| HER Number (PRN): | 33821 |
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| Name: | Blast shelter, part of RAF Atcham, Smethcote Farm |
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| Type of Record: | Building |
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Protected Status: | None recorded |
Monument Type(s):
Summary
Blast shelter, built to provide shelter from surprise air-raids for those working at RAF Atcham.
| Parish: | Wroxeter and Uppington, Shrewsbury and Atcham, Shropshire |
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| Map Sheet: | SJ51SE |
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| Grid Reference: | SJ 56625 10316 |
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Related records
| 21415 | Part of: Site of RAF Atcham (Monument) |
Associated Finds: None recorded
Associated Events
- ESA8484 - 2015 Management survey of Second World War structures at RAF Atcham by Paul Francis and Paul Bellamy
Description
A brick-built blast shelter, designed to provide air raid protection for 50 men. Blast shelters started to replace air-raid shelters from around 1942 for new airfields and were also added around the airfield, the technical and communal sites of existing airfields, they are rarely found on domestic sites. By clever design, they offered protection to personnel, caught out in the open during a surprise air-raid. The idea being that an airman would run towards the nearest shelter and if he couldn’t make it through the entrance, could run up the earth embankment, jump down into the shelter and crouch down behind a wall. Any near-miss blast would be directed upwards by the earth bank and the occupants would be protected. There were several sizes available but the majority were 50-man versions, similar to the Atcham example. There were 11 on the technical site and 16 on the communal site but only one is extant. <1>
<01> Francis P and Bellamy P, 2015, Management plan: Second World War structures, RAF Atcham, pp.28-30 (Management report). SSA29903.
Sources
| [01] | SSA29903 - Management report: Francis P and Bellamy P. 2015. Management plan: Second World War structures, RAF Atcham. pp.28-30. |
| Date Last Edited: | Mar 2 2018 11:01AM |
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