During the First World War, the station's purpose was to monitor the German High Seas Fleet which was making attacks on the East Coast of England.

In May 1941, the station played a central role in the location and sinking of the Bismarck, for which they were later thanked by then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

[2] The station intercepted communications from Soviet ships at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis; the reports were sent directly to the White House.

[5][6] In 1965, ACSWS was transferred to the control of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and became part of a network known as the Composite Signals Organisation (CSO).

[3] On 1 June 2007 GCHQ Scarborough was designated as a protected site for the purposes of Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.