Things to see in Kent

[mebu]

For example...here is barrack being built by REs...

And here it is today

[ian turner]

Any idea why the recovery was so long after the event? I have often puzzled over this.

I have the Glatton as being salved in 1926 (partially raised in the February), and the remains of the crew recovered at that time. I can only speculate, but this is at the same time as the recovery of the German battleships at Scapa - an undertaking of some magnitude and a pioneering exercise. I wonder if the same firm (Cox & Danks) undertook the raising of the Glatton? Raising such large sunken warships was not something that could be achieved by the waving of a magic wand, and the technology to do so was made up during these immediate post-war years. The Glatton appears to have turned upside down on sinking, and was raised hull up.

Incidentally, the subject of the raising of the German fleet at Scapa ('The Man Who Bought a Navy' by Gerald Bowman) is well worth a read.

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Sound reflectors at Greatstone - these were the results of sound detection experiments that began at the war's end, and continued right through until the 1930's, when these large reflectors were built. The idea originated in the sound detection of enemy artillery positions during WW1, and the technology applied to aircraft detection. Radar was to render such ideas obsolete, but the basis of detection and reporting to fighter control had its infancy in the experimentation of sound detection systems.

Ian

[Neil Clark]

Going up a war to WW2 there are some big concrete radar sound detectors near Dymchurch, cant remember name of exact location but go past the RSPB Bird Reserve and hang a left, past the pub on your right which means you have almost done a U-turn directionwise, then as the road runs out they are somewhere on your left down a residential road.

The sound dishes are on THE ROUGHS (high ground between West Hythe and Hythe). The best route is from the old church at West Hythe. Walk past the church on the left and go through a gate onto the Roughs. This area is MoD land and agricultural land. I have walked to the sound dishes loads of times without any problem. There are 2 dishes. One is slightly older than the other.

Neil

[zooloo]

No idea if these still exist...

[zooloo]

zoo