WW2 Decoy sites

Anybody any details of the Site for RAF Decot - Easter Cragie ? Haresetone Moss near Whitecairns?

I know where the control Bunker is, have also identified Bomb Craters. However Not sure where the Flarepath was , or if there is something there that would identify it?

I did see on some other sites, concrete blocks that lightes were monted on, also saw on another site a procuedure for reqturing Q sites back to original site, it only suggests the cable is salvaged for the power, but no mention of lighting blocks. There are some pictures on a website about harrowbeer

I noticed another thread

/community/showthread.php?6908-Drem-Mk-II-Disconnecting-Boxes

Or

does anybody have a sketh of what the Decoy at Harestone Moss looked like, direction of flarepath etc etc?

Thanks

Please could we have a OSGB grid reference?

Starting with that, you can obtain WW2 aerial photos of a site from the National Monuments Record, which may, or may not help (it usually does, especially older photos).

Just ask for anything within a kilometer of the grid reference, they send a list of what tthey have, usually 30'ish, and request a photocopy of each (40p each), and start looking !

Any problems, send me a message.

So far :-

have been in and taken some snaps of the bunker.

I have aerial pictures afrom 1946

I have various bits and pieces from the national archives on the Q sites

In general, how far is the flarepath from the bunker? anything else I should be looking for?

PS

canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/110723/det...ker+generator+plant/

www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/smrpub/shire/de...spx?refno=NJ91NW0052

We identified RAF Woodvale airfield lighting decoy lights, from some shadows of posts across a field near the bunker in a ww2 photo, see the link below, they were pretty close to the bunker, and on the same orientation as the runway:

/community/showthread.php?7802-Woodvale-Decoy-(Q164A)-Downholland-Moss&highlight=woodvale

I identified the RAF Sealand decoy from some ww2 photos again, again on the same orientation, with some "unusual" items visible. This one was quite some way from the bunker, which puzzled us as the bunker is now in a boating lake. RAF Sealand was slightly different, the earthworks suggest that they used water filled ponds to reflect the decoy runway lights, which is a technology that they used just around the corner for the Burton Marsh decoy for Garston Docks. The Sealand picture also shows the parallel, and separate decoy with fires for the steelworks.:

/community/showthread.php?7752-RAF-Sealand-lighting-decoy-Burton-Inner-Marsh-(Puddington)&highlight=sealand+decoy

On these old photos, one giveaway is tracks, these things always had a trackway to them, and then footpaths around them to the various bits and pieces.

Note that in the RAF Sealand one, they actually straightened and re-aligned a ditch, presumably they didn't like wet feet. Hence - look for anything straight, tracks, and anything unusual !

Thanks for that

Armed with a Metal Detector, 2 golden retrievers and a trowel. I went for a rake round the moss.

Not a thing.... didn't find anything, although losing the trowel 20 mins into the wander about didn't help!

The hounds found deer and proceeded to chase them across harestone moss! The mess they came back in with the peat/earth /mud can only be described as spectacular!

Studying the 1946 Map from RCAHMS aerial pics, nothing tends to jump out!

A farmer has a digger there and been clearing gorse, but nothing visible in that areas.

Round two tomorrow (found a good target of iron with the metal detector, so will get a spade and head back). Given the site was bombed on at least 4 occasions, should be quite interesting!

That's how all good adventures start. At least you've not been caught out by the high tide yet. We did on Burton Marsh. Watch out for those round cylindrical things with a point on one end and fins on the other. If it were a runway lighting decoy, I thought you may find remains of some posts in the ground, especially on non-farmed land.

anybody got a picture of a post?

I plan to do a low level pass and do photography in a light aircraft soon!

Is it Possible a Q site, was just the "T" Type, where there were only 22 lights in a square indicating A T light, showing runway direction etc, which would be adjacent to the shelter?

I have been all over Harefield moss, not a thing. Starting to wonder if there was a flare path.

for some pictures

cabroaviation.co.uk/Doc2.pdf

This is the control bunker, the arrows point out where the bunker is on the 1st two pics