Researchers from Keele University and Goldsmiths, University of London revealed World War II decoy strategies employed by Britain to mislead German bombers. In a recent study, the team investigated three Allied aerial bombing decoy sites in North Staffordshire, uncovering variations in preservation and construction.
The study, titled "Multi-disciplinary site investigations of WW2 allied aerial bombing decoy sites in North Staffordshire, UK," focused on three of four known sites near Stoke-on-Trent: Keele, Beech, and Caverswall, which were built between August 1941 and April 1943. These decoy sites were strategically constructed along German radio beam directions used for navigation, simulating residential areas or working factories with poor blackouts to attract Luftwaffe attacks.
High-priority industrial targets near the decoy sites included Shelton Iron and Steel Works, the Michelin Tyre Factory, Meir Aerodrome, and the Radway Green munitions plant. The primary objective of these decoy sites was to divert German bombers from these locations, as noted by BBC News.
"By means of controlled fires and lights, they deceived the Luftwaffe into dropping their bombs on relatively uninhabited areas, in woods and in the countryside, away from their intended targets," explained Dr. Kris Wisniewski.
The researchers employed non-invasive surveying techniques to investigate the decoy sites. They used drones, ground-based LiDAR scanning, geophysical surveys, and 360-degree camera imagery to study, photograph, and digitally preserve the sites for future generations. "This study has shown how modern non-invasive surveying techniques can detect and characterise relic archaeological decoy bombing sites and provide new knowledge on this desperate time for Britain during World War Two," said Dr. Jamie Pringle, reader in forensic geosciences at Keele.
The decoy sites were designed to look like industrial sites, particularly Starfish sites that simulated bombed urban and industrial areas. By the end of World War II, there were 237 Starfish sites across Britain, including the three examined in this study, which protected 81 towns and cities. These sites also functioned as QL sites, where crews used controlled fires and lighting effects like factory lights, locomotives, and moving vehicles to simulate burning targets and industrial activity.
The decoy sites were often operated by teams of a handful of soldiers from brick-built bunkers. These teams actively tried to attract German night attackers to drop their bombs on them, believing they were increasing the destruction already inflicted on British infrastructure. "You're trying to attract the bombers to attack you, it's crazy sounding but this is why I think in the paper we've described how these guys were pretty brave, they were unsung," said Professor Peter Doyle, military historian and earth scientist at Goldsmiths, according to BBC News.
Once the decoy was set and the lights ignited, the crews likely took shelter, both hoping to draw the deadly bombs their way and that their trap would work—and that they themselves would survive after the strike. Timing and coordination were essential, with operators in close communication with regional air defense networks to ensure that decoys were activated while German bombers were approaching. It was necessary to convince pilots that they were attacking already bombed but still functioning factories.
At Keele's site, the decoy was found to be well preserved, featuring a control shelter with concrete blast roofing, expansion chambers designed to mitigate bomb blast pressures, and evidence of blackout curtains. "You can see a… slightly yellow brick building… in the middle of the field, no context to it," said Wisniewski, lecturer in forensic science at Keele, as reported by BBC News. "It's only when you start delving into why it's there and what it is, that you start thinking 'actually this is pretty special.'"
Electrical systems were still present at the sites, as well as ventilation tunnels, bomb blast walls, and bricks stamped with "V" for Victory. The remains of concrete slabs on the ground for the generators were still present in both spaces. Stove bases were found in the operation rooms to keep the teams warm, and experts also discovered remains of blackout curtains nailed to the wooden door frames.
At Beech's site, located in woodland, the team found a control shelter with intact blast walls and ceramic pipework, while Caverswall's site preserved only partial control shelter foundations and blast walls, reported Phys.org. Caverswall's site allowed for effective digital modeling due to minimal vegetation, leading to detailed digital models of the remaining foundations.
Ground-penetrating radar detected buried structural remains and infrastructure at Keele's site. All sites featured blast expansion systems to protect personnel, indicating awareness of operational dangers.
The researchers note that these decoy sites successfully displaced up to 5% of German bombing efforts.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
