Monument record ORF 066 - Practice bombing range, Orfordness

A bombing range and a number of structures associated with the Orfordness experimental establishment to the west (see ORF 021) can be seen on aerial photographs from 1940 onwards, located on the beach to the east of King's Marshes, centred on circa TM44364881 (S1). The area of the bombing range is defined by a spread of bomb craters roughly 136 hectares in area, and within this area a number of bombing range markers of varying sizes and designs are visible as low, possibly flat structures on the beach, delineating the low level bombing line for incoming aircraft. Due to the large number of craters visible, especially to the south of the area, only those with a diameter of circa 5m and above have been mapped to give an indication of their distribution. The bombing range was functionaly contigious with the area on the beach immediately to the north but was physically seperated by the northern end of Stony Creek (See ORF 063). The bombing range itself continued out to sea for about three miles (S5). A number of structures associated with the ballistics tests are also visible on the aerial photographs, connected by a system of tracks that connects to the main research area on the Ness by a bridge across Stoney Ditch at circa TM44274927. These structures are recorded seperately as ORF 067, ORF 068, ORF 070 and, ORF 071 (S2-5).

Survey 1 took place in July 2016 and recorded features along the shingle shelf of Orford Beach, including the Coastguard watch house beside the lighthouse, a concrete structure of unknown function and a ground marker used in ballistics trails. Survey 2 took place in September 2016 and focused on recording the visible remains of the First World War Prisoner of War (POW) camp. Survey 3 took place in June 2017 and created Historic England Level 1/Level 2 record of the First World War Barrack/Stores and the First World War/1950s canteen. Survey 4 in March and June 2018 used the CITiZAN app to start creating a Historic England Level 1 record for all buildings and building remains on Orford Ness. A total of 123 new features were added to CITiZAN's publicly accessible, interactive web based map and 44 National Trust HBSMR records were updated with images and/or text. Survey 5, a CITiZAN/MOLA survey, took place in December 2019 and January 2020. This created photographic and drawn records of the Coastguard watch house and a photographic the nearby concrete structure. The concrete structure collapsed due to coastal erosion not long after (S6).