WWII FW3/22 Type-22 Pillbox, Reckford Road, Middleton.
Positioned here to Defend Middleton Bridge crossing the Minsmere New Cut is a standard Type-22 Pillbox, often flooded in the winter when the river overflows. There is a Full Height Entrance, probably fitted with a door at one time, this is protected by an L-Shaped Blast Wall which has a Pistol Loophole. The interior has a Y-Shaped Anti-Ricochet Wall but was flooded. The Stepped Embrasures have a Steel Plate above, which is quite common around the Suffolk Coastal area. There are no signs of any brickwork, and the lines in the walls suggest it was constructed with wooden shuttering, condition looks really good. There is a newly constructed fence so can't be seen when passing anymore.
A standard Type-22 Pillbox is a regular hexagon in plan with a Loopholes/Embrasures in five of the sides and a Full or Half-Height Entrance, sometimes with a porch in the other. The Loopholes are suitable for rifles or light machine guns. Some have a low entrance that allows an extra Loopholes above. Each wall is about 6ft long and it was generally built to the bullet proof standard of 12in thick, although shellproof versions with walls around 40in thick were also built. Internally there is either a Y or T Shaped Anti-Ricochet Wall (the top of the Y/T nearest the entrance) the internal wall also helps support the roof. The Type-22 Pillbox is the second most common pillbox type with 1,347 recorded as being extant. It is easily confused with the common Type-24, which is an irregular hexagon and the less common octagonal shape.
WWII FW3/22 Type-22 Pillbox, Reckford Road, Middleton.
Positioned here to Defend Middleton Bridge crossing the Minsmere New Cut is a standard Type-22 Pillbox, often flooded in the winter when the river overflows. There is a Full Height Entrance, probably fitted with a door at one time, this is protected by an L-Shaped Blast Wall which has a Pistol Loophole. The interior has a Y-Shaped Anti-Ricochet Wall but was flooded. The Stepped Embrasures have a Steel Plate above, which is quite common around the Suffolk Coastal area. There are no signs of any brickwork, and the lines in the walls suggest it was constructed with wooden shuttering, condition looks really good. There is a newly constructed fence so can't be seen when passing anymore.
A standard Type-22 Pillbox is a regular hexagon in plan with a Loopholes/Embrasures in five of the sides and a Full or Half-Height Entrance, sometimes with a porch in the other. The Loopholes are suitable for rifles or light machine guns. Some have a low entrance that allows an extra Loopholes above. Each wall is about 6ft long and it was generally built to the bullet proof standard of 12in thick, although shellproof versions with walls around 40in thick were also built. Internally there is either a Y or T Shaped Anti-Ricochet Wall (the top of the Y/T nearest the entrance) the internal wall also helps support the roof. The Type-22 Pillbox is the second most common pillbox type with 1,347 recorded as being extant. It is easily confused with the common Type-24, which is an irregular hexagon and the less common octagonal shape.