A Trip Down Memory Lane Mariepskop Radar Base (8 October 2016)

Hopefully the correct forum?

Reageer gerus in Afrikaans - dis net my tande (en tik vingers) wat stomp raak!

Pardon me if I have posted this before.

"In the 1950’s, the planning and development of Mariepskop Radar Station started. Project NATSEC (National Security) was launched to establish a chain of radar stations along the borders of the then Transvaal in order to protect the Witwatersrand area from possible aerial attack emanating from neighbouring states. These radars were to ensure optimum coverage, and thus a communication network was essential for the link with the fighter base at Waterkloof as well as with each other. Subsequently, in 1954, Capt Cockbain and Cpl Franke ventured through the forest in order to reach the mountaintop of Mariepskop to assess the site for radio communication.

 In 1955 1 Mobile Construction Flight started construction of the road to Mariepskop, which was deemed impossible by both civilian and provincial contractors. WO1 Rohrbeck was in charge of this unit and spent a year extending the forest road by five kilometres to the proposed domestic site, so as to use it as a base of operations. The basic road, to carry up equipment with which to establish the planned radio repeater site, was finally completed in February 1957. On 21 March 1957, the first radar radiation tests from Mariepskop took place and after some (possibly radical) adjustments were made, proved so successful that the decision was taken to go ahead with plans to establish a radar station there.

 Construction of 1 Air Defence Unit during the early 1960’s

 In late 1961, the Rohrbeck road was widened to accommodate the large equipment and servicing vehicles needed in the operation of an Air Defence Satellite Station. The contract for the radar equipment was awarded to the British Marconi Company, and so 1 Satellite Radar Station of the South African Air Force grew in reality. 1 Air Defence Unit began operating on 1 January 1964 and Mariepskop was officially named 1 Satellite Radar Station. The station became operational on 18 November 1965 and was declared officially open on the same day by the then Prime Minister Dr H.F. Verwoerd.

 After some years of successful operating, the need arose for the upgrading of the unit, and this coincided with the need for another name and so the Lowveld Air Space Control Sector (LASS) was subsequently opened by Gen D.J. Earp, SSA, SD, SM. During August 1989 the unit moved to a new complex at AFB Hoedspruit and Mariepskop became a Reporting Post for the Sector Control Centre (SCC). Lt Gen J.P.B. van Loggerenberg, SSAS, SD, officially opened the new Complex at AFB Hoedspruit on 30 November 1990. It was also during the same year that LASS celebrated its 6th anniversary, and Mariepskop its 25th.

Construction of LASS at AFB Hoedspruit.  (Source: Adapted from http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_hoedspruit/lass.htm)

 The first fog-harvesting for water in South Africa was done at Mariepskop in 1969/70. It was used as an interim measure to supply water to the South African Air Force personnel manning the radar station. By constructing two large plastic mesh fog screens (28m x 3,5m each) at right angles to each other to catch the prevailing winds, 11 liters of water per square meter of collecting surface, per day could be harvested.

 https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3JHTW_mariepskop-floral-diversity-military-stronghold?guid=44ce21e7-e421-4acb-83c7-987efd27949a

In another of my posts I alluded to seeing an aircraft coming out of the sea on the radar system. This was an aircraft taking off from a Russian aircraft carrier off LM (Lourenco Marques). How many of you can say you have seen this?