Before radar, Britain tried to hear enemy bombers coming using giant concrete ‘ears’
Before the invention of radar, Britain constructed large concrete sound mirrors along the Kent coast to detect incoming enemy aircraft. These structures, built between 1928 and 1930, were eventually rendered obsolete by the rapid advancement of radar technology.
Why it matters
It highlights a fascinating transitional period in military history and the rapid pace of technological innovation during the interwar years.
Long before radar screens tracked enemy planes, Britain tried to hear them coming. Three giant concrete structures on the Kent coast, known as the Denge Sound Mirrors, were built between 1928 and 1930 to pick up the drone of approaching aircraft and give the country a few extra minutes of warning. By 1939, they had been abandoned, made obsolete by the arrival of radar.The mirrors still stand near Greatstone Lakes, inside an RSPB nature reserve at Dungeness. From a distance they look like carved stone, but they are made of concrete. Today they draw walkers, photographers and history buffs, and they offer a rare look at how Britain built its early warning systems between the two world wars.Britain built sound mirrors because World War 1 left its coast exposedThe project was led by Dr William Sansome Tucker, a physicist who specialised in acoustics.
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