Monument record COR 035 - World War Two anti tank ditch

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Summary

The line of a World War Two defensive anti-tank ditch or ‘tank trap’ is visible on aerial photographs running from the coast at Corton towards the Flixton Decoy to the southwest. This linear defence, along with LWT 045 to the east, would have provided part of the invasion defences surrounding Lowestoft.

Location

Grid reference Centred TM 5220 9741 (1281m by 1270m)
Map sheet TM59NW
Civil Parish BLUNDESTON, WAVENEY, SUFFOLK
Civil Parish CORTON, WAVENEY, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (4)

Full Description

A section of tank trap covering over 2km is visible on late 1941 aerial photographs (S1,S2). The feature covers an area to the north of Corton and then heads off to the north-west. The tank trap comprises of trenches dug through fields and artificially deepened watercourses. The spoil from the deepening or creation of the ditch can be seen in many places as a bank on one or both sides of the ditch. The tank trap was an important part of the World War II defences in this area. It does not show on photographs from the February 1941, so it must have been constructed between February & August 1941. It can still be clearly seen on photographs from 1944 (S3), but by the 1970s there is hardly a trace of it left to be seen.

January 2014. Lothingland, Lowestoft and North Suffolk Coast and Heaths National Mapping Programme.
A continuation of this anti-tank ditch or ‘tank trap’ and associated banks and tank cubes is recorded to the west of the previously identified section and it runs for a further 2km following the lines of existing drainage channels down to the northern tip of Flixton Decoy and Blundeston Lodge Lake (S4-S6).
S. Horlock (Norfolk Historic Environment Service), 28th January 2014.

Sources/Archives (6)

  • <S1> Photograph: RAF. Air Photograph. S/423 H13 1416 Frms84-86 20-Aug-1941.
  • <S2> Photograph: RAF. Air Photograph. 2H/BR165 FrmsA5-A6 24-Dec-1941.
  • <S3> Photograph: RAF. Air Photograph. HLA/694 Frms3096-3097 26-Mar-1944.
  • <S4> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF 2A/BR85 5-6 01-SEP-1941 (EHA).
  • <S5> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF/106G/LA/27 RP 3090-3091 05-AUG-1944 (EHA).
  • <S6> Vertical Aerial Photograph: Vertical Aerial Photograph. RAF/106G/LA/21 RP 3056-3057 04-JUL-1944 (EHA).

Finds (0)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Sep 24 2014 1:42PM

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