Anti-aircraft batteries are small clusters of artillery dedicated to firing at aerial targets. They were constructed from the First World War to the 1950s, after which time missile batteries took over from artillery as fixed weaponry while anti-aircraft artillery became increasingly mobile. They were constructed in large numbers in the immediate pre and early Second World War periods in response to the threat of air attack. Many took the form of simple sandbagged emplacements which left no substantial remains when they were abandoned. Others took the form of concrete emplacements arranged around a command post, while the latest types of battery were fully automatic and included radar-guidance equipment. Artillery of 3.7 inch and 4.5 inch and later 5.25 inch calibre was the usual armament of these batteries. Anti-aircraft batteries were widely distributed around England, with a marked concentration in the South East around London. As a result of development pressure in the South East few have survived. The example at Bowaters Farm is the last surviving example of such batteries in this area of Essex. It forms the latest part of a series of important defensive installations at Coalhouse Point which illustrate the development of coastal defences from the Tudor period to the mid-20th century.
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15 сен 2024
