Anthorn Radio Station Anthorn Radio Station is located near Anthorn , Cumbria , England , overlooking the Solway Firth , and is operated by Babcock International ( with whom former operators VT Communications are now merged ) . It has three transmitters : one VLF ; one LF ; and an eLORAN transmitter . The characteristic triangular pattern of roads is a remnant from the World War II military airfield which was operated by the Royal Navy Air Service as HMS " Nuthatch " . RNAS Anthorn . Work began on building an airfield at Anthorn for the Fleet Air Arm in late 1943 , with Royal Naval Air Station Anthorn , or HMS " Nuthatch " opening on 7 September 1944 , with three tarmac runways . It was the base of No . 1 Aircraft Receipt and Despatch Unit ( No . 1 ARDU ) , which had the job of receiving aircraft fresh from manufacturers , modifying them to Service standards and despatching them to operational squadrons , with the unit specialising in the Vought F4U Corsair . No . 1 ARDU continued to operate from Anthorn following the end of the Second World War , while a number of Fleet Air Arm Squadrons were also based at the airfield in the immediate post war years . The airbase shut down in March 1958 . Operational Units . " Source " : VLF transmitter . The VLF transmitter is used primarily for transmitting orders to submarines on 19 . 6 kHz . Its callsign is GQD . VLF transmissions are relatively unaffected by atmospheric nuclear explosions and Anthorn was once part of the link between Fylingdales early warning radar , North Yorkshire , and the United States ' air defence system . It is a NATO facility , controlled from Northwood Headquarters along with three other VLF transmitters in Norway , Germany and Italy . In accordance with the procedure for NATO projects , the project was the subject of a competition among the organisation ' s member countries . The British Post Office , acting as technical adviser and agent of the Ministry of Defence , chose the site , negotiated the contract and supervised the work , with the assistance of the Ministry of Public Building and Works . The contract was placed on 26 October 1961 with Continental Electronics Systems Incorporated of Dallas , Texas . This firm had already built a similar but much larger station in Maine , USA . Work began in 1962 and the station was accepted on behalf of the MoD in November 1964 . Originally , the station was designed to radiate a single telegraph channel at up to 45 . 5 baud and at powers ranging from 50 kW at 16 kHz to 100 kW at 20 kHz . The carrier frequency was to be stable to one part in 10 over a month . Subsequently the data rate was increased to 50 baud and the carrier stability improved . LF transmitter : National Physical Laboratory time signal . The National Physical Laboratory ( NPL ) has installed three atomic clock s at Anthorn and on 27 February 2007 Britain ’ s national time signal transmissions , retaining their original call sign of MSF , were transferred there on a trial basis , moving formally on 1 April 2007 . Monitoring and logging of the clocks and control of the transmissions is by Internet link from the NPL offices at Teddington , using comparison with GPS signals at both locations . Signal monitoring is by radio . To ensure accuracy , dynamic adjustment of the aerial according to local conditions ( such as wind distortion ) is controlled from computers on site . The signals , transmitted at 60 kHz , also provide a national frequency standard . The effective radiated power is 17 kW . LORAN . The General Lighthouse Authorities for Britain and Ireland have contracted VT Communications to develop e LORAN ( enhanced LORAN ) radio navigational aid for mariners . The transmitter is at Anthorn . Antenna system . The antenna system consists of thirteen masts , each tall , which are arranged in two rings around the central mast . The VLF antenna consists of four rhombic antennas hung on large insulators on the masts , which are all grounded . The LF antenna is a T - antenna spun between two masts .