NHER 27640 (Monument record) - World War Two barrage balloon depot

September 2005. Norfolk NMP.
A World War Two barrage balloon depot is visible on 1940s aerial photographs (S1 to S4), centred at TG 5289 0523. The balloons, which were identified by Roger Thomas (English Heritage), were naval ‘Kite’ type balloons, typically flown from vessels as protection against low level aerial attacks. On aerial photographs taken in May 1944 (S2), some of these balloons can be seen deployed on vessels moored at the quay, a short distance to the south of the depot. The balloons are visible on photographs taken between March and September 1944, and it is possible that they may have been stored out in the open as part of ‘Operation Fortitude’. (The latter was a major subterfuge operation intended to convince the Germans that the Allies were preparing an embarkation along the southeast coast for an invasion of Pas de Calais, and that the preparations for the Normandy invasion were themselves a subterfuge). The site is surrounded by other military installations and defences (NHER 27638), which extend across most of the South Denes area.

The compound, surrounded by a fence, was already in existence by September 1940, when the earliest consulted aerial photographs were taken (S5). Its north side was occupied by what appear to be industrial buildings. By February 1941 (S6) a probable weapons pit or emplacement had been erected at TG 5292 0522. By March 1944 (S1), when the next consulted aerial photographs were taken, the industrial buildings had been largely demolished and two rows of furled barrage balloons are visible on the southern side of the site, separated from the northern half by a line of barbed wire (part of NHER 27638). Varying numbers of balloons are visible on aerial photographs taken later in 1944, two still remaining in September of that year (S4). Additional features comprise a hut, surrounded by a double wall, in the northeast corner of the site. This could have been a pre war structure and may or may not have had a military function. Two rectangular pits to its south could be further weapons pits but this is rather uncertain as their location seems rather isolated. A probable entrance at the western end of the site was flanked by two small concrete structures, constructed between 1941 and 1944. These presumably controlled access to the depot. By August 1945 (S7) all of the balloons had been removed and the site appears to have gone out of military use.
S. Tremlett (NMP), 23 September 2005.