Monument record TQ 93 NE 122 - V1 missile impact site, Bayland Wood, Orlestone

On 5 July 1944, a V-1 flying-bomb was shot down by Flying Officer Dryland of 3 Squadron over Bayland Wood, Orlestone, Kent. The bomb exploded on impact, creating a water-filled crater in a marshy, clay area. Archival records, including the Kent County War Diary, RAF Operations Record Book, and post-war aerial photography, confirm the event and location.

The team conducted a landscape assessment, measured the water-filled crater (7.3m x 7.0m), and used a metal detector to search for V-1 artefacts in the topsoil. Magnetometer readings were not possible due to water.

At the Bayland Wood V-1 site, artefacts recovered from the topsoil included a riveted aluminium flight control surface, two Argus pulse jet engine matrix vanes, a vane anemometer propeller from the front of the V-1, aluminium shrapnel, and a part load piston from the V-1 fuel regulator, which was also conserved. All six artefacts were found within 100mm of the surface and their locations were recorded using GPS. These finds provide direct evidence of the V-1 impact and are valuable for further study and conservation.(1)

<1> Research Resource Archaeology, 2021, V1 Bayland Wood, Orlestone, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE57423.