Luchtwacht-Observatietoren
This air-traffic control tower is a remnant of the Cold War. In the 1950s, there was still no reliable radar equipment to detect low-flying aircraft.
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To ensure the airspace was kept under close watch, various watchtowers were erected. To save costs, these towers were mainly built on points that were naturally higher than the surrounding landscape, such as hills, dykes and ramparts. In total, there were 276 observation posts spread throughout the Netherlands. Of these, 138 were situated on existing buildings, such as windmills and factories. In addition, a further 138 new towers were built specifically for this purpose by the Air Watch Service Corps. The watchtowers were constructed from prefabricated concrete honeycomb elements. The tower in Winschoten was also built specifically for the Cold War. It is one of the few towers that has been relatively well preserved.