Horsford's Second World War Bomber Decoy Site

 

Bombing decoys were part of Britain's war of deception against German Air Force (Luftwaffe) attacks. They were designed to simulate various potential types of targets such as airfields, factories or even whole cities.

 

The task at hand was simple, but terribly dangerous:  get enemy bombers to drop their weapons on a decoy rather than vital legitimate targets.  These 'decoy men', as they were sometimes known, were probably the only people in the country trying actively to get the Germans to bomb them! 

 

Information regarding Horsford's decoy site is limited, however it was somewhere in the open field area between Dog Lane, Reepham Road and Holt Road/Drayton Lane (a rough triangle).  It's likely to have been an unofficial site, and therefore not given an official reference number.  The site existed at least between June and November 1940, and was a decoy for nearby RAF Horsham St. Faith (now Norwich International Airport).

 

Airmen will have visited the site each night to set 'gooseneck' flares across the fields and then light them up.  The gooseneck flare was so called because it had a long-necked spout on a container that resembled a large watering can.  The main body contained paraffin, with a wick placed in the spout.  The gooseneck would be positioned with the spout pointing downwind to prevent flaring when alight. 

 

Gooseneck flares produced a bright light but were extremely difficult to extinguish.  This sometimes resulted in friendly aircraft crashes where Allied aircraft themselves mistook decoy fields for their own air stations.  It's not thought that there were any such mishaps at Horsford.

 

Horsford's short-lived site was ultimately superceded by RAF Horsham St. Faith's official bombing decoy site, number Q54, at Crostwick.  'Q' sites were far more permanent affairs. From the air they would have looked like a runway flarepath and, for authenticity, had light patterns that included dummy obstruction lights  -  the red lights you see on hangars and other tall buildings.

 

The bravery of our local decoy men, and the villagers who supported them, should never be forgotten.  In attempting to draw the enemy away from vulnerable RAF Horsham St. Faith, Horsford itself was placed in far more danger.

 

We'd be delighted to hear anybody's memories of this, or any other, Horsford wartime site.   Please  contact us  if you have any information or stories to tell.

 

My thanks to Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum  (NSAM) for their research assistance with regard to this article.  Please visit their website, or the museum itself, for further information about decoy sites.  NSAM also has a Boulton & Paul hangar, focusing on our local wartime aircraft manufacturer in Norwich.