Retractable Pillbox Discovery

摘要

A Pickett-Hamilton Fort has been discovered on the disused ex-military airfield at Evanton, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. A so-called disappearing pillbox, the Fort was a cylindrical design that could be raised from a covert position below ground. It was intended to both surprise assaulting enemy paratroopers and provide shelter from which counter attacks could be launched, retracting flush with the surface so it would not affect aircraft landing and taking off. New Kent Construction of Ashford came up with designs for the disappearing pillbox and manufactured the Fort after Prime Minister Churchill approved its design. A total of 335 Pickett-Hamiltons were installed, mainly at airfields near the coast, seen to be a prime target for invaders. The Fort prototypes were constructed in the workshops of racing driver Donald Campbell, a friend of the Fort's inventor, Norman Pickett. Campbell is said to have been at Andover airfield in 1940 to observe Fort trials.