Monument Number 1375139 |
| Hob Uid: 1375139 | |
Location :
Thurrock
Non Civil Parish
|
| Grid Ref : TQ6897076230 |
| Summary : A second World War radar tower, built on the foreshore at Coalhouse Point in 1940. The tower was under the supervision of the Navy was used tolocate invaders or raiders, in the nearby electrically-detonated minefield, in the event that they had got past the naval craft, boom and coast artillery down river. The radar tower, along with a number of related defence sites on Coalhouse Point, is included in the scheduling of Coalhouse Fort. |
More information : TQ 6897 7623 Radar station.
Hexagonal radar tower built in 1940 probably to defend against surface vessels and surfacing U-boats in the River Thames. Operated by the Navy and protected by mobile units of the Royal Marines, it is possible that the tower operated in conjunction with the minefield control bunker in Coalhouse Fort, 1/2km to the north. It is thought that this is one of only three of its kind surviving in the country.
The radar tower was surveyed by English Heritage in October 2000 as part of a project looking at archaeological structures in the inter-tidal area at Coalhouse Point. For the full report and archive plan contact the National Monuments Record (from 2015 known as - Historic England Archive). (1)
The RDF tower's job was to locate invaders or raiders in the nearby electrically-detonated minefield--in the event that they had somehow got past the naval craft, boom and coast artillery down river. It was installed at the same time and for the same role as the hexagonal RDF towers at Tollesbury and Harwich. The minefield was an emergency backup defence--too far upriver to have ever detected any enemy warships or U-boats out at sea. The radar was a naval 50-cm Type 287, installed in about March 1941 and shut down in about mid-1943. Sources--Admiralty files on defensive minefields and naval radar, War Office Eastern Command lists of 'Vulnerable Points', 1941-43. (2) |