Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z | The Pillbox Study Group Website.

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Open Machine Gun Positions

From the Manual OF Field Engineering Vol. 1 (All Arms) 1933 comes a description of how and when to build the type of emplacement described here. CHAPTER IX. PROTECTIVE WORKS 36. Machine-gun emplacements 1. General. In mobile warfare there will seldom be time or material for elaborate emplacements, and guns […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Pentagonal Pillbox

Pentagonal Pillboxes Pentagonal pillboxes, as the name suggests, are regular pentagons in shape. This general type appears to be an Air Ministry design as the remaining examples are only found on or close to airfields, there are 19 examples still extant. Some examples have embrasures in all the faces with […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Pickett-Hamilton Fort

Key Facts The ‘Lifting & Turning Fort’ In the summer of 1940 many engineering companies approached government departments with plans for defence structures designed to their own specifications. The New Kent Construction Company of Ashford, submitted plans for a “disappearing pillbox” for airfield defence to the designs of Donald Hamilton […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Pillbox Gun Mounts

Turnbull Mounts Turnbull mounts were not exclusively used for mounting Vickers machine-guns but Brens, Lewis, water cooled Brownings and Hotchkiss MGs could all be used, there was even a request from Bovington if a gun bar could be designed for there Besa Machine guns. I suspect in fact that Bren […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Pre-Fab Pillbox

Key Facts

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

QF Six Pounder Open Gun Emplacement

The hexagonal Anti-tank gun emplacement or gun pit as it can also be called is one of the more rarely found defences. Working in conjunction with pillboxes as well as trenches and roadblocks they were primarily positioned to cover points of strategic importance such as road, railway, canal and […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

ROF pillbox variants

ROF Type The ROF type is a bespoke design only found at Royal Ordnance depots and factories. It is a small square pillbox with distinctive long narrow embrasures in each wall. The door is low and usually covered by a porch with a slightly angled roof. The long narrow embrasure […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Seagull Trench

Airfield Defence Pillbox The first thing that people say when they see a Seagull Trench is “Look at the size of that”! With overall dimensions of approximately 70ft X 13ft it is not surprising that this `Airfield Defence Pillbox` is something to get excited about! Paul Francis, Airfield Archaeologist, wrote […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Surrey’s Mowlem Type 24 Drum

Along GHQ Line B south of Guildford between Godalming and Chilworth there are eighteen unique shaped pillboxes that were constructed by J Mowlem builders. The Mowlem Company built the defences in their own style, for ease and speed they substituted the normal procedure of using bricks for permanent shuttering for […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Tett Turret

Key facts Tett turrets at RAF Hornchurch, Essex The former airfield at RAF Hornchurch in Essex boasts the largest concentration of surviving tett turrets in the country. This ultra rare form of one-man pillbox would have been extremely cramped and restrictive for the guy inside! Thankfully the surviving tett turrets […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Triumph Motorbike Pillbox

Under all that 1/4″ steel plate is a Triumph WO-3SW cica 1939 350cc single side valve. Possiblly the slowest bike in the war at now over 600lbs! The B&W photos of the original bike (they only made one) where taken in the summer of 1940. Sean Walsh

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Two Storey & Tower Pillbox Designs

Rare and unusual designs normally built for a specific location where observation and a clear view of fire was essential and not necessarily possible with a standard design of pillbox. Bulletproof Double Storey Pillbox, Slaugham, West Sussex. S0008043 TQ 249277 This brick shuttered two level defence can be found facing east at […]

Advanced Pillboxes Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Type 22 ‘Eastern Command Variant’

Hexagonal with central LAA / Observation well. This is usually found in two sizes: One with walls of 11′ 7″ (3.5m) and the other with walls of 9′ 9″ (3m) Instead of the high level doors through to the central well, there is usually a full-height door in an angle […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Vickers Factory Pillbox.

Brooklands Museum, Weybridge, Surrey. TQ 0699562943 This small and unique six sided pillbox can be found within the Brooklands Museum at Weybridge in Surrey close to other British icons such as Concorde and the VC10, althoughÂ it canÂ be seen close up it is currentlyÂ inaccessible and has a locked door. […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Vickers Machine Gun Emplacement

Key Facts Build variations can be found with different positioning of secondary loopholes and air vent, length and thickness of blastwall and design of main gun table. The highest concentrations of the Vickers MMG emplacement can be found on the Taunton Stop line and GHQ Line A and B in […]

Variant And Local Designs Variant and Local Designs Part 2 O - Z

Yarnold Sangar

Key Facts No doubt many of you will have noticed the large number of Concrete `Pipe` type pillboxes sprouting in military establishments during the last few years. In my experience they appear to be mainly used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, though I have no doubt that […]