armoured hatches

i live in dorset and have noticed over the years that there are alot of armoured green hatches built in fields in the middle of nowhere in some cases most are fenced of and some have signs saying that it is mod property just wondering if anybody else has seen or indeed been inside one any information would be great cheers if needs i could get a pic to help with the inquiry cheers

reply to post by maxpayne00


yeah would like to see a pic if you can, are they people hatches or something else? could be SAM sites for the missile shield or small shelters or something, interesting.

we still have loads of old ww2 and cold war holes all over essex, maybe they're just sealing up all the old bunkers, command posts and radar array stations with new hatches to stop people getting stuck in them.

dorset has lots of military bases all over the place bovington army camp home to royal armoured corps sbs main camp in poole lulworth army camp main gunnery range for royal armoured corps will get a photo of the hatch in question and post it sun

i suspect that you have "discovered" ROC posts - there are > 1500 country wide

i checked out the site on the thread you left for me very informative although the picture taken of the one listed at poundbury is not the same sort of hatch as in the picture it is a single green hatch in the middle of a field i am also puzzled as to where the hatch pictured is cant think where it is dosent look familiar to anywhere ive seen before and ive lived here all my life lol

hi -appologies for delay posting - i missed the fact you did reply promptly cos my ats notification went screwy

but now you have me intruiged - if they are not ROC posts - i cannot think of any other standardised hatch that regularly occurs in feilds - and fits your outher descripltion - its the MOD keep out that screws all other explainations [ utilities / telecom etc ]

just FYI - the dorchester ROC post is here :

also - all ROC instalations were built the same - but some now look quite different - with modifications - none std painting - partial demolition etc etc

would it be possible for you to take a picture ? and give map locations as to where you spot these things - i have assumed from your 1st post - you have seen more than one in dorset - right ?

i wikll have a further think - and check my notes on whats in dorset of interest

hopefully we well get to the bottom of this

[edit on 20-1-2009 by ignorant_ape]

the location on the map looks about right but i havent seen the hatch that was on the roc site there isnt any ventilation slats or anything on the one on your map i have seen quite a few hatches about being a hgv driver i see over hedges and see stuff alot of people dont generally see like i said dorset for some reason has quite a heavy military presence for some reason one of the other hatches is near swanage on the edge of a field and untill recently it had a cctv camera pointing at the hatch access (think someone smashed it down)i will take a photo on 25/01/09 and post it on this thread for u to have a look at the one near swanage is about 20miles from where i am and pass it now and again if i pass it i will take a picture for you too have alook at the local rumour of the hatch at poundbury is that its a fallout shelter but am unsure if it is i know where ill be heading when it all kicks of lol

just to let everyone know i will be posting a photo of said hatch on ats tommora evening if anyone is interested watch this space a few friends and me are gathering a list of said structures and are planning a closer examination of them

i have taken the pictures of a few hatches locally and have them at hand to post on ats but i have to post make 25 posts in order to upload them and i dont want to post on things for the sake of it so if people want to see the pics u2u me and when i have reached 25 i will post them regardless as i said in previous posts the closer looks were very interestin

hey folks - due to technical glitches i am now posting pic

NOTE these are NOT my pics , i wasnt even there - copy right credit is ATS member ` maxpayne00 ` and all rights reserved .

it seems maxpayne and his mates had quite a fun day out yesterday - but even i got a surprise when i flicked throught the pics he sent me

roc post [ one i recoginised ] ........... roc post [ one i didnt ] etc

roc post origional sign - WOW - i have never seen one of them intact before - they get destroyed / removed or stolen by suvenier collectors

then OMG what the hell its that ? just one pic but

ok - cut cut the babbling here are the highlights of max`s pics :

dorrchester roc post [ actually in poundburry - but post name reflects the BT exchange it is linked to by telephone - NOT the actuall nearest village ]



spotting this was what piqued max`s interest - PS the black painted bars steel strip are non standard additions - fitted by the land owner after the post was decommisioned - to stop vandalism and other miscreant behaviour - or small children getting lost in it

a second post - i assume worth matravers - PS the steel platform next to it is an ORLIT POST used to keep watch for enemy aircraft



the sign @ worth matravers - a cool find , very few remain in situ



looking down the enterance shaft of west lulworth



lsaastly - the pic that made me sit up and take notice



max - where is that exactly - and any more pics - or your observations / opinions ?

i have a feeling its some sort of utility services instalation - sewerage / water / gas

but you never know

finally - a word of caution , while exploration / investigation of such decommishioned cold war and WWII military structures is both fun and righly rewarding

it is not sometthing that you should approach with a blaise attitude - they can be dangerous - some are damaged by fire , others vandalised or structurally unsound

once you are ` down the hatch ` you are encased in concrete over 50cm thick + 1 to 1.5m of earth - so do not expect your cellphone to work

basic precautions are to tell someone responsible where you are going - and how long you will be

going alone is not inherently unsafe - but going with a mate is often more fun - and you have the security that if one is injured / falls - the other has a better chance of getting assistance

[edit on 26-1-2009 by ignorant_ape]

lastly - if max or anyone else is interested in further study , just as ATS studies conspiracy theories and such related topics - there are dedicated forums and groups who regularly investigate these and other derelict / abandoned structures of all types

its very loosely known as urban exploration

here are some forum links for the UK

derp covers all interests

urbexforum

darkplaces exclusivly deditated to stuff underground

cheers for posting pics for me ape i agree dont go exploring on your own and make sure somebody knows where you are there are more posts locally the one at poundbury seems rather larger than the rest of the roc post which leads me to belive it is poss a fallout shelter of somekind i am currently trying to contact landowner to see if i can arrange a closer look the one at poundbury these places are very dark inside so ensure u take a torch of some kind with you if u are going to visit them i thought that might look like a utility site but looking round the back of it the tall shaft sticking up has glass on one side as if some kind of periscope device unsure it is near wareham in dorset