Site of Second World War floodlight, opposite Paternoster Farm, Danbury (EHER 20851)

Now destroyed. The site of a Second World War floodlight which can be seen in an aerial photograph from May 1946. The floodlight was probably constructed between 1936 and 1940 as part of an experiment to light up the night sky with a grid of large, fixed 'floodlights', as a defence against German bombers. The experiment, termed 'Silhouette', failed as the network of floodlights acted as a navigational aid for the enemy aircraft, and it was subsequently terminated in March 1940. When visited in 2004, nothing of the floodlight remained; it had been demolished by 200.

November 2004. World War Two Defences in Chelmsford survey: site visit and desktop research. During the late 1930s/early 1940s (probably 1936-1940), an experiment was conducted to light up the night sky with a grid of large, fixed 'floodlights', as a defence against German bombers. Each installation consisted of a steel enclosure, 50 feet across, in which the floodlight was mounted surrounded by twelve large mirrors angled towards the sky. Information on the experiment is still scarce although enquiries by Mr F Plume at the PRO in 1992/3 have resolved some of the questions. <1> <2> A map drawn by Mr Plume in 1999, from his earlier investigations, shows 50 sites in Essex, located in an area from Little Leighs in the north to Eastwood in the south. It is not known whether this was the complete grid (although one floodlight is known to have been sited at Dovercourt, EHER 10715) or whether the experiment overlapped to other counties. <3> The experiment was not a success – it is said that the light reflecting from the clouds lit up the countryside as a perfect navigational aid for the bombers – and the work was terminated in March 1940. <4> An aerial photograph taken in May 1946 shows that one of the 'floodlights' stood on a hilltop opposite Paternoster Farm at Danbury. This is also shown on Mr Plume’s map. <5> An aerial photograph taken in 2000 shows that nothing now remains of the site and viewed from the road in November 2004 the field is now under cultivation. <4> See EHER 20565 for details of the only known remaining example of a Second World War floodlight from this experiment in Essex.