More information : BOMBING DECOY SITE. SRF, with 1 photograph. Decoy for North Weald. Recorder- A. Beanse. (1)
A Second World War 'Q-type' and 'K-type' bombing decoy located at Nazeing (TL 421 055). It was constructed to deflect enemy bombing from RAF North Weald. The 'Q-type' decoy is referenced as being in use between 19-JUN-1940 and 01-AUG-1941. The 'K-type' decoy is referenced as being active from 13-MAR-1940 until its closure on 27-JUN-1941. A further bombing decoy for RAF North Weald was located at Blackmore (TL 619 043). (2)
A partially covered control building survives on the site in good condition at TL 4275 0572. The south-facing entrance is unblocked, but there is no blast wall. A rectangular patch of scrub, which appeared as a mound in 1946, could be an earlier 'K-type' control building. (3)
NGR concords with that given in source 2. The 'K-type' day decoy was equipped with dummy Hurricane aircraft developed by the Green Brothers' company. The 'K-type' decoy closed down on 27-JUN-1941 as it had been spotted as a decoy by German reconnaissance. In July 1940 the Nazeing decoy site also became used as a 'QF' fire decoy. (4)
The Nazeing decoy site featured two earth-covered bunkers (located at TL 4173 0568 and TL 4175 0575); air raid bunkers for decoy crew; and a long, single-storey hut, which once was the Women's Auxillary Air Force's billet. The two control bunkers which housed the generator, operations room and decoy crew, still survive on the hillside overlooking the decoy area. The northernmost of these, at TL 4175 0575, is a substantial, brick and concrete construction. The Essex SMR number for this decoy is 10107. (5) |