Nazeing Common 'KQ' site.
One of wartimes carefully kept secrets was the building of dummy or decoy airfields. Nazeing
Common, just to the south of present day Harlow, was such a site.
Designed to be a decoy for nearby North Weald airfield, this site was for day and night use,
hence the designation 'KQ'.
The idea for dummy structures or installations was designed to attract bombs away from
the real airfield, It stemmed from an idea by Colonel John Turner, a Civil Engineer who became head of
'Works & Buildings' with the Air Ministry.
He was instrumental in conceiving these decoy airfield sites, of which over two hundred and
thirty were built. He was himself a pilot and also understood the infrastructure and design of military airfields. With his HQ in the Shepperton Film studios, his department had the knowledge of deceptive construction,
the big film company's were masters at creating an illusion from canvas and wood.
Dummy Hawker Hurricane aircraft made from These materials, among other things, were produced
by a company called Greens Engineering, and were deemed very effective when in place. On these
sites these dummy aircraft were moved around to simulate day to day movement on the 'airfield' to German reconnaisance
aircraft and also their night bombers.
Regular RAF airmen were used to man these 'airfields'. They were also protected by anti-aircraft
guns and had the same lighting system in appearance as a normal airfield. By the use of some very clever lighting the
men could simulate moving aircraft and create flarepaths, the illusion to German bomber crews was very effective. and
for all intents and purposes, from a height, these dummy airfields looked like the real thing and succesfully attracted bombs
away from the real airfield.
Command and control bunkers were built away from the layout of the 'airfield' so as to give
the crews some protection. These buildings housed generators for powering the lighting and had an ops
room where the the lights were operated from, and where contact could be maintained by telephone to the controlling station
ie: North Weald itself. The other bunker at Nazeing was used for shelter and a general area for sleeping and cooking.
There were two incidents involving aircraft trying to attempt a landing on the decoy
airfield at Nazeing common. A Vickers Wellington of 9 squadron from Honington Norfolk was returning from an operational
flight and made a less than perfect landing. It was dismantled by an RAF recovery crew from North Weald and sent for
repair. A Percival Proctor training aircraft also suffered the same fate.
The land on the site is as it appears today, very hilly, and not
at all what you expect from an 'airfield'. The lighting was mounted on wooden poles of varying lengths, so as to keep the
proportion and angles right in it's appearance from the air.
These sites were in operation from June 1940, but it is thought the Germans had detected Nazeing
as a decoy site by the end of December. The site probably closed by the end of July 1941 as land was needed for increased
agriculture. The decoy was originally built on common grazing land, and this was put to the plough in August 1941.
Today, as you drive from Bumbles Green towards Harlow, it is possible to see one of the bunkers
protruding from the field. The main part of the decoy airfield was further to the east on farmland.
