# Decoy Airfield - Nazeing - Essex - April 2011



## nelly (Apr 2, 2011)

Every time I go on an explore my two youngest look at the photos and I hear "Dad, Dad, can we come with you?"

So today I decided it was time, armed with a torch, their £20 Argos cameras, and their Grandad, I took them to the decoy airfield at Nazeing

History taken from http://merlinsroared.tripod.com/id20.html

Nazeing Common 'KQ' site.

One of wartimes carefully kept secrets was the building of dummy or decoy airfields. Nazeing Common, just to the south of present day Harlow, was such a site.

Designed to be a decoy for nearby North Weald airfield, this site was for day and night use, hence the designation 'KQ'.

The idea for dummy structures or installations was designed to attract bombs away from the real airfield, It stemmed from an idea by Colonel John Turner, a Civil Engineer who became head of 'Works & Buildings' with the Air Ministry.

He was instrumental in conceiving these decoy airfield sites, of which over two hundred and thirty were built. He was himself a pilot and also understood the infrastructure and design of military airfields. With his HQ in the Shepperton Film studios, his department had the knowledge of deceptive construction, the big film company's were masters at creating an illusion from canvas and wood.

Dummy Hawker Hurricane aircraft made from These materials, among other things, were produced by a company called Greens Engineering, and were deemed very effective when in place. On these sites these dummy aircraft were moved around to simulate day to day movement on the 'airfield' to German reconnaisance aircraft and also their night bombers. 

Regular RAF airmen were used to man these 'airfields'. They were also protected by anti-aircraft guns and had the same lighting system in appearance as a normal airfield. By the use of some very clever lighting the men could simulate moving aircraft and create flarepaths, the illusion to German bomber crews was very effective. and for all intents and purposes, from a height, these dummy airfields looked like the real thing and succesfully attracted bombs away from the real airfield.

Command and control bunkers were built away from the layout of the 'airfield' so as to give the crews some protection. These buildings housed generators for powering the lighting and had an ops room where the the lights were operated from, and where contact could be maintained by telephone to the controlling station ie: North Weald itself. The other bunker at Nazeing was used for shelter and a general area for sleeping and cooking.

There were two incidents involving aircraft trying to attempt a landing on the decoy airfield at Nazeing common. A Vickers Wellington of 9 squadron from Honington Norfolk was returning from an operational flight and made a less than perfect landing. It was dismantled by an RAF recovery crew from North Weald and sent for repair. A Percival Proctor training aircraft also suffered the same fate.

The land on the site is as it appears today, very hilly, and not at all what you expect from an 'airfield'. The lighting was mounted on wooden poles of varying lengths, so as to keep the proportion and angles right in it's appearance from the air.

These sites were in operation from June 1940, but it is thought the Germans had detected Nazeing as a decoy site by the end of December. The site probably closed by the end of July 1941 as land was needed for increased agriculture. The decoy was originally built on common grazing land, and this was put to the plough in August 1941.







The Control Bunker



















































The Generator Building
The kids were banned from this one due to it being very unstable, just me and their Grandad

























He just had to sneak down didn't he, Hmmm





Thanks for looking

​


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## Ramsgatonian (Apr 2, 2011)

Very nice! I think decoy sites are really interesting. 

Is that a collapsible ladder in the last shot?


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## nelly (Apr 2, 2011)

Flyboy said:


> Very nice! I think decoy sites are really interesting.
> 
> Is that a collapsible ladder in the last shot?



It is indeed, he has helped me into many places, his name is Larry, Larry Ladder

2ft to 12 ft in 20 seconds


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## Ramsgatonian (Apr 2, 2011)

nelly said:


> It is indeed, he has helped me into many places, his name is Larry, Larry Ladder
> 
> 2ft to 12 ft in 20 seconds



Thinking of buying one, only £60 on ebay!


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## nelly (Apr 2, 2011)

Flyboy said:


> Thinking of buying one, only £60 on ebay!



Very useful, got mine from Ebay, they take me great and I'm quite a big fella


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## jonney (Apr 2, 2011)

Nice one Nelly, I was just looking at the photo's on facebook. There are a few decoy sites round here that I'm going to have to get out and photograph. Must admit the ladder is a very good idea


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## oldscrote (Apr 3, 2011)

Cheers Nelly nice pictures.When you gonna post the kids pictures then?


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## nelly (Apr 3, 2011)

oldscrote said:


> Cheers Nelly nice pictures.When you gonna post the kids pictures then?



These are the kids pictures!!! 

Lol, I'll add a few of their on the bottom later, they are very good!!! Cough, Cough!!!

One of them is even in focus


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## Priority 7 (Apr 3, 2011)

Ahh good old Larry a great friend when on those tricky explores. Nice shots did you get a chance to use the Canon again bud?


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## nelly (Apr 3, 2011)

Priority 7 said:


> Ahh good old Larry a great friend when on those tricky explores. Nice shots did you get a chance to use the Canon again bud?



Yes mate I did, I'm just getting used to it but I think my loan period may be coming to an end soon


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## sYnc_below (Apr 4, 2011)

Neat Starfish Site 

Larry needs to meet Rolly


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## nelly (Apr 4, 2011)

tocsin_bang said:


> Neat Starfish Site
> 
> Larry needs to meet Rolly



Ooooooh, what or who is Rolly


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## sYnc_below (Apr 4, 2011)

nelly said:


> Ooooooh, what or who is Rolly



Our paths seem destined to meet at some point in the near future so I'll show you


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## nelly (Apr 6, 2011)

South of the Decoy Airfield is a line of Pillboxes.


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## TeeJF (Apr 7, 2011)

I'm told we've got one of these close to where we live on a road called The Grain just outside Blackburn. I could never work out why they would build a decoy airfield where this one is unless BAE Salmsbury was functional during the war. I could also never work out how an aeroplane was meant to land on fiercely undulating moorland however your explanation solves that mystery! There's a bunker at one end of the site and then away about 4 miles east is another bunker and local history has it that a big hole in the ground just to the front of the bunker is a bomb crater. It certainly looks like one however I wouldn't even know for sure if it's even the decoy airfield it's supposed to be! In the 1990s we used to do night exercises with army cadets using the closer bunker as a strong point for them to carry out fire and manouvre against.


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## sYnc_below (Apr 7, 2011)

TeeJF said:


> I'm told we've got one of these close to where we live on a road called The Grain just outside Blackburn.



There's deffo a few Decoy Sites around Blackburn:

Hoghton SF (Special Fire)
Brinscall QL (Lights) & SF
Haslingden QL/SF
Oswaldtwistle Moor QF/QL


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## TeeJF (Apr 7, 2011)

tocsin_bang said:


> There's deffo a few Decoy Sites around Blackburn:
> 
> Hoghton SF (Special Fire)
> Brinscall QL (Lights) & SF
> ...



At a guess then it's going to be the Haslingden one because Haslingden is at the bomb impact end of the Grane Road. The shelter we used to use with the cadets is at the Belthorn/Blackburn end almost by the left turn off to Edgeworth. I thought that you should be able to see same on Google Earth but having just looked at the area it's so well hidden by the grass it doesn't really show. Would you like me to take a photo some time for you?

M


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## sYnc_below (Apr 7, 2011)

TeeJF said:


> At a guess then it's going to be the Haslingden one



The Haslingdon QL/SF is supposed to be up on the hill above the Jamestone Quarry (not sure its still there!!) and was there to protect something civilian.....was there a big railway near there? (Maybe it was to protect Haslingdon town itself)


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## TeeJF (Apr 7, 2011)

Jamestone Quarry is the correct location. As to what the decoy was protecting it's anybodies guess but I can't see it being Haslingden town itself as it's a sleepy little place... back in the 30s it would have been tiny. The nearest railway I can think of would be Blackburn and that's central rather than on the Belthorn edge of the town. Bit of a mystery. Anyhow I took a few piccies for what it's worth... the building(s) at the quarry/Haslingden end are either gone or buried over, I suspect the latter because there's a very man made looking lump right by the supposed bomb crater and some remnants of reinforced concrete close by. The shelter at the Belthorn end is still in a remarkably good state - I was surprised because it's been some years since I was last up there. There also appears to be another rubble/earth mound close by the shelter.

The shelter is just a short way from the road.






The roof has partially collapsed but is still intact for most of it's length.






Entrance...






Inside...






Steps out...






How could they make this into a believable airfield???






Alleged bomb crater at the quarry end of the same decoy airfield.


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## outkast (Apr 7, 2011)

The decoy site at Nazeing was for north weald airfield wich is quite some distance away, theres a similar site at bulpham near basildon, this was the decoy for hornchurch.

The earth has fallan away from the generator bunker on this one and you can see how its constructed more clearly.









The control bunker is not accesable and full of water and crap









Theres also different types of decoy site, this is the decoy for luton airport and consists of just one bunker, both generator and and control were in here














there were also decoy sites for oil refineries, this one was the decoy for shell haven on the thames, again just the single bunker





Dave


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## nelly (Apr 7, 2011)

Nice stuff, thanks lads


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