Site of Second World War searchlight battery at Roos Farm (EHER 82882)
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Summary
The site of a Second World War searchlight battery at Roos Farm, near Debden Airfield. It was manned by 33 Searchlight Regiment. The battery was operational from October 1941. It formed part of a network of searchlights named Area DN02, which along with another such area (DNO1) formed a defensive belt in the Hertfordshire-Essex-Cambridgeshire-Suffolk borders area.
Presumably given its proximity to the military airfield to the south east and even closer proximity to the airfields outer defences it may have also had a specific role in protecting that installation. Searchlight sites typically comprised a small ring-ditch to provide the crew with shelter during an air raid, a predictor emplacement for calculating the height and range of targets, a light anti-aircraft machine gun pit, a generator and hutted accommodation for the crew.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | TL 5470 3600 (point) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | SAFFRON WALDEN, UTTLESFORD, ESSEX |
Type and Period
Description
NRHE data transfer:
The site of a Second World War searchlight battery at Roos Farm, "Debden" Situated at TL 547 360/ MGR L 996 548 (military grid reference. It was manned by 33 Searchlight Regiment. The battery was operational from October 1941. It formed part of a network of searchlights named Area DN02, which along with another such area (DNO1) formed a defensive belt in the Essex-Cambridgeshire-Suffolk borders area. <1>
In Source 1, the location of the searchlight battery at "Debden" refers to the nearby military airfield rather than directly to the parish. Presumably given its proximity to this important military airfield, which lies about 1 KM to the south-east and its even closer proximity to the airfield's outer defences (pillboxes) this searchlight battery may have also had a specific role in protecting that installation in addition to the role ascribed in <1>. <2>
Searchlight sites typically comprised a small ring-ditch to provide the crew with shelter during an air raid, a predictor emplacement for calculating the height and range of targets, a light anti-aircraft machine gun pit, a generator and hutted accommodation for the crew. <3>
Sources
- <1> SEX60904 Monograph: Dobinson, C. S.. 2000. Twentieth Century Fortifications in England, AA/1: Searchlight Sites in WWII. p.27.
- <2> SEX75707 MISCELLANEOUS MATERIAL: Oral information, correspondence (not archived), or staff comments. Record Compiler's comment, Robin Page, 10-JUN-2009.
- <3> SEX76224 Monograph: Lowry, B.. 1995. 20th Century Defences in Britain: An Introductory Guide. p.63.
Related Events (1)
Other References
- NRHE identifier: 1498810
- National Monuments Record: TL 53 NW 235