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There are hundreds yards of World War Two Anti-Invations Defences piled along the beach below the cliffs, they have been repurposed for use as Anti-Erosion Defences put in place around the Norfolk coast, to help stop the erosion of the cliffs.
Amongst the remains along the beach you will find reused railway lines and many Concrete Blocks, which are are little smaller than normal, these were more likely part of the Anti-Boat Scaffolding stretching along the beach, the normal Anti-Tank Block size is approximately between 4ft and 5ft square.
Between the railway lines and amongst the concrete blocks are improvised concrete cylinders made from pouring concrete in to oil drums and inserting a bracket in the top, this was to link the cylinders together slowing down any advances made by the enemy. Above the cliffs is very well preserved example of an Emergency Coastal Battery including two Engine Houses.
The Museum of the Vietnamese Air Force and Air Defence Forces is located in a northern suburb of bustling Hanoi, on the edge of an old air base. It is well worth a visit, with a small entrance fee of around GBP 3 / USD 5. The collection includes much material from the Second Indo-China War (Vietnam War, 1963-75) as well as the the first Indo-China War against French rule which ended in 1958. Later conflicts against the murderous PolPot regime in Cambodia are also included.
As you might expect, most of the complete aircraft are of Soviet origin, although later examples either captured in South vietnam or supplied by the US after the blockade ended are US machines, The surprise for me was the Nazi Germany 88mm Flak gun - just like the Airfix kit! This was captured in WW2 by the Russians, taken to Moscow and later supplied to the North Vietnamese as military aid - and it shot down a US jet too.
There is a large monolithic central building which displays a lot of smaller items including captured US & French uniforms and pilot's equipment as well as some good graphics explaining how both wars unfolded.
The Air Defence Service claimed 2635 kills from a total of 4181 US aircraft shot down during the Vietnam War, including 31 B-52 bombers, largely during the Tet Offensive of December 1972. Most Anti-aircraft gun crews were all-female.
After the main competition of running two kilometers, the recruits were lead by a KDF officer to cool down
I'm currently doing some work with for the Up on the Downs/Let Them Speak For Themselves project. The aim is to update the work of the Defence of Britain Project to get a current record of the 20th Century Defences around Dover and Folkestone
Here are the sites I have so far look at, photographed and recorded the status of on the Western Heights area of Dover
I'll add better descriptions when I get a chance....
@ iPhone4 Camera
The Compositing of the contrast between haman and building.
Red Color tone make it impressive.
Lt General David Bill (UK Military Representative to NATO and EU) with Liam Fox (UK Minister of Defence) talking with Abdul Kahim Wardak (Minister of Defence, Afghanistan) - courtesy of UK Delegation
Rwanda Defence Force Spokesperson Brig. Gen Ronald Rwivanga briefing members of the media. Photos by Olivier Mugwiza