Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Site of Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery F3 at Dumpton with four mobile guns mapped over 20 metres from military aerial photographs.

Monument Types

• ANTI AIRCRAFT BATTERY (Modern - 1942 AD to 1945 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery F3 at Dumpton, mapped from a series of aerial photographs taken throughout and after the war.

Site of a Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery F3 at Dumpton with four mobile guns, mapped from several runs of military aerial photographs taken during and after the war. Prior to the construction of the battery, a slit trench had been excavated (639064E, 166471N), visible in 1941 [1] and measures 20m long. This trench is out of use but still visible in 1942 [2], however it is gone by 1946. Pathways linking the site to the large military complex to the north are also apparent in 1942, however are out of use by 1946.

Originally a football ground (labelled as such in the Epoch 4 1:2500 historic mapping from 1938 and goal posts are visible on a photograph taken in December 1941 [1]), the area was converted into a battery by May 1942 [2] when it is visibly under construction. The four gun emplacements are in the process of being built; three of which are still circular and one has been squared off. A road (Salisbury Avenue) is visible running through the battery in 1941. Numerous different sized tents are seen around the exterior of the football pitch along with evidence for mobile activity on the former pitch area, including possible foot prints for structures.

By April 1946 [3] Salisbury Avenue is no longer in use. The four gun emplacements, used to house 3.7-inch mobile guns, are completed and are square features with a central pintle for attaching the guns to and are heavily banked up with earth material. The internal width of the emplacements range between 7m and 8m, and the thickness of the exterior banks is the same again. In the centre of the emplacements is a probable banked over structure (639031E, 166475N), possibly acting as the command post or a shelter, with at least three entrances. It measures 22m by 12m. The tents are no longer visible but several Nissen huts and other structures have been erected to the SW and SE corners of the battery, including two rectangular open walled structures, possibly used for protection. The 11 Nissen structures vary in length from 7.6m to 32m.

By September 1948 [4] only the two most NW emplacements are visible although their pintles have been removed. Salisbury Avenue is once again accessible and traverses the site through the location of the central banked over structure.

There is no sign of the battery by December 1960 [5] and grass is visible across the area.

A transcription of the features recorded from aerial photography exists within a GIS layer held by this HER [6].

<6> Wessex Archaeology, 2009-10, South-East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - Aerial Photographic Transcriptions (Digital archive). SWX15705.

<6> Wessex Archaeology, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey - (SE RCZAS) Phase 1: National Mapping Programme Report (Unpublished document). SKE25955.

<6> Cornwall Council Historic Environment Projects and Gloucestershire County Council, 2011, South East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Components 1&2: Results of NMP Mapping (Unpublished document). SKE25954.

Sources and further reading