No. 1 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
Date
26 October 2016
Location
Fan Bay, Dover, Kent
TR 35221 42799; 51.13611°N, 1.36095°E
Information
Concrete sound mirrors were developed in Britain to provide early warning of approaching aircraft. The dish-shaped acoustic reflectors focused sound waves to a point in front of the mirror where a microphone would be placed, or an operator equipped with a stethoscope would be positioned. The technology became obsolete in the 1930s with the advent of radar.
The two 4.5 metre World War I sound mirrors at Fan Bay, the site of which had been filled in in the 1970s, were excavated by the National Trust as part of its restoration of Fan Bay Deep Shelter. An archaeological dig took place in 2014 to find the mirrors and 600 tonnes of spoil was removed to uncover the devices. The guided tour of Fan Bay Deep Shelter includes an opportunity to view the sound mirrors at close quarters.
Further Reading
Sound Mirrors;
Fan Bay Deep Shelter;
First World War ‘sound mirrors’ restored on White Cliffs of Dover (Centenary News)
No. 2 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
No. 1 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
No. 1 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
No. 1 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
No. 2 Sound Mirror, Fan Bay
No. 1 (L) and No. 2 (R) Sound Mirrors, Fan Bay
GeoTopoi 
Many thanks, Graham. Since I saw them the first time I’ve been fascinated by these sound concentrators !
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Thanks, Gilles!
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Very interesting. And of course wonderfully photographed.
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Many thanks, Lynn. Glad you found it interesting.
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Cool info and shots!
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🙂
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fascinating… I had no idea such sound mirrors even exist… great shots, Graham!!
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Many thanks, Alex!
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Fascinating – I heard but never seen photos of these.
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Glad you found it to be of interest!
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I vaguely recall seeing a documentary about sound mirrors, it was a technology that worked in theory, and almost worked in practice. An interesting idea, overtaken by a much better one.
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Yes, but I find the acoustic approach fascinating in an almost steampunkish way. Check out these bad boys:
http://www.spoon-tamago.com/2016/07/20/fascinating-historic-photos-of-japans-wartime-acoustic-locators/
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I’d agree that they are a fascinating concept, the concrete British ones are certainly interesting, but I’ve never seen those Japanese ones before. Those are ace!
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How interesting are these.
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Many thanks, Sue!
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Cool shots!
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Many thanks for stopping by and commenting, Rob!
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Fascinating information – I’d never heard of these structures before. Great that they have survived in such good condition.
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Glad you found it to be of interest!
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Reblogged this on Hello Creatives Times.
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Thanks, babl, but seems to have disappeared?
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Hi Stephen sorry about that. I think my site has problem loading or something. But you have wonderful blog. 🙂
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Hi Stephen, How are you? Thanks for the permission i am reblogging WADDESDON MANOR. Thanks. 🙂
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