Krela and myself had a look at an old WW2 bombing decoy site and Z anti aircraft battery back in January its down on the Mendips on the Black Down hills just to the north of Cheddar. Most of the pics were taken by Krela.
Above taken from an English Heritage scheduled monument PDF.
http://www.magic.gov.uk/rsm/33064.pdf
Below is an aerial shot of the decoy site taken by the RAF just after the war.
The decoy is a grid pattern with mounds which would have lights on them to
simulate streetlights, from what I've read it seems the decoy mounds were
originally anti aircraft/glider landing obstructions.
Black Down hills today aerial shot from Live Local.
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=51.310443~-2.743342&style=h&lvl=16&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000
Pit for burning of petrol to simulate bombed houses?
Bombing decoy command bunker, this would have originally been covered in earth for increased protection. Theres two of these bunkers left of identical design which consist of, the outer blast wall, corridor, two rooms of which one would have contained three electrical generators (for the lighting of the decoy). The other room would have contained switchgear, communications equipment and a stove.
My size 12's stood on one of the three electrical generator plinths.
The second decoy bunker is identical in design to the first but still has its covering of earth banking protection, its entrance is gated and padlocked.
Side view of the second bunker, blast wall and entrance to the left. Small brick/concrete hole straight ahead was probably for electrical cables to power the lighting decoy.
Ooh, ooh! Is that an interesting pillbox or another decoy command bunker?
Nope its a water or fuel tank, oh well.
On top of the water/fuel tank, looks like 1954 to me, not exactly WW2 but I guess someone could have converted the tank or recovered it? Could still be wartime and connected to the decoy site.
Behind the second decoy bunker is the top of the hill where the anti aircraft/glider landing obstructions are, loads of gorse and brambles and on the ground you can't really see much of the decoy, the aerial pic and link I posted above will give you a much better idea of the layout.
B
The bombing decoy was part of a sophisticated system aimed at diverting
hostile air attacks away from Bristol whilst at the same time drawing
enemy bombers to within range of anti-aircraft fire. In the event of an
imminent air raid on Bristol, lighting decoys were put into operation on
Black Down south of Burrington and in the vicinity of Ashridge Farm. The
lighting decoys, known as QL sites, attempted to simulate the city lights
of Bristol under black-out conditions and they included devices to mimic
the flickering lights of railway marshalling yards as seen from the air
and the characteristic arcing flash of city trams. If the decoy was
considered to have been successful in attracting aircraft then
pre-prepared fires (known as QF sites) were electrically ignited to create
the illusion of targets having been set alight. The QF sites were operated
from control buildings placed at least 400m from the decoy fires; two
control buildings survive
Above taken from an English Heritage scheduled monument PDF.
http://www.magic.gov.uk/rsm/33064.pdf
Below is an aerial shot of the decoy site taken by the RAF just after the war.
The decoy is a grid pattern with mounds which would have lights on them to
simulate streetlights, from what I've read it seems the decoy mounds were
originally anti aircraft/glider landing obstructions.
Black Down hills today aerial shot from Live Local.
http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=51.310443~-2.743342&style=h&lvl=16&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000
Pit for burning of petrol to simulate bombed houses?
Bombing decoy command bunker, this would have originally been covered in earth for increased protection. Theres two of these bunkers left of identical design which consist of, the outer blast wall, corridor, two rooms of which one would have contained three electrical generators (for the lighting of the decoy). The other room would have contained switchgear, communications equipment and a stove.
My size 12's stood on one of the three electrical generator plinths.
The second decoy bunker is identical in design to the first but still has its covering of earth banking protection, its entrance is gated and padlocked.
Side view of the second bunker, blast wall and entrance to the left. Small brick/concrete hole straight ahead was probably for electrical cables to power the lighting decoy.
Ooh, ooh! Is that an interesting pillbox or another decoy command bunker?
Nope its a water or fuel tank, oh well.
On top of the water/fuel tank, looks like 1954 to me, not exactly WW2 but I guess someone could have converted the tank or recovered it? Could still be wartime and connected to the decoy site.
Behind the second decoy bunker is the top of the hill where the anti aircraft/glider landing obstructions are, loads of gorse and brambles and on the ground you can't really see much of the decoy, the aerial pic and link I posted above will give you a much better idea of the layout.
B