In the area i live in Bordon Hants, we have 2 remaining Bofors gun emplacements, during the war there were 4. One i discovered two years ago with radar trailer near by and the other a few months ago that was though demolished long lost but very complete. All these emplacement during the war were operated by the Canadians who protected Bordon and Longmoor camp. I wonder what when on during these times when you stand at these sites now quite for good, i wonder how active it was, so i have some questions to ask especially when the forum has veterans that may have been part of the crew who could tell what happened. How did these emplacements operate? How many crew did it take to operate a site. Were they there 24/7 on a shift basis. Where did they sleep and eat ie were they tented under cover or did they rest up in trucks or go back to barracks etc or live within the emplacement. How was the emplacement set up what went where? ie on both sites there is a sunken brick enclosure with no roof with short steps was this a tea eating area or a stores for the gun or ammunition (see photo). How was the gun position and the ammunition laid out in the enclosure and how long did the gun stay on site being exposed to the elements and for servicing. Was there communication by line or radio. What went on? Anyone know.
I grew up during WW2 in Nu5 Headley Mill Cottages(Branson's Bungalows). Cann't help you with your Bofors but you might be interested to know there was a searchlight and Ack Ack gun in the field opposite. If you go up Hollywater Road, take the first left into what was a farm track but which I believe now leads to the cemetery, the searchlight was sited immediately to the left at the edge of the track. Carry on up the rise and to the right was a long building purpose-built to house the soldiers. This was used post-war to house the farm manager (Mr Read), his wife and son Michael. Carry on to the top of the rise and drop off to the left. Part way down the gun was in the hedge-line in a bit of a man-made depression. The soldiers were definitely British and seemed rather "old". We did have one German Bomber caught in the searchlight which dropped it's bomb, maybe to try to put out the light, on the top of the rise. We subsequently went swimming in the crater. There was very little enemy action in the Bordon area despite the huge Canadian army presence prior to D-day, so I doubt your Bofors saw much action. I would be interested to know where they were located. Happy New Year.
Some manuals that may help you (some are American) and some other websites that may help you WW1 and WW2 Defences - Suffolk and beyond: Bofors 40mm Gun Pits?- Operation Diver Welter Site TA2 40-mm Automatic Gun M1 (AA)-TM 9-252
