MAUNSELL NAVAL SEA FORTS OF THE THAMES ESTUARY

Details the extensive undertaking at the Red Lion Wharf, Gravesend, by Holloway Brothers (London) Ltd, during the period 1941-1942 when four enormous reinforced concrete forts were built. Each weighing 4,500 tons and forty metres tall, these forts were towed down river by local tugs and placed on the estuary seabed to foil German magnetic mine-laying activities. Over four hundred personnel were employed on the site and the unique design subsequently led to the acceptance of the Mulberry Harbour design for the Normandy beachhead in 1944.