GCA (or PAR?) AN-CPN 4A/B

This is AN/CPN4 site at RAF West Malling in 1955 and 1956. I took this photo myself in the background you will see 25 squadron pan. I was also posted to RAF Biggin Hill and RAF Duxford these also had AN/CPN4 GCA.

Maybe it is just me, but I can't see your photo from West Malling...

That article I remember very well. I was at Halton as an apprentice at the time and a keen aeromodeller. I bought that magazine every week but at the tender age of 17 failed to see any sexual connection in the text, simply baffled by the new technology. But, once the realisation broke, I became one of the most popular kids on the block as others stampeded to pore over the text! It is just possible that I still have it!

I am new to this game but the picture I was talking about is the bottom of three GCA pictures on page 1 and I hope i have added them here
[IMG]/community/80613=5389-West Malling 56A GCA.jpg[/img]
[IMG]/community/80613=5390-West Malling 56.jpg[/img] .

Carnaby;74665 wrote:

PB - some brilliant stuff there
NP - I've just downloaded lots of very interesting manuals and reports. No problems ? !

I worked on CPN4 in the '50's as a Radar fitter. It was prior to transistors and pc's. There were over 1700 valves in it.
I have an almost identical picture to the above from RAF Odiham where I was stationed.

Doues anyone know what the Royal Navy PAR installation looked like? I think they were installed at Ronaldsway, Isle of Man (HMS Urley), certainly the ground infrastucture was (and some still is) here. I suspect thay it might be a slimmed down version without the surveillance radar part as it was deigned to be installed on aircraft carriers which already had surveillance radar fitted. I think that Ronaldsway was similar, with a surveillance radar site on a hilltop just outside the airfield boundary, but so far haven't been able to confirm this. I've put my assumtion into my Ronaldsway ATC History website at: www.island-images.co.uk/ATC/zRon1940s/z1940s.html if anyone has any further information I would love to see it.

Cheers
Jon

Non-existant user wrote:

This is AN/CPN4 site at RAF West Malling in 1955 and 1956. I took this photo myself in the background you will see 25 squadron pan. I was also posted to RAF Biggin Hill and RAF Duxford these also had AN/CPN4 GCA.

I am new member, I don't see the picture either.

I was radar technician on CPN4 and MPN11 in the mid 1950's. Looking for pictures especially the inside of operations and the power trailer.

The only picture I can find of inside the ops truck... and the outside of an MPN-11 - along with some tales (not mine) here...

100thentrylocking.myfreeforum.org/sutra2396.php

And a CPN-4 here...

As an aside, the most 'obvious' difference between the CPN-4 and MPN-11 is the way they were put together to be either 'air transportable' or 'mobile' and that is revealed by the shape of the search aerial. The CPN-4 had an 'egg-shaped' mesh one and the MPN-11 had a solid, parabolic 'rectangle' one.

I've never found a picture of inside a power trailer. Some had two Hercules diesel/generators and some had one diesel/generator and a rotary converter to connect to the outside 'mains' to convert to the American 110v/60Hz required. I have memories of the air conditioner diesel being in there and some racks to hold spare plug-in units for the radar. But, after 40+ years since working on one, the memories have faded a little!

All in all, I had some good times on MPN-11 and have written about them in an autobiography I wrote about the time I spent at RAF Binbrook. PM a valid email address if you want and I can send you a copy of that chapter!