In spite of the extremely high priority given to the ROTOR project, the whole scheme was superseded only a few months after it was begun. Two developments made the whole scheme redundant.
The Soviets developed the Hydrogen Bomb, making the hardened installations built up to that time useless, and the new ‘Type 80′ radar was developed. This new radar was such an advance that a few sites round the country replaced the dozens of ROTOR sites. It also meant enormous cost savings in terms of people, plant, sites etc so, only a few year after it was completed, Truleigh Hill’s Cold War usefulness came to an end.
By 1957 the whole site was all but cleared and in 1965 it was returned to private ownership.
