RAF Harrowbeer

The picture shows the path leading to the direction finding tower, which was sited about 1.5 miles south of the airfield. The tower was wooden and on top would be mounted an antenna with dipoles oriented north, south, east and west. It would be connected to a cathode ray display in the watch tower. If an aircraft was in distress and could not identify the airfield visually, a VHF carrier signal could be emitted, enabling the pilot to identify the tower and hopefully the airfield. The aircraft position could be plotted on a cathode display in the watch tower. The antenna was powered by batteries which were recharged in a hut which was situated to the middle right of the picture, where the grass extends beyond the path.