9 miles off of the coast of north Kent out in the Thames Estuary are a cluster of seven man-made structures that emerge from the sea like tripods from War of the Worlds. Constructed in 1942 from a mix of concrete and various metals, they were designed by Guy Maunsell to form part of the UK’s anti-aircraft coastal defenses during the Second World War. They have constructed ashore and then towed out by ships to a shallower section of the seafloor (a sandbank) and then sunk into position. Once in place, the towers were joined together by suspended metal bridges and manned by a permanently stationed military crew. Five of the seven towers housed heavy-duty anti-aircraft guns that fired 3.7-inch guns as well as two Bofors 40mm guns that could fire large rounds at a rate of 100 rounds per minute. What it must have been like for Luftwaffe bombers overhead when all 5 of these towers opened upon them must have been terrifying. The other towers were designated as a control center and searchlight tower respectively. During the war the Redsand gun towers are credited with downing 22 enemy aircraft and over 40 Doodlebug flying bombs; no mean feat as these unmanned early rocket-powered weapons flew at over 400mph.
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The Redsand sea forts on approach from the deck of the XPilot boat
The towers were decommissioned in the 1950s and have since been used by a pirate radio station and as a filming location for an episode of Dangerman and also the 1968 Dr. Who episode, “Fury From The Deep”.
Closer up showing another set of forts in the far distance, the Shivering Sands forts
Although decaying heavily due to constant exposure to the elements, one of the seven towers is gradually being restored by a charity group called Project Redsand CIO. It was with this group that I was able to join a working party boat trip out to this tower and go aboard and take some pictures. “It was a hugely exciting day, I have seen pictures of them many times before and even spied them as distant dots on the horizon from a family break in Whitstable, but I never expected to actually get onto one of them. They are a truly fascinating bit of wartime history and Project Redsand is doing a fantastic job of replacing windows and repairing the damaged bit by bit on each trip out there. They plan on getting the fort to a point where it can be more easily used as a unique and exciting historic visitor’s attraction. After spending a few hours inside the tower, we boarded the boat and did a few laps to get some external photos. It was a very exciting day out and one I won’t forget.”
Circling the Redsands forts
About to board tower G1
Another of the forts from the roof of tower G1
A view through the rusting metal work
One of the interior windows
Open window looking out into the open seas
Leaving the forts
A nearby buoy marking their location
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