World War Two Defences
Because of the low population density of nearby areas and their proximity to the naval base on Portland, the beach and the Fleet were used for machine gun training and bouncing bomb testing for Operation Chastise in World War II.
The World War Two defences constructed on and around Chesil Beach have been documented. A double row of anti-tank blocks divides the beach near Abbotsbury. The portion of the beach to the east of this division, in front of Fleet Lagoon, had no passive defences against a landing, whereas the beach to the west was protected with miles of Admiralty scaffolding with anti-tank ditches and minefields and flame fougasse installations a little further inland. There were many pillboxes.
Read more about this topic: Chesil Beach
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