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Summary

An artillery training area of Second World War date is visible as a series of earthwork pits, banks and structures on aerial photographs of 1944 onwards, to the west of Strete.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• TRAINING AREA (World War II - 1939 AD to 1945 AD (Between))

Full description

United States Airforce, 1944, US/30GR/LOC40, US/30GR/LOC40 V 020-21 27-APR-1944 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351447.

The training area is visible as a series of earthwork pits, banks and structures. Map object based on this source.

Royal Air Force, 1945, RAF/106G/UK/967, RAF/106G/UK/967 P 3050 01-NOV-1945 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351060.

The former training area is visible as a series of earthwork pits and banks. Map object based on this source.

Royal Air Force, 1951, RAF/540/497, RAF/540/497 RP 3138 12-MAY-1951 (Aerial Photograph). SDV351212.

The earthwork pits and banks have been levelled.

Dalrymple, J., 1987, Unveiling of GI Memorial Key to Mass Devon Burial (Article in Serial). SDV361616.

Possible training site during Operation Tiger in which 749 american Gis were killed during a training exercise in 1944. Plaque erected reads: "Dedicated by the USA in honor of the 749 men of the 4th Infantry Division, the 279th Combat Engineers, and the 70th Tank Batallion, US Army, who perished off the coast of Slatpon Sanda, Torcross while partcipating in Operation Tiger, April 26-28 1944…"

Tank raised from sea by local resident, thought to be part of Operation Tiger. Now used as memorial.

See full article for details.

Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R., 2013-2014, South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project (Interpretation). SDV351146.

An artillery training area of Second World War date is visible as a series of earthwork pits, banks and structures on aerial photographs of 1944 onwards, to the west of Strete. The area covers approximately 84 hectares and stretches from Strete Gate, to the south, to Fuge Cross, to the north. The area, which formed part of a training ground in preparation for the Normandy landings, is characterised by a series of artillery shell craters visible as earthwork pits and banks and interspersed with a series of trackways. A particularly dense concentration of artillery shell craters are visible to the south at Strete Gate. This area is demarcated by possible barbed wire entanglements, with artillery target markers forming two squares visible as structures within this area (SX835460). The artillery shell craters are first visible as earthwork pits and banks on aerial photographs of 1944 and remain largely visible in 1945, although the barbed wire entanglements and artillery markers have been removed. The shell craters have been levelled by 1951.

Sources / Further Reading

SDV351060	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1945. RAF/106G/UK/967. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/106G/UK/967 P 3050 01-NOV-1945.
SDV351146	Interpretation: Hegarty, C. + Knight, S. + Sims, R.. 2013-2014. South Devon Coast Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme Project. AC Archaeology Report. Digital.
	Linked documents:1
SDV351212	Aerial Photograph: Royal Air Force. 1951. RAF/540/497. Royal Air Force Aerial Photograph. Photograph (Paper). RAF/540/497 RP 3138 12-MAY-1951.
SDV351447	Aerial Photograph: United States Airforce. 1944. US/30GR/LOC40. United States Airforce. Photograph (Paper). US/30GR/LOC40 V 020-21 27-APR-1944.
SDV361616	Article in Serial: Dalrymple, J.. 1987. Unveiling of GI Memorial Key to Mass Devon Burial. The Independent. Cutting + Digital.

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV6127 - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey National Mapping Programme (NMP) for South-West England - South Coast Devon (Ref: ACD618)

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