RAF Hornchurch Tett Turrets

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 at Hornchurch are in relatively good condition; the outer rims and gun embrasures are still intact.

One of the tett turrets was excavated by the BBC ‘Two Men in a Trench’ team, whose efforts exposed the original crawl-way. A pair of WW2 goggles were found inside. As you can see from my photographs it has been hollowed out inside and now rests on bricks. The concrete pipe of a second Tett turret nearby is completely full of earth.

The former airfield is accessible to everybody and has other surviving relics, namely four good-condition pillboxes, an anti-aircraft pit, aircraft dispersal bay and compass setting point, two in-tact E-Pens, air raid shelters and what may be some anti-glider cylinders.

By Julieanne Savage