TWENTIETH CENTURY DEFENCE SITES of TYNE and WEAR

Section 3 The Second World War
building with one door left ajar, while other
models would imitate a partially blacked out
skylight. Although shipyards and other
industrial sites worked around the clock to
supply the war effort, when an air raid
warning was issued the lights at real
factories would be entirely switched off. The
dummy lights at QL sites would then be lit,
and would stay on just long enough for the
enemy bombers to spot them, before
themselves being turned off, to make the
effect more realistic.
The construction of SF sites (often referred
to as ‘Starfish’ sites) began nationally in
December 1940, allocated to industrial cities
like Newcastle, whose entire Starfish system
was in place by the end of January 1941,
making it the fifteenth city to be equipped
with SF sites. They remained in place until
February 1944. Throughout the war, decoys
nationally managed to attract a total of 674
enemy attacks, while the Air Historical
Branch calculated that 2221 tonnes of
bombs were diverted away from their real
targets by decoys. Although these figures
may not be entirely accurate, it is clear that
the decoy system was indeed successful in
drawing raids away from cities, shipyards,
and factories. How many lives were saved
as a result will never be known (Lowry 1996,
64, Dobinson 2000).
40 Scaffold Hill Bombing Decoy
SF15a (HER 1827)
It would appear that the Starfish site at
Scaffold Hill was sufficiently realistic from the
air to convince enemy air crews, for it was
bombed at least once during World War Two
(information from Alan Rudd and Dobinson
2000).
41 Whickham Bombing Decoy
QF/QL12d (HER 5518)
The bombing decoy in Whickham seems to
have had a dual role as both a QF and QL
site. On private land (information provided by
Alan Rudd, Lowry 1996 and Dobinson 2000).
42
42 Whitburn, Wellands Farm
Bombing Decoy (HER 5515)
This was a Starfish site, like that at Scaffold
Hill, and was designated SF15e. However, it
seems to have had some extra pieces of
equipment, such as dummy lighting and
industrial paraphernalia more commonly
seen at QL sites (such as the one at
Whickham). Fred Pippet, an RAF officer from
Tyneside, had responsibility for all of the
decoys between Scarborough and Berwick
on the east coast, and between Workington
and Dumfries on the west. He kept detailed
notes about all the sites under his command,
and recorded that this Starfish had fake
“dock lighting, factory lighting and glow from
locomotives”. To make the site look more
authentic from the air, they added “sparks,
fire and smoke - the lot”. The crew room from
which the decoys were controlled is of a
classic design for Starfish control shelters: a
rectangular brick area for the crew, and two
large concrete blast walls protecting the door.
These designs often had soil piled up around
them for protection and camouflage.
Whether this was the case here is uncertain;
there is no trace of an earth mound now.
Wellands Farm was bombed on Tuesday 8
April 1941 (Owen 1990, Ripley and Pears
1994-2006, N583). On private land.
Other bombing decoy sites
Kibblesworth QL12b and SF15b (HER 5517)
Ryhope QL12f and SF15d (HER 5934) – a
decoy for Sunderland Docks
Silksworth QL12g (HER 5520) – a decoy for
Silksworth Coke Ovens and marshalling yard