Hi does anyone have any information on bombing decoys that were at Sneaton Moor during the second world war and secondly any information on low bridge camp, Harwood dale. i carnt find no info no where but i have plans for the camp so there must be someone out there that will have information. the camp was part of the Fylingdales practice ranges. thanks Nick
Nick, not been able to find anything on Sneaton Moor, but plenty ref WW2 defence batteries from the Noth Yorks Moors upto Berwick. If its of interst ill post the info / link
And then I find something A WWII training ground and decoy to deceive the Luftwaffe Littlebeck was once regarded as being fairly isolated and possibly because it was so, the valley played an important part during the 1939/45 war. Maybecks is a continuation of the valley that peters out on the moor near the Fylingdales Early Warning Station. This area was used by the army for training and after the war it was quite common to find vast quantities of used 303 rifle cartridge cases and occasionally live rounds lying amongst the heather and bracken. Several years ago people were still finding them with a metal detector. On the area of moor above Littlebeck known as Sneaton Low Moor the RAF devised a system of lights to simulate street lighting which was activated at night along with fires and controlled explosions to give the effect of a town undergoing an air-raid. This area was on the flight path of the Luftwaffe approaching the industrial areas of Teesside and it was hoped that the crews would be deceived into thinking they had reached their target and drop their bomb load prematurely. It is not known how successful the ruse was but quite a number of bombs were dropped on the surrounding moors. It is still possible to see the remains of one of the brick/concrete bunkers used by the RAF personnel to control the explosions etc outside the entrance to the caravan site on the Maybeck road.
Not all the deceptions worked as well as Sneaton. They built a dummy airfield at Driffield and the Germans dropped a wooden bomb on it!
World War II The majority of coastal/maritime features in Block 1 date from WWII and the approach followed here is that set out in Chapter 5 of NERCZA. Major sites which survive whole or in part are described in detail with minor, ephemeral and destroyed sites being recorded in tabular form. The WWII military features in the coastal zone can be divided into two groups according to whether their role was mainly or to defend against bombardment, from the sea or from the air, or to confront a possible invasion, although the two categories are not mutually exclusive. 6.4.3.1 Coastal defence batteries The coastal defence batteries were intended to respond to coastal bombardment and were the first line of defence in the event of an attempted landing. Eleven facilities of this kind have been identified in Block 1. The only coastal defence battery recorded on the coast east of Saltburn is a brick and concrete structure (NZ71502010, NMR 1320424) to the east of Skinningrove Harbour and facing north out to sea. It has now been cleared but a photograph dating from 1993 shows that it consisted of a semi-circular gun emplacement with an oblong structure to the rear. There is no HER record for this site but photographs in 1993 show that was still extant then. The Pasley Coastal Defence Battery is recorded at NZ57602540 (NMR 1459754, Tees 760). Details of this site have been transcribed from an aerial photograph from which it can be seen as an irregular five-sided enclosure measuring about 200m by 100m within which are a number of buildings. This battery is recorded as mounting one 9.2 inch gun. This site lies immediately NE of the Redcar Steel Works and LIDAR coverage suggests that elements of it may still be traceable on the ground, though a number features have been removed. The C19 century coastal defence battery on the South Gare Breakwater was brought back into commission during WWII when it is recorded as mounting two 6" guns (NMR 900075). The extensive and complex remains are difficult to interpret from the aerial photographs but in addition to the gun emplacements, include a number of military buildings, trackways and barbed wire fences The South Gare Breakwater Battery provided cover for the mouth of the Tees. This was supported by a further battery for a 4 inch gun at Redcar Jetty (NZ55532567 NMR 1425096). The transcription of an aerial photograph enables a number of features in addition to the gun emplacement to be identified. These include three searchlight batteries, two command posts, two weapons pits and various other military buildings with track ways and barbed wire obstructions. This site now lies under the Redcar Steel Works. A further gun battery is recorded overlooking North Gare Sands (NZ53502732, Tees 993). Details of this site are not available and it has been built over. However, its situation in relation to the mouth of the river is similar to the battery at Redcar Jetty and it may have fulfilled a similar role. Further north, two 6 inch guns were mounted at Seaton Carew (NZ52293073, NMR 1467010) while both the Lighthouse and the Heugh Batteries at Hartlepool Headland mounted 6 inch guns. The APTE has recorded a further gun emplacement west of the Headland at NZ51293483 (NMR 1460807). This appears to consist of two ‘horse-shoe‘ shaped earthworks each about 12m by 14m and facing towards the shore. A number of military buildings are also recorded on the site. Table 6.26 WWII coastal defence batteries in Block 1 NGR Name & calibre HER SMP Importance Risk NZ71502010 Skinningrove, ? NMR 1320424 17.2 Medium High NZ57602540 Pasley, 1 x 9.2 inch Tees 760 13.7 High High NZ45564279 South Gare, 2 x 6 inch Tees 3562 13.6 High High NZ55532567 Redcar Jetty, 1 x 4 inch NMR 1425096 13.5 n/a n/a NZ53502732 North Gare Sands,? Tees 993 13.4 n/a n/a NZ52293073 Seaton Carew, 2 x 6 inch NMR 1467010 13.1 n/a n/a NZ53213379 The Heugh, 2 x 6 inch Tees 698 11.3 High Medium NZ53173380 Lighthouse, 2 x 6 inch Tees 4760 12.1 High Medium NZ51293483 ?, 2 x 6 inch NMR 1460807 11.2 n/a n/a NZ50603527 Palliser, 1 x 9.2 inch NMR 1461762 11.2 n/a n/a SOURCE : http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/NERCZA_finalreport_small.pdf?1247516972
