Monument record ALP 018 - WWII Searchlight Battery

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Summary

The site of a Second World War searchlight battery at Alpheton, manned by 33 Searchlight Regiment.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 8889 5110 (39m by 44m)
Map sheet TL85SE
Civil Parish ALPHETON, BABERGH, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

The site of a Second World War searchlight battery at Alpheton, situated at NGR TL 889 511/ MGR 9military grid reference M 340695. It was manned by 33 Searchlight Regiment. The battery was operational from October 1941. It formed part of a network of searchlights named Area DN02, which along with another such area (DN01) formed a defensive belt in the Essex-Cambridgeshire-Suffolk borders area.
Searchlight sites typically comprised a small ring-ditch to provide the crew with shelter during an air raid, a predictor emplacement for calculating the height and range of targets, a light anti-aircraft machine gun pit, a generator and hutted accommodation for the crew (S1).

Sources/Archives (3)

  • <S1> Index: English Heritage. Pastscape. http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=1499183.
  • <S2> Monograph: Lowry B (Ed.). 1996. 20th Century Defences in Britain: An Introductory Guide.
  • <S3> Monograph: Dobinson, C.. 2000. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England. Supporting Paper AA/1. Searchlight sites in WWII. A sample list.

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (0)

Record last edited

Apr 11 2022 3:53PM

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