An unplanned trip to Shoreham gave me a chance to look at the defences along the eastern perimeter of Shoreham airfield. There are a lot of placemarks here on the EDOB, many are duplicates, so this was a chance to sort out the wheat from the chaff. They were setting up for the airshow the following day so access to some of them was not possible.
First up overlooking the access road to the old ferry bridge is S0009731 a bespoke type, effectively rectangular with the front corners chamfered to create a six sided pillbox. An external blast wall protects the entrance and there are embrasures in all the sides. It's totally bricked up and the shuttering is in a poor state and the blast wall is falling into the ditch behind it.
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Very close but on the other side of the ditch and not accessible at the time is S0007654 which is Field Gun Emplacement identical to all the other River Adur emplacements I posted previously. Sited to fire east across the river at the bridge.
Field Gun Emplacement S0007654 by cptpies, on Flickr
Field Gun Emplacement S0007654 by cptpies, on Flickr
Next up is S0001908 which is identical to S0009731 but open and accessible. This one faces south enfilading the embankment.
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
There is supposed to be one or possiblty two type 22s close to this location but I think the two placemarks that suggest this are misidentifications of the two variant pillboxes.
A few hundred yards down the embankment are what are listed as pillboxes but are quite clearly a LAA positions. S0002245 & S0007658. They would have been the same but S0002245 has been mostly demolished apart from the platform. The circular impression of the base of the gun mount is visible but no holdfast bolts are apparent, the enclosure would be about right for a motley mount or possibly a 20mm Oerlikon/Polsten.
S0002245
Partially demolished gun platform. S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
S0007658 with a magazine / crew shelter attached to the side.
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
I failed to spot S0002251 and realised I had missed it when I got home, it is probably very overgrown or gone. It's another one the same as the previous two variant pillboxes but with what appears to be an AA well attached to it so was misidentified as a type 23.
Last up is S0007619 which is similar to the other pillboxes but has all four corners chamfered to provide more embrasures and also has the AA well on the north side. The internal shot shows the entrance to the AA well on the right hand side.
Variant Pillbox S0007619 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0007619 by cptpies, on Flickr
No sign of S0002247 and the description pegs it as a probable duplicate of the one above.
First up overlooking the access road to the old ferry bridge is S0009731 a bespoke type, effectively rectangular with the front corners chamfered to create a six sided pillbox. An external blast wall protects the entrance and there are embrasures in all the sides. It's totally bricked up and the shuttering is in a poor state and the blast wall is falling into the ditch behind it.
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0009731 by cptpies, on Flickr
Very close but on the other side of the ditch and not accessible at the time is S0007654 which is Field Gun Emplacement identical to all the other River Adur emplacements I posted previously. Sited to fire east across the river at the bridge.
Field Gun Emplacement S0007654 by cptpies, on Flickr
Field Gun Emplacement S0007654 by cptpies, on Flickr
Next up is S0001908 which is identical to S0009731 but open and accessible. This one faces south enfilading the embankment.
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0001908 by cptpies, on Flickr
There is supposed to be one or possiblty two type 22s close to this location but I think the two placemarks that suggest this are misidentifications of the two variant pillboxes.
A few hundred yards down the embankment are what are listed as pillboxes but are quite clearly a LAA positions. S0002245 & S0007658. They would have been the same but S0002245 has been mostly demolished apart from the platform. The circular impression of the base of the gun mount is visible but no holdfast bolts are apparent, the enclosure would be about right for a motley mount or possibly a 20mm Oerlikon/Polsten.
S0002245
Partially demolished gun platform. S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0002245 by cptpies, on Flickr
S0007658 with a magazine / crew shelter attached to the side.
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
AA platform S0007658 by cptpies, on Flickr
I failed to spot S0002251 and realised I had missed it when I got home, it is probably very overgrown or gone. It's another one the same as the previous two variant pillboxes but with what appears to be an AA well attached to it so was misidentified as a type 23.
Last up is S0007619 which is similar to the other pillboxes but has all four corners chamfered to provide more embrasures and also has the AA well on the north side. The internal shot shows the entrance to the AA well on the right hand side.
Variant Pillbox S0007619 by cptpies, on Flickr
Variant Pillbox S0007619 by cptpies, on Flickr
No sign of S0002247 and the description pegs it as a probable duplicate of the one above.
