The Allhallows decoy was constructed sometime between 1940 and 1941 to defend oil storage facilities nearby on the Isle of Grain. It was one of eleven designated QF controlled fire decoys of P series; or petroleum division. It’s purpose was to simulate burning oil industries to trick the Luftwaffe into thinking the real targets had already been successfully bombed, and to distract further bombs away from the site.
Night Shelter
This night shelter bunker would’ve housed the brave crew who operated the decoy, and was split into two rooms. From here, pools of oil would’ve been remotely ignited by electricity when air raids began at night. The crew members would’ve essentially been drawing fire onto themselves, so it had to be constructed as a reinforced air said shelter. Given the likelihood of bombs falling near the shelter, this escape hatch would’ve got the crew out the crew if the main entrance collapsed in the event of a close strike. The Allhallows decoy also had a second building for the generator of which only the base survives. The bunker ceilings are lined with a chipboard material for insulation or fittings. Hopefully when the air raid sirens stopped, the relieved crew could emerge into the outside world having survived the night.
Inside the Shelter
Fuel Tank Stand
Next to the night shelter lies a concrete plinth where the decoy’s fuel tank would’ve stood, siphoning fuel to the decoys.
The Decoy Pools
The effectiveness of these decoys is debated, although a clear bomb crater in the fields nearby suggests it had some degree of usefulness. The decoy formations themselves are unsuspecting from the ground, but consist of two brick pools and two crescent shapes, with adjacent square concrete sump-like pits. The circular pools would’ve been ignited to resemble burning oil drums in the dark. It is hard to believe that this isolated spot of Kent’s farmland would’ve once been the scene of huge fires and a rain of enemy bombs.
The decoy formations at Allhallows are important because they are the only ones of this type to survive. The Fobbing decoy is now missing with only its shelter and tank stand remaining. Who knows what pipes and wires still run under these fields.
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