Ministry of Defence - KEEP OUT

[David Paterson]

But this relic of the Cold War was strangely deserted. I'm no spy, not even a whistle-blower but I'm sure all those crows were up to no good.   

[Mike G]

My old employer, Crows are always up to something! Is the place still in use or has it been shut down.

Nice piccie by the way, sorry, damn it I'm so easily distracted these days

[David Paterson]

Mike - it had every appearance of being deserted, if not actually abandoned, but it still had the warning signs and the grass inside the security  compound had been cut sometime within the last 3 months or so.

[elsa hoffmann]

Ominous looking. Maybe because of the title and crows 
Nice pic for me too

[Mike G]

Dave, one way to tell if the place is abandoned is to have a look at the car park! Somewhere there will be another establishment responsible for the grounds maintenance! There is also the possibility that the system is being remotely operated! The mast next to the dome would have held a variety of comms antennae, but now looks bare!

Elsa, these buildings hark back to a less technological era that needed this type of dome! But as you know technology moves on!

[Fons Baerken]

Now i thought that was an oversized golfball

[David Paterson]

Thanks for all the comments.

Fons - these things were often called golf-balls by people who lived near them. I believe the white plastic ball is there to hide the dimensions of the radar dish / antenna which is inside. If an enemy could see and therefore measure / calculate the dimensions of the equipment, he could work out what wavelengths were being used and so take counter-measures.

Perhaps Mike can tell us if that is correct?

[Mike G]

Dave, sadly I can't give you a definitive answer but what you said makes sense to, also it may protect the dish from high winds and weather, the most famous site was of course Fylingdales on the east coast up north somewhere!