There are two in Dorset
I know there is another on the path to Winspit, from Worth Matravers, and also the remains of another on Studland.
Great little things to find, but yeah, sod having to man one!
There are two in Dorset
I know there is another on the path to Winspit, from Worth Matravers, and also the remains of another on Studland.
Great little things to find, but yeah, sod having to man one!
Hi There , New to DP ,looking at A W Turrets thought i'd let you know there are 2 more on the Bayfield Estate,few miles inland from Cley. Hope to get pics when camera is fixed!!
Not a roomy place I agree, but much better than a Tett Turret. As I understand it both these types weren't intended as pilboxes in the conventional sense but actually as hardened AA defences around sensitive sites such as Chain Home radar sites and Army camps. They would afford the firer much better protection under air attack than just standing out in the open and blasting away. They wouldn't have been permanently manned.
True.Several near me are located on an airfield.Having said that,this one seems by its position to part of the Norfolk coastal defences,being only a couple of hundred yards from the beach.
As I understand it both these types weren't intended as pilboxes in the conventional sense but actually as hardened AA defences around sensitive sites such as Chain Home radar sites and Army camps.
I'm not entirely sure that's the case. The one near me is on it's own in a defensive point with a couple of spigot mortars. I think (though I haven't checked) that there are a few near Cockley Cley / Oxborough area in Norfolk where they may also be defensive points in their own right.
I'd suspect that they may have been used in flatland areas like parts of Norfolk and the Fens as stand alone defences in preference to pillboxes, due to the fact they were easier to disguise in a flat landscape.
The one near me is on a stop line, with no major defensive structures or military assets nearby, other than a couple of spigot mortars. The guns were mounted horizontally and were anti-personnel guns, or anti-tank rifles, so only useful against ground attack.
I have a book on norfolks fixed defences which shows a picture of a 'turret with a Lewis gun mounted for AA use' and it states that the front opening was for use against infantry. Hypoboy was right about them being less conspicuous than pillbox as 'these were considered a desirable alternative to conventional pillboxes as they were lower and easier to conceal'The top hatch was designed for AA use.One point however,I suspose that the second crew member was responsible for rotating the turret.That is if he could hear anything,the noise must have been deafening.
Hercules do you know of the Pillbox near Mundesely?
Not sure which one you're referring to, do you mean the one with a 'cone' on top
If so see my last post in WW2 defences I've posted some pics of it
Excellent Pic. What i wondered was,do the same crew man the AA gun as the pillbox?
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