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The World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox is a scheduled ancient monument forming part of the integrated air defence system constructed at RAF West Malling fighter station in Kent during the Second World War. The complex comprises a Pickett-Hamilton retractable gun fort, a standard pillbox, and a Bofors anti-aircraft gun emplacement, representing the layered defensive strategy employed to protect the airfield from German air attack. These structures date from the period of 1940-1941, when RAF West Malling was established as a forward fighter base during the Battle of Britain and its aftermath. The site exemplifies the engineering solutions developed by the Royal Air Force for airfield defence, combining rapid-deployment fortifications with conventional concrete structures to create overlapping fields of fire.
World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox: part of the airfield defences of RAF West Malling fighter station is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1020308. View the official record →
The World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox is a scheduled ancient monument forming part of the integrated air defence system constructed at RAF West Malling fighter station in Kent during the Second World War.
World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox: part of the airfield defences of RAF West Malling fighter station is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1020308.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Tower keep castle at West Malling (1.4 km), Chapel of St Blaise (2 km), Part of an Iron Age enclosure and a minor Roman villa 128m SSE of the Church of St James (2.7 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox: part of the airfield defences of RAF West Malling fighter station's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
World War II Bofors Anti-aircraft gun tower, Pickett-Hamilton fort and pillbox: part of the airfield defences of RAF West Malling fighter station stands on Lower Greensand Group, bedrock that formed in the Albian. The rock here is sandstone and mudstone.