Information for record number MWA9691:
Bubbenhall Lighting and Fire Decoy Site

Summary A lighting and fire bombing civil decoy site from the Second World War designed to confuse the enemy into dropping their bombs in the wrong place. The documented grid reference is just east of Waverley Wood.
What Is It?  
Type: Bombing Decoy
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Bubbenhall
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 35 70
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 Bubbenhall bombing decoy site was part of the QL and QF programme for the Coventry area. It was set up to simulate factory lighting as a way of protecting Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton. It was also the site of a standard fire decoy site. These were smaller than the Starfish sites. Lighting decoys were a cheap and effective method of confusing the enemy and date from 1941. Every site differed, so that they were a sort of theatrical lighting show to mimic some local vulnerable point. An associated shelter would have been built to house the generator/s and other equipment.
2 An aerial photgraph from 1949 shows no evidence of any earthworks or structures at the documented grid reference.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Aerial Photograph
Title: SP37SE
Author/originator: RAF
Date: 1949
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Twentieth Century Fortifications in England
Author/originator: Dobinson, C S
Date: 1996
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: III
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Earthwork Earthworks can take the form of banks, ditches and mounds. They are usually created for a specific purpose. A bank, for example, might be the remains of a boundary between two or more fields. Some earthworks may be all that remains of a collapsed building, for example, the grassed-over remains of building foundations.

In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky than during the other seasons, earthworks have larger shadows. From the air, archaeologists are able to see the patterns of the earthworks more easily. Earthworks can sometimes be confusing when viewed at ground level, but from above, the general plan is much clearer.

Archaeologists often carry out an aerial survey or an earthwork survey to help them understand the lumps and bumps they can see on the ground.
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monument BOMBING DECOY * A system of lights, controlled fires or dummy constructions, used during WWII to provide a counterfeit target for enemy aircraft. back
monument CIVIL * This is the top term for the class. See CIVIL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument HOUSE * A building for human habitation, especially a dwelling place. Use more specific type where known. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument SHELTER * A structure which protects an area of ground from the weather. back
monument FORTIFICATION * A usually permanent defensive work. Use specific type where known. back
monument STARFISH SITE * A decoy site designed to simulate a burning urban area during a bombing raid in order to lure enemy bombers away from legitimate targets. back
monument WOOD * A tract of land with trees, sometimes acting as a boundary or barrier, usually smaller and less wild than a forest. back
monument BOMBING DECOY SITE * A site comprising a system of lights, controlled fires or dummy constructions, used during WWII to provide a counterfeit target for enemy aircraft. Use more specific type where known. back
monument STRUCTURE * A construction of unknown function, either extant or implied by archaeological evidence. If known, use more specific type. back
monument FACTORY * A building or complex, housing powered machinery and employing a large workforce for manufacturing purposes. Use specific monument type where known. back
monument EARTHWORK * A bank or mound of earth used as a rampart or fortification. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record