| Although not part of the Stop
Line, this structure is included as it was brought into service at about the
same time as the Stop Line defences and is situated very near some of them.
The balloon hanger is situated
at the junction of Ham Lane and Gaunts Road. It was operated by the Royal
Aircraft Establishment (RAE) and used from 1940 in the development of barrage
balloon cable-cutting experiments. RAE aircraft flying from Exeter Airport
and, later on, from RAF Culmhead, near Taunton, took part in the
experiments. The balloons had to be kept fully inflated - hence the
enormous size of the hanger. Ron Smith of Brickyard Farm, Creech St.
Michael, remembers seeing a balloon tethered at this location back in the
early 1940's
[Map ref. ST 283430] |
|
View from the west. |
