Warden Point Battery - Warden Point, Kent
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member SMacB
N 51° 24.940 E 000° 54.171
31U E 354169 N 5698137
World War 2 sea defences at Warden Point on the Isle of Sheppey. The pillboxes have fallen in to the sea due to the eroding coastline on the island.
Waymark Code: WMZ3C8
Location: South East England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/04/2018
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Geojeepsters
Views: 1

"The site was chosen for an Army coast defence (CD) radar in early 1941, to reinforce the radar defences against the expected German seaborne invasion.

The Royal Air Force had already adapted some of the Army radar once the equipment had demonstrated that it could detect low-flying aircraft as well as ships.

The title CHL was added to the radars acquired by the RAF, they then being known as CD/CHL stations. By the autumn of 1940 the Army had identified 135 CD sites covering possible invasion beaches, and gave them the "M" prefix which became standard for the 1.5 metre CD/CHL sites. Not all of the 135 sites found by the end of 1940 were intended for immediate development, only 90 were considered for immediate construction, with the highest priority being given to those sites facing the enemy, M1 ? M16 on the south coast.
With a manning state of 23 men (including 9 guards) per site these 16 sites were commissioned before May 1941.

By the end of 1942 the RAF had taken over the responsibility for coast watching radars and used some of the CD sites to fill gaps in its own schedule of CHL stations, with the result that only 38 of the CD ?M? sites would need to be completed.
By the end of May 1941 Warden Point (M69) was under construction.
However, by 1 November 1941 none of the CD stations listed as Temporary status (including Warden Point) were operating and for various reasons it was unlikely that any of them were actually provided with radars.

By 1942 the RAF inventory of radars took on a new turn when centimetric equipments became available, of better performance than the previous metric radars. The line up for CD/CHL sites was the 16 operational on the south coast (M1 - M16), a further ten planned for Triple Service developments, and 34 sites in the former army chain apparently in limbo."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Nearby there is also a WWI sound mirror - "A forerunner of radar, acoustic mirrors were built on the south and northeast coasts of England between about 1916 and the 1930s. The ‘listening ears’ were intended to provide early warning of incoming enemy aircraft."

Ref - (visit link)
Admission Fee: 0

Related Website: Not listed

Supplementary Related Website: Not listed

Opening Days/Times: Not listed

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Posting a picture(s) of the location would be nice although not required.
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