Bawdsey Rotor Radar Station, Suffolk - Episode 3

[@TRS-Tech]

At 10:21 you are looking at a high current 3 phase switching isolator that is equipped with carrier HRC fuses. These fuses could be very dangerous as they contained an explosive charge to ensure that if one of the phases blew the other two would be taken out by a PIN on the end of the fuse hitting a spring loaded mechanism. The oil is there are to contain any arcs and is much safer for use inside transformer housings as it does not conduct electricity very easily. It also aids in cooling the transformer and switchgear. A reduction of wear and tear on the contacts makes the use of it vital. The transformer housing which is the lower section of the unit that you are looking at was failed with pitch at different consistencies. Harder pitch that would set to form a seal was normally used where the cables entered and left the transformer casing. The three holes that you can see are each of the phases. At the time these were red yellow and blue. It was very important that the loads were spread over these three phases as evenly as possible. Each one of these phases should have had a voltage of 230 volts on each phase so for industrial motors you would have a 415v supply. This three phase system or polyphase as it was originally known is the system that our National Grid is built on today and was developed by Nikola Tesla whilst working for Westinghouse at The Turn Of The Century. I hope this information is of some help to you. If you have any questions just give me a shout. I used to be responsible for most of the infrastructure on telephone exchanges including the ones that most engineers did not even know existed. If the information is not restricted and a surprising amount of it still is I will do everything I can to help including documentation and photographs of some of this type of equipment in operation. All the very best to you and keep up the hard work. I also hope that the dust in there there was just that.... dust

[@dogmannz]

16:42 This is the air conditioning heat exchanger. The fan Chris is spinning would push air into this chamber (most likely a combination of stale air from inside the bunker and fresh air being drawn down the main air intake shaft). The air would travel up past the v shaped structures and out to the open air. The water would be sprayed from the chamber ceiling on to the v shapes (there is a name for them which I can't remember) and then land in the catch pan at the bottom which Ian and Chris are walking around in. This is how the bunker air conditioning system gets rid of heat. The chillers would be circulating chilled water around the bunker air handling system collecting heat as it goes, and that warm water then goes into this chamber where it is sprayed from the top to run over the structures on its way to the catch pan. The idea is to make the air and water mix as much as possible so the water transfers its heat to the air which is then blown outside. The water pools in the v structures on its way down and if you look closely you'll notice every level of the v's are placed so they drop water either side in to the layer below them. They collect water which is cooled by the air pushing against the outside of the V thus transferring heat from the water to the air. The cooled water is what lands in the catch pan and is then drawn back into the air conditioning system to be re-chilled and circulated again. This process would create a fair bit of evaporation so somewhere in the catch pan will be a level switch to top up the water when ever it gets low. In fact it is not a switch it's a mechanical valve operated by a ball cock - the float for which can clearly be seen at 16:22 - the round green thing.

[@TRS-Tech]

Excellent information. A miniature model of a power station cooling tower but using the exchanged filtered air to bring down the air temperature. Bunker air conditioning but humidity control was very likely a nightmare challenge to the engineers. Thanks for that 👍

[@Richardincancale]

28:00 Single kitchen leading through hatches to two cantines: one for officers one for squaddies.

[@mkmdexplorationparanormal5610]

This bunker is pretty much the same layout as RAF Holmpton in East Yorkshire on the East coast, now a museum with the radar plotting table still in place, was still operational by the RAF up until approx 2012 and the museum was still on the go ! Well worth a visit Ian and Chris ☺ can't wait for the next one 😉

[@ExplorerX]

That place looks truely amazing. Can't believe how good condition it was in. It reminds me of the R3 at RAF Neatishead. I did that bunker a little while back.

[@rosscityofliverpool.983]

The place is huge. Great to see so much still in place. Great video chaps.

[@brahoy]

You have covered this well guys. Brings back exciting memorys. Looking forward to part two and the exchange. Keep up the good work!

[@dellawrence4323]

An awesome look into our proud past and engineering that works for decades with no maintenance and can be fixed with a pipe wrench and a screwdriver, I have had one of those compressors for 30 years, I gave it a wipe over with an oily rag and adjusted the belts the day I bought it and it has run perfectly since that day and I have painted hundreds of cars with it, it was made in 1936.

[@robbiedobson2291]

Mind has been blown you have found the golden gem folk can not believe it has more to give nice one lads I'd never get to see this in person top work thanks

[@karengill8234]

Great video. Thank you. ...

[@toddmetzger]

Grand job guys! I appreciate the in-depth look! It certainly is difficult determining what everything does.

[@stevenjones19-m8i]

Awesome video,this was all original and left how it should be,well preserved,no spray paint or writing on the walls,im glad its locked up now.

[@fatblokes_ferguson]

This place is huge, it looks like you are walking about on a aircraft carrier. Brilliant place. The other thing I was just thinking about, I was born in the early 70's so the cold war and these units were in operation. I have mentioned before about my uncle who worked at Greenham common, he would of been well aware of all these places, sadly he has dementia and is hard to communicate with. Bet he could tell a few stories. I do know he was there when the woman were all handcuffed to the gates, so he must of had some great stories to tell. Going back to that place, yes ago, I worked at a screen printing place, some of the machines worked with water coolers, we used to have to dose the water tank with chemicals to keep the water clean and it had a similar set up to the fan's in this place, so maybe it was some sort of air conditioning unit, obviously on a much larger scale. Just a thought.

[@TheStwat]

Marvelous, folks, marvelous. Also I got my T shirt yesterday. I love it, many thanks. :) Fantastic quality too.

[@IKS-Exploration]

Glad you like it folk :)

[@shaunlaverick5793]

excellent video series so far..looking forward to next part

[@gryfandjane]

What an extraordinary site. Yes, it should be preserved as a museum or something!

[@melissacoleman9633]

Great video guys. Loved every second.

[@patriciagale7485]

What an amazing place that bunker is...Great video as always.

[@leighslomer]

I was lucky enough to visit one of these rotar bunkers this weekend with my caving club, it wasn't in as good a condition as this though, due to being flooded for several years. It was still an amazing place to visit and we spent hours exploring. Regarding asbestos, the group who maintain the site had it tested and surprisingly found none, they made sure to mention that it doesn't mean that there was none though.

[@dogmannz]

13:15 That looks like an emergency lighting battery room (shelves on the right would have held the batteries). The panel in the left corner Ian opens looks like it is the trickle charger to keep the batteries topped up and also acts as the distribution panel for the emergency lighting system when it is operating. You see the same arrangement on automatic emergency generators. The trickle charger keeps the genset batteries topped up off the mains and when the mains go down the same panel distributes power back out of the batteries to the automation that starts and runs the generator.

[@josephgeis6641]

Great find men good job. Thank you for showing this what a historically beautiful find.

[@damianjones7554]

Fascinating place and in excellent condition

[@philipsimisker9742]

Epic yet again

[@Dodgersmi]

Brilliant job guys why do we have to wait till next week thanks for a great informative video

[@tomtinkersrezlife278]

Wow cool 2 days waking up to a new vid from 2 of my favorite people keep it up Ian and Chris much love from Maine boys

[@arrangrant4614]

These rota bunkers are amazing we have one in Sopley near Christchurch Dorset it has the same style bungalow guardhouse as this one. It is not open to the public as it was bought by private company for archive storage.

[@mitter81]

the oils removed and some likely remaining contain pcb's these are carceogenic and the chemicals can be ingested via skin when exploring these places wear masks and use barrier cream, asbestos, pcb's are common throughout, the fans and filter rooms with any filters should also be treated with caution as even in peace time operations these were hazardous to health, you should also look out for the sewage sump systems, I never seen them operate but in theory if the mains sewage was broke, the pumps would release effluent out into a nearby area, curious can you still smell ozone / Bakelite... other sites you could look at would be former uniter bunkers..

[@joaquimneto9054]

Bunker Tharsh Metal !!!!! Brasil 🇧🇷 My friend, I love your videos very much for me. You are the best KZbinr and I think the only one that showed and shows the World War II Bunkers among others lost there ... I already left my Like strong hugs and waiting for next videos! My Like Numbers 33 !

[@azazelzel6954]

Wow! Now, this is some intriguing stuff! That bunker is like, totally massive. (Sure I saw an empty Tescos sandwich wrapper, 10mins in).

That's a Belfast sink down there. The Butler sink is similar but without the overflow. I've taken loads of those out over the years. I'll save the next one for you.

[@johnkusher12]

I've been waiting for this!! Awesome awesome video as always. What a shame they can't reuse this bunker

[@pauls489]

Excellent video what a find

[@lars-gorangustavsson1934]

Great Place and a great video 😃👍

[@Norse-Viking]

Hey guy's, your vids a totally awsome, but please use some dust covers for your airways, your can see all the dust form the camera light ;)

[@matthewwalker8197]

watching now as didn't get to finish watching it before.. though i must say i wish i could have joined you here as it looks amazingly interesting! also.. that stairway with the winch is identical to hack greens... hmm quite interesting

[@sylvainbriere7039]

Nice Exploration! Please wear a mask! i was coughing just seeing how much dust was in there!

[@danielmarshall4587]

Yes I'm feeling TRIGGERED.

[@nicko500s]

My understanding is that the shaft you came in down would have also been the air shaft as well as emergency exit. everything the other side of those emergency exit doors, plant, electrics and air processing would be contaminated because the air that side of the doors was, at that point unfiltered until it had passed through the filters which are in that area so those doors would be gas tight rather than blast doors, if that makes sense.

[@florencedoberman8336]

Visit Kelvedon (Essex) nuclear bunker - it's very similar & all the apparatus is explained in full.

[@coxy8102]

Scart lead you found may also be for computer use also monitors etc

[@dhunterwright1]

Check out Scotland's Secret Bunker, near St. Andrews, it is fully preserved. Also, there is a bunker in process of restoration, Bunker 13, Newcastle upon Tyne. Thus one had been completely intact, under a DSS building, but was badly vandalised when Bellway redeveloped the site for housing. There is a small preservation group trying to get it sorted. Keep up the videos guys!

[@MarkyB3D]

Hi Guys, the two rooms off the kitchen will be for officers and ratings. Ratings have to dish up at the counter and officers get it put on the plate for them :)

[@oldmanhuppiedos]

A very nice location.

[@brianartillery]

06:25 - I imagine the pre-war machinery was repurposed by the Ministry Of Works from the nearby older CHEL station, that the ROTOR station replaced. I believe also, that the bunker had some commercial use after it was decommissioned, so some items in it will be of later use than the Cold War (1947-1989) period. 16:18 - I love the sound that the air conditioning fan in the condenser sump makes; would it be okay if I sampled it? Blinding video, gents. Thanks for sharing!

[@Captain_Char]

those green things look like generators, or air compressors, that big area with the float, and fan you could spin, I think was a humidifier, or a dehumidifier

[@raider6511]

Have u explored the HMS Forward tunnel of Glyne Close in Newhaven. I just saw some of it on Explore with us??

[@IKS-Exploration]

Yeah went there last year :) : Royal Navy Underground WW2 Command Bunker -- EPISODE 1 -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIKkg2ttbst3i7M

[@richardwarnock2789]

That Fella Emer Gency Sure get's a lot of his own Personal Exit's don't he!!!; )

[@dogmannz]

18:57 The outtake fan is the one at 16:42. See what I've posted about that.

[@leehauxwell1149]

Please be careful not to disturb the surfaces, You are in a buildinv built when Asbestos was cheap and used everywhere. I have a 1950's diy book that shows you how to make a rabbit hutch from asbestos boards.

[@danielmarshall4587]

Yes .... they do give me the "willies" in that regard these vids. Your quite right.

[@uk_andy]

@15.00 Electric motor not a generator

[@raymondj8768]

ok i was waiting for ya buddy lol have a good day !

[@quatermaindetecting7530]

Nice Video 👍👍weiter so Kollege echt Klasse macht Laune zuzuschauen 👍Abo und like 🙋‍♂️ Gruß Quatermain Detecting

[@johntvrdy4533]

You guys do some brill videos. Have you thought of teaming with Matt and The Secret Vault team? Btw, what's the latest update on this bunker?

[@christopher-2000]

awesome

[@Stevie-m]

I would imagine this gear is all left because the asbestos removal costs would be huge. You should really ware paper boiler suits and masks the asbestos dust will get on everything.

[@markfillery1002]

that was oil in the transformers with the tar.the room with the water float was the air intake it would have used water to spray the room and trap the fall out as a first stage filter

[@kernow..exp.]

Always injoy your video s Ian from the Cornish fan

[@ScrotusXL]

I’m surprised you don’t carry a gas monitor when you climb into sumps and confined spaces. The surface building is like at Chenies in Hertfordshire which has now been all but levelled. Mainly asbestos based prefabs. Dust masks and disposable overalls should be standard for you folks. Stay safe.

[@kevstewart5919]

3:30 compressor room

[@pauldalby4990]

The false floors were Teak and were mostly repurposed at the end of the bunkers life

[@seanuccello2784]

Good video.the Germans had a Bunker bigger than four foot Ball Fields,have u ever found this one?

[@Stevie-m]

The oil is to prevent arcing of the switch gear I think.

[@overload65]

activauk1973 you are right It is pcb oil put into transformers they use a different type now as that oil can do nasty things to you long term.

[@Stevie-m]

overload65 I hope I’m right or I would be a pretty bad sparky.

[@optical_ideas]

Very nice, thanks for the explore. I'm always wondering how private people get those bunkers. Do they walk to the Government and say "hey you have there an unused bunker, do you sell it?" "yes, 1 million bucks please." "ok, shut up and take my money"

[@fibrodad1354]

Things with oil and tar look like huge transformer.

[@brsrc759]

I really want to know what that black goo was oozing out of those contraptions

[@mattperrin8372]

Pretty sure it's Pitch.

[@brsrc759]

What's pitch??

[@mattperrin8372]

@@brsrc759 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(resin) describes it better than I could !

[@MrL4t3]

Of course they needed a good ventilation with big airshafts, fans and ducts .. they couldn't just open a window in there :D

[@diegocesar316]

OIL in 10:00 must be PCB...

[@evo-labs]

I wonder how much it cost to build this base. Think of the effort required to dig out the cavities, let alone then construct the rooms with underground cabling. Using it as a rubbish dump doesn't seem so absurd if they are going to seal it for eternity.

[@buddylight2191]

Where did they keep the beer?

[@IKS-Exploration]

Lol special fridge under the counter :D

[@garethwigmore9352]

Would love to own a place like that. It should be fully restored and opened to the public. Such a waste.

[@peterzingler6221]

There must be like 50.000pound worth in copper down there

[@CAPDude44]

Those rooms with the safe doors were likely records rooms. Old industrial buildings at my work use them to hold classified and secret files.

[@leehauxwell1149]

@16:45 Air conditioning.

[@dexta1969]

I'm thinking their were two mess rooms served by on kitchen, one would have been officers only

[@dogmannz]

Amazing condition this one is in. Copper thieves would have a field day if they got in there. All the motors and cables would be long gone. But once again I am flabbergasted at the shear waste. The waste of building places like this. Then the waste of just walking away from them. It still amazes me it never dawned on them that a nuclear war would have destroyed the biosphere and therefore in a small length of time, all life on earth. There would have been nothing to come back to the surface for. Stocking these places with 3 months of diesel and food was just pointless.

[@simonstergaard]

EPIC ! ...This takes the cake from BBC any day. But if you compare it to the DDR bunkers this bunker seem crude and cheap.

[@brsrc759]

That place is awesome but you guys are crazy for not at least wearing dust masks. Probably some asbestos in there

[@HR5308]

In case of war, they would have survived only a few weeks in these bunkers.

[@fibrodad1354]

I have been in a royal navy Nuclea bunker in the very early 80s when it was active. ~Bigger than this one and was amazing as you would not know it was there. It was in Devon. ( cannot name location as still active ) very scary as well when you came out and realised why they are there.

[@360def]

I think the room with sink was for dead soldiers

[@josephgeis6641]

Vandal's suck and I hope they get caught this stuff is irreplaceable and should be kept Secret.

[@MrL4t3]

To add to the masks comments you really should wear gloves too.

[@Cash-lg6ge]

You guys really should be wearing some kind of mask, you should know better. PPE isn't that expensive, set a good example for the more novice explorers.

[@GC-rw7no]

First

[@cardinalnight3883]

Regular viewer here. Q. Have you had any unexplained events down any of those holes you've been down? :}

[@IKS-Exploration]

not really folk no :) thanks for your support :)