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| HER Number: | MDV102708 |
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| Name: | Craters, trenches and barbed wire entanglement used in military training at Broadsands |
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Summary
A barbed wire entanglement, several bomb craters and trenches are visible as a structure and earthworks on aerial photographs taken in 1945 and 1946. They are part of the Second World War U.S. Army military training area and were probably levelled by water action and possibly disamantled soon after the end of the war, although some debris may survive.
Location
| Grid Reference: | SS 472 331 |
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| Map Sheet: | SS43SE |
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| Admin Area | Devon |
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| Civil Parish | Braunton |
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| Civil Parish | Heanton Punchardon |
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| District | North Devon |
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Protected Status: none recorded
Other References/Statuses: none recorded
Monument Type(s) and Dates
- BARBED WIRE ENTANGLEMENT (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
- BOMB CRATER (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
- TRENCH (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))
Full description
Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/LA/221, NMR RAF/106G/LA/1221 5033-5034 15-APR-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349986.
Several trenches and pits are visible as earthworks, adjacent to an ephemeral rectangular structure.
Royal Air Force, 1946, RAF/106G/UK/1655, NMR RAF/106G/1655 4197-4198 11-JUL-1946 (Aerial Photograph). SDV349996.
The pits are visible as earthworks, although the trenches are no longer visible. The structure is visible.
Hegarty, C. + Knight, S., 2011 - 2012, North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV349018.
A small complex of earthworks and structure are visible on aerial photographs taken in 1945 and 1946. Several circular pits between 2 and 7 metres in diameter, and linear trenches 2 metres wide and up to 9 metres long are sited just to the south-east of an ephemeral rectangular structure higher up on the foreshore. They are interpreted as Second World War craters from mines, possible slit trenches, and a barbed wire entanglement mimicking the beach obstructions found in Normandy, used by the U.S. Army during training for Operation Overlord. The trenches are no longer visible in 1946 and the structure and craters are not visible on later available aerial photographs. The barbed wire may have been dismantled fairly soon after the end of the war, and the earthworks probably levelled by wave action, but some buried debris may survive.
Sources / Further Reading
| SDV349018 | Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S.. 2011 - 2012. North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. ACD383/2/1. Digital. |
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| | Linked documents:1 |
| SDV349986 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/LA/221. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/LA/1221 5033-5034 15-APR-1945. [Mapped feature: #62197 ] |
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| SDV349996 | Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1946. RAF/106G/UK/1655. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). NMR RAF/106G/1655 4197-4198 11-JUL-1946. |
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Associated Monuments
| MDV102705 | Part of: Military training area between Broadsands and Crow Point, Braunton Burrows. (Monument) |
Associated Finds: none recorded
Associated Events
- EDV6132 - North Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty NMP Project
| Date Last Edited: | Oct 9 2012 5:00PM |
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