Monument record TQ 77 NE 1338 - Diver Box Light Anti Aircraft (Diver) Battery D10

Site of a Second World War light anti aircraft (Diver) battery in the Diver Box at St Marys Marshes. It was armed with four 40mm guns and four 20mm guns when it was deployed here 28th August 1944, and was manned by 2796 RAF Regiment.(1)
Seven patches of bare earth on St. Mary's Marshes seen on aerial photographs taken in 1946 are thought to mark the location of the battery described by the previous authority. It was deployed here 28th August 1944 and formed part of the Diver box created in June 1944. The Diver Box was one of five gun zones created between June 1944 and March 1945 to combat the V1 flying bomb. This battery (D10) was armed with four 40mm guns and four 20m guns and was manned by 2796 RAF Regiment. The guns in this Light Anti Aircraft (LAA) battery were aligned in two approximately north-south rows. The southern row was centred on TQ 7966 7874 and would have consisted of four paired guns. The second row was to the north-west centred on TQ 7961 7878. Only three patches of bare earth can be seen and the fourth gun is likely to have been at the bottom of this row. Again the guns were paired. There is little documentary evidence as to the form of RAF Regiment batteries. While their layout is often in one long row at right angles to the main bearing this site offers a slight variation in that the row has been staggered. No trace could be seen on aerial photographs taken in 1947. This battery was mapped from air photos as part of the English Heritage: Hoo Peninsula Landscape Project.(2-4)

<1> Dobinson, C., Operation Diver : England's Defence Against the Flying Bomb, June 1944-March 1945 (Monograph). SWX23707.

<2> RAF, 1946, RAF 106G/UK/1444 3004-3005 1-MAY-1946 (Photograph). SKE58738.

<3> Dobinson, C., Operation Diver : England's Defence Against the Flying Bomb, June 1944-March 1945 (Monograph). SWX23707.

<4> RAF., 1947, RAF CPE/UK/1923 3007-3008 16-JAN-1947 (Photograph). SKE58787.