry of Public Building and Works. The contract was placed on 26 October 1961 with Continental Electronics Systems Incorporated of Dallas, Texas. This firm had already built a similar but much larger station in Maine, USA. Work began in 1962 and the station was accepted on behalf of the MoD in November 1964.