StoneRoad2013's photos with the keyword: ROC

Mock-up of an Observer Corps post from the Battle of Britain period, there was a post plotting instrument [It had been removed for safety reasons, but I did get to see it by asking nicely & being ex-ROC] and there are a couple of aircraft groups painted on the ball-room ceiling to demonstrate how to use it. An interesting piece of kit, the Post Instrument was an optical sighting method of tracking aircraft by bearing and approximate altitude. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Instrument

I suspect that this is actually an american utility design, not a British one, probably from the 1950/60s. The British had had a lot of experience in designing air raid shelters during / after WW2, such as you don't put resources under floors and you need padded seating / beds. Although this does have several redeeming features, I can see a number of actual & potential drawbacks, such as no second exit ... Compare with the design of the ROC monitoring posts ... which had some similar drawbacks. . not my image : fair use & public education

The sad remains of Gilsland Post. Opened 1961 & closed at the 1991 "Stand Down". It was intitally G.2 in 22 Group [Carlisle] and 36 post at the end. Hatch is open & I believe this is badly flooded, with everything internally vandalised.

ratpack [canned / tinned] cheese - So, during several training exercises in the Group Control, we ended up eating from "ratpacks" of a decent vintage. it was almost completely impossible to melt this, however we tried nuking it [oven, grill and microwave] I can't say I really enjoyed it in the way I would a slab of Wensleydale, but it was edible. Of the other items in the 8-man packs ; the "Biscuits, oatmeal" - being very hard - were best beaten up and cooked as porridge ... Some of the canned & packet [boil-in-the-bag] meals were actually quite nice ! It was quite a challenge, logistically speaking, to cook / feed a crew & a half plus the "extras" like the warning team in the small galley and clean up properly afterwards.

WW2-era Post Instrument --- used for plotting / determining altitude and track of [enemy] aircraft and the data reported to the control centre. Part of the response to the Battle of Britain and was also used during The Blitz ...

The ROC badge and crest show a 16th-century Beacon Lighter holding aloft a flaming torch while shading his eyes with his free hand, as though looking towards a distant object, or place. This central figure is encircled by a gilt laurel wreath and surmounted by the Royal Crown [St Edward's not the Tudor crown], the motto being Forewarned is Forearmed. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Observer_Corps not my image : fair use & public information

Damage to Hiroshima from the bomb dropped on 06Aug1945, and the subsequent firestorm*. Casualty estimates ... [varies as the number of civilians present was not recorded in detail - and records were lost / damaged in the aftermath]. 90,000–166,000 killed - made up as :- 80,000–156,000 civilians 10,000 soldiers 12 Allied prisoners of war [*Urban areas in Japan were mostly timber buildings, unless built for earthquake resistance]. not my image : fair use & public information

Stages in the U-235 enrichment processes. not my image : fair use & public information

in 1945 "Little Boy" had a yield equivalent to 13 - 16 Kilotons on TNT [usually given as 15] and by 1961 the Soviet Union had tested their Tsar Bomba - dropped from a Tu-95 aka "Bear" which had a yield calculated at 50 MT [the original design was for 100MT, but lead was substituted during construction to reduce fallout from the test, and initial estimates were about 58MT]. Note : fallout occurs if material from the ground is lifted into the fireball and becomes irradiated, before dropping back down. Not my Image : fair use & public information

The Germans launched 10,386 V1 missiles against the UK between June 1944 and March 1945, each carrying a 1,870 lb warhead. Most, but not all, of these were nominally aimed at Tower Bridge in London. Of the V1’s launched, 7573 V1 missiles (73%) were considered non-abortive and thus presented a net threat to British defences. Of these, 1,847 were downed by fighters, 1,878 were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire and 232 struck barrage balloons. Of the remainder 2,419 V1s (23%) successfully reached the London civil defence region; killing about 6,184 people and injuring 17,981.The greatest density of hits was received by Croydon, on the south-east fringe of London. Launch sites aimed at London were overrun by September 1944. Subsequently, Antwerp [Belgium] was hit by 2,448 V-1s from October 1944 to March 1945, Brussels was also attacked.. Not my image ; fair use & public information

Post schematic illustration. [I know that a number of posts added at least one additional layer of 2" thick paving slabs over the surface for further protection - in one case, because the soil tended to wash away, despite the grass.] There were 872 of these, dotted around the UK. Organised into clusters of two to five posts, within the 25 Groups.

Scan of a print [not sure when I took that, as there are only two cars visible - late 1980s probably]. The fully above ground building ROC 23 Group control, [The Sands, Durham] Admin offices at the far end, top floor. There was a "demountable" meeting / training building further to the right. After closure, the site was cleared and is now a car park ...

This shows the "average" protection factor in various types of undamaged buildings - which is derived by working out distance from source [eg settled fallout] plus material type[s] and thickness[es]. . not my image : fair use & public education

The half-life curve - plotting from the time of the detonation NOT the time of fallout deposition, as this may continue for some time. [However, the normal half-life decay curve applies to the fallout once accumulation / deposition has concluded - assuming weather or other local conditions do not "stir things around" . . not my image : fair use & public education

The relative risk to the human body from exposure to alpha, beta and gamma radiation, as emitted by fallout [ignoring the intense burst of electro-magnetic radiation from the actual detonation]. Alpha particles are relatively low power, even skin [unbroken] is an effective barrier, as are a very few inches of air. Beta particles are more energetic but are stopped by a thin layer of metal ... Gamma radiation is very energetic, requiring lead or greater thicknesses of other materials for protection. [cf X-rays] However, all three are capable of much more serious damage to the human body if ingested [and that includes deposition in the lungs from breathing in contamination] . not my image : fair use & public education

Back in the late 1980s/1990ish, the upper echelons of the Royal Observer Corps were considering implementing a new NCO rank. [the four stripe "Master Observer" m/obs ie OR-9 ]. This would be to act as an assistant to the Group Commandant in matters such logistics and running the power, ventilation etc in the building. I was given to understand that I was in the running for this promotion - especially after I passed a summer school course with an almost perfect score on the final test. Unfortunately, the ROC stand down in 1991 prevented this ...

A potted biography of the service by Obs. Cdr. Ken Whitfield, M.B.E. in the Royal Observer Corps. Apologies for the poor quality.

Group Commandant K Whitfield, MBE ... 23 Group {Durham} Royal Observer Corps. Ken was a great character, and always good to work for [or with].