photo: Montpelier flick
Denge is a former Royal Air Force site near Dungeness, in Kent, England. It is best known for the early experimental acoustic mirrors which remain there.
The mirrors were built in the 1920s as an experimental early warning system for incoming aircraft. Several were built along the south and east coasts, but the complex at Denge is the best preserved.There are three acoustic mirrors in the complex, each consisting of a single concrete hemispherical reflector.
Acoustic mirrors did work, and could effectively be used to detect slow moving enemy aircraft before they came into sight. They worked by concentrating sound waves towards a central point, where a microphone would have been located. However, their use was limited as aircraft became faster. Operators also found it difficult to distinguish between aircraft and seagoing vessels. In any case, they quickly became obsolete due to the invention of radar in 1932. The experiment was abandoned, and the mirrors left to decay.
The most famous of these devices still stand at Denge on the Dungeness peninsula and at Hythe in Kent. Other examples exist in other parts of Britain (including Sunderland, Redcar, Boulby, Kilnsea) and Selsey Bill, and in Malta.
coordinates : 50°57'23.89"N 0°57'15.98"E
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This gigantic antenna system called Duga-3 is located near Prypiat in the Chernobyl area.
It was built in the 70's as an early missile detection system (over-the-horizon radar system). It was also called the Steel Yard hence its distinctive appearance. The antenna was deactivated in 1989.
The Russian Woodpecker was a notorious Soviet signal that could be heard on the shortwave radio bands worldwide between July 1976 and December 1989. It sounded like a sharp, repetitive tapping noise, at 10 Hz, giving rise to the "Woodpecker" name. The random frequency disrupted legitimate broadcast, amateur radio, and utility transmissions and resulted in thousands of complaints by many countries worldwide.
Starting in 1976 a new and powerful radio signal was detected worldwide, and quickly dubbed the Woodpecker by amateur radio operators. Transmission power on some woodpecker transmitters was estimated to be as high as 10 MW EIRP. As well as disrupting shortwave amateur radio and broadcasting it could sometimes be heard over telephone circuits due to the strength of the signals. This led to a thriving industry of "Woodpecker filters" and noise blankers.
coordinates : 51°18'19.31"N 30°03'57.66"E
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pictures sources : 1 2 3
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An American pyramid : abandoned US anti-ballistic missile system, Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex in Nekoma, North Dakota, USA
The Safeguard Program was a United States Army anti-ballistic missile system developed in the late 1960s. Safeguard was designed to protect U.S. ICBM missile sites from counterforce attack, thus preserving the option of an unimpeded retaliatory strike.
Sentinel was developed but never deployed. Safeguard was planned for several sites within the United States, but only one was completed. Until the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system was deployed, the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard complex in Nekoma, North Dakota was the only operational anti-ballistic missile system ever deployed by the United States.
The main abandoned building, a very sleek concrete pyramid looks more like of piece of land art than a military installation.
coordinates : 48°35'22.04"N 98°21'23.63"W
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pictures sources : 1 2
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