RAF Swingate Down
RAF Swingate Down Shown within Kent
Coordinates	51°08′22″N 1°20′30″E / 51.13944°N 1.34167°E / 51.13944; 1.34167
Site information
Owner	Air Ministry
Operator	Royal Air Force
Site history
Built	1913 (1913) 1938
In use	1913-1920 1938-1945 (1945)

Royal Air Force Swingate Down or more simply RAF Swingate Down is a former Royal Air Force Chain Home Low radar station operational during the Second World War located north of Dover, Kent, England.

The site was situated on alongside RAF Dover, another Radar section together on the removed First World War landing ground of RAF Dover.

RAF Dover was first established during August 1913, initially as stopping-off point before flying over the English Channel to France and was used by the following units:^[1]

• No. 2 Squadron RAF
• No. 3 Squadron RAF
• No. 4 Squadron RAF
• No. 5 Squadron RAF
• No. 7 Squadron RAF
• No. 9 Squadron RAF
• No. 12 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron RAF
• No. 13 Reserve Aeroplane Squadron RAF became No. 13 Reserve Squadron RAF became No. 13 Training Squadron RAF
• No. 15 Squadron RAF
• No. 20 Reserve Squadron RAF
• No. 27 Squadron RAF
• No. 49 Squadron RAF
• No. 50 Squadron RAF
• No. 58 Squadron RAF
• No. 62 Training Squadron RAF
• No. 64 Reserve Squadron RAF
• No. 65 Training Squadron RAF became No. 53 Training Depot Station RAF
• No. 110 Squadron RAF^[2]
• No. 212 Squadron RAF^[3]
• Machine Gun School

RAF Dover was re-established as a Chain Home radar station during 1938.^[4]

RAF Swingate Down was located to the east of RAF Dover but within the confines of the old landing ground as Chain Home Low radar station.^[4]

The site is a transmitting station.^[4]

• Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

v t e   Royal Air Force radar stations
UK radar stations	active Benbecula Brizlee Wood Buchan Neatishead Portreath Saxa Vord Staxton Wold former Aird Uig Ash Bawdsey Beachy Head Bempton Bent Rigg Bishops Court Chenies Craster Cresswell Danby Beacon Donna Nook1 Dry Tree Goldsborough Holmpton Hope Cove Kilchiaran Patrington Portland Ringstead Sopley Stenigot Swingate Down Trimingham Ventnor West Beckham
worldwide radar stations	active Byron Heights (Falkland Islands) Mount Alice (Falkland Islands) Mount Kent (Falkland Islands) Mount Olympus (Cyprus) former Madalena (Malta)
notes	1: Still in RAF use as a bombing range