The Bomb Ballistics Building, Orford Ness, Suffolk, England.
Due to its remoteness one of the main activities at Orford Ness was the investigation of bomb ballistics; the study of the flight of objects moving under their own momentum and the force of gravity. The Bomb Ballistics building was constructed in 1933 to monitor the fall of bombs on the range to the east, as part of these experiments. The building contained a Vinten HS camera mounted on a plinth, a camera obscura and plotting table to record results. Other experimental work continued during the inter-war period. In 1935, a small experimental radar team arrived and conducted experiments that were critical in proving the value of this technology. Between 1953 and 1971, the spit was occupied by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Its primary task was environmental testing to simulate the conditions that nuclear weapons and their components might experience during trials and in service use. Here science and high politics merged, with investigations that were crucial to the credibility of the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent forces, the cornerstone of Cold War defence policy. The last trial took place on 9 June 1971 and the establishment closed on Friday 1 October 1971. On 24 July 1972 Orford Ness formally passed from AWRE to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit of the RAF. In the following decades they worked to clear the range of unexploded munitions and brought other munitions onto the spit for destruction. This work ceased about 1986, although many unexploded munitions still remain on Orford Ness. Following negotiations with the Ministry of Defence, the National Trust acquired Orford Ness in 1993.
Size: 4329px × 2886px
Location: Orford Ness, Suffolk, England.
Photo credit: © TONY LOCKHART / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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