Site of Second World War bombing decoy at Stambourne (EHER 20304)

A Second World War bombing decoy at Stambourne that was built to deflect enemy bombing from Royal Air Force Debden airfield. It was later used as a decoy for Royal Air Force Ridgewell airfield. This was a 'Q-type' night decoy, which displayed a sequence of lights to simulate an active airfield. The site included an earth-covered bunker that housed the generator and provided shelter for the crew who manned the decoy. The Stambourne site is referenced as being in use between June 1940 and August 1942. By the 1980s the site had been given over to agricultural use and no features of the decoy survive. A further bombing decoy site for Royal Air Force Ridgewell was located at Poslingford.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Documented in contemporary records, "Stambourne" was a World War Two airfield decoy controlled initially by RAF Debden, 10 miles to the west, and later, the RAF/USAAF base at Ridgewell, 2 miles to the north-east. It was constructed to deflect enemy bombing from RAF Debden, and later also used for RAF Ridgewell. It is referenced as being active between 19-JUN-1940 and 12-AUG-1942. The site was a night-time "Q" type, a type which simulated, across open countryside, the night-time lights, and to a limited extent the activity, of an operational airfield. Typically, simulation included electric runway lights laid in operational patterns, obstruction/recognition lighting and the headlamps of taxiing aircraft. Control and power came from a substantial earth-covered "night-shelter", situated some distance away, which housed the generator, switchgear and decoy manning personnel. <1> - <3> By 1980 the site had been given over to agricultural use and no features of the decoy survive. <4> An earth-covered bunker housed the generator the lighting of the 'Q-type' decoy, which also provided shelter for the decoy crew. <5> A further bombing decoy for RAF Ridgewell was located at Poslingford. <6> August 1999. Site visit. The contemporary Military Grid Reference of the site, 87/177581, is an open expanse of fields half a mile to the north-east of Stambourne. No information has been found either on the extent of the decoy or the siting of the night shelter. Two photos taken of the area. <7> <8>