Tett turret
The Tett gun turret is a small British bunker from the time of British preparations in anticipation of a German invasion ( Operation Sea Lion ) between 1940 and 1941 during World War II .
history
The Tett turret was named after its inventor, HL Tett , and was manufactured by Burbridge Builders Ltd , a small construction company in Surrey . It consisted of a gun turret , long initially on an approximately 1.50 meters, set into the ground, upright pipe section of 1.22 meters (48 inches) in diameter with a turntable - ball bearings was mounted so that it could easily be turned .
The turret was a 50 cm high cone frustum of reinforced concrete , which weighed 660 kg and having a single embrasure was provided and a plurality of slits.
The construction had the following advantages: Compared to a conventional pillbox , it required less steel and concrete, it was easier to hide and, as it was already prefabricated in the factory, it could be installed more quickly. Since the turrets could be rotated, multiple guns in adjacent turrets could be aimed at the same target, while the conventional pillbox could only shoot from one or two loopholes. In addition, it was comparatively cheap at £ 18 (around £ 980 adjusted for inflation in 2020).
The main problem was that the only exit was provided by climbing out of the open top turret, so there was no retreat without exposure to enemy fire. The British War Office ruled that the Tett turret was too cramped and insufficiently armored against heavy fire and that its isolated position gave insufficient command control. The turret, which was open at the top, was also very easy to seize by throwing a hand grenade with great precision.
The Burbridge company therefore proposed a new version in which the turret was not positioned on a section of pipe, but on a horizontal concrete slab that lay on a foundation made of bricks or concrete slabs. This enabled rear access via a tunnel or trench. A company brochure shows a wooden seat that is connected to the tower by a metal rod.
Burbridge also suggested that the turret could be mounted on improvised armored vehicles such as the Armadillo or Bison .
Despite the initial enthusiasm of those who surveyed the design, Burbridge had difficulty getting orders for the Tett turrets. Because of this, and because of the shortage of materials caused by the war, the company could not get enough concrete and reinforcing steel to produce a larger series. In November 1940 she received an order for only 4 Tett turrets, these could not be delivered before February 1941. In total, the company made 100 Tett turrets, but was only able to sell 31 of them.
Locations
Only six locations are listed in the Defense of Britain database . Preserved specimens are very rare today. Two Tett turrets can be seen at the former RAF Hornchurch military airfield , which is now open to the public in Hornchurch Country Park . These well-known turrets were examined more closely as part of the BBC television series Two Men in a Trench . During the filming, three more, by then forgotten turrets were rediscovered in the undergrowth.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tett Turret . In: Thesaurus . English Heritage. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
- ^ A b Henry Wills: Pillboxes: A Study of UK Defenses. Leo Cooper. ISBN 0-436-57360-1 . Pp. 21-22.
- ^ Images of extant Tett Turret. . In: Pillboxes UK . Archived from the original on July 17, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- ↑ a b c d Revolving turret pillbox. HL Tett and Burbridge Builders Ltd. - AVIA 22/1550 , The National Archives
- ↑ a b c d e Tony Pollard and Neil Oliver: Two Men in a Trench II: Uncovering the Secrets of British Battlefields. Michael Joseph. ISBN 978-0-7181-4594-1 . 293-299, especially p. 295.
- ↑ Austin Ruddy: British Anti-Invasion Defenses 1940-1945. Historic Military Press. ISBN 1-901313-20-4 . P. 23.
- ↑ pillboxes; employment in defense. Reference no. WO 199/1779 , The National Archives .
- ↑ Overview . In: Defense of Britain database . Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- ↑ Tett Turret (destroyed), Coalhouse Fort . In: Unlocking Essex's Past . Essex County Council. Accessed on September 21, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Tett Turret (destroyed), S of Chadwell St. Mary . In: Unlocking Essex's Past . Essex County Council. Accessed on September 21, 2010. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
