Information for record number MWA9697:
Kingsbury Lighting and Fire Bombing Decoy Site

Summary A lighting and fire bombing decoy site from the Second World War designed to confuse the enemy into dropping their bombs in the wrong place. Documentary evidence places it 600m southwest of Kingsbury Wood.
What Is It?  
Type: Bombing Decoy
Period: Unknown
Where Is It?  
Parish: Kingsbury
District: North Warwickshire, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 22 96
(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 Kingsbury bombing decoy site which was part of the QL and QF programmes for Birmingham. The QL site was set up to simulate the lights of a marshalling yard (parallel railway sidings) and so distract the bombers from the northeastern area of Birmingham. The FQ site at the same location was like a Starfish site only smaller. Fires were created to counterfeit the effects of incendiary and other bombs. Lighting decoys were a cheap and effective way of confusing the enemy, and their deployment dates from july 1941. Every site differed with a lighting display that would mimic some local vulnerable point. An associated shelter would have been built to house the generator/s and other equipment.
 
Sources
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:  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
technique Documentary Evidence Documentary evidence is another name for written records. The first written records in Britain date back to the Roman period. Documentary evidence can take many different forms, including maps, charters, letters and written accounts. When archaeologists are researching a site, they often start by looking at documentary evidence to see if there are clues that will help them understand what they might find. Documentary evidence can help archaeologists understand sites that are discovered during an excavation, field survey or aerial survey. back
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 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 RAILWAY SIDING * A short piece of track lying parallel to the main railway line enabling trains and trucks to pass one another. Sidings can also be used to park trains which are not in use. back
monument MARSHALLING YARD * A series of parallel railway sidings on which goods wagons originating from different locations can be sorted or re-sorted into new trains before being despatched to their next destination or sorting points. 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 QL SITE * A decoy site designed to simulate permitted lighting, such as locomotives, furnaces and tramwire flashes, to lure attacking night bombers away from legitimate targets. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record