Luftwaffe Target Folder
In the early days of WW2, the German Air Force produced target folders for British towns - that of Hastings being produced in August 1940.
The folder is brief indeed; the cover sheet only gives three potential targets - that of Hastings and St. Leonards Piers and the Harbour Arm. An aerial photograph presumably taken within a few weeks at most of the date of production of the folder adds the Gas Works.
A form concludes the folder stating that the target is the 'Harbour of Hastings', offering no economic or military significance with maritime and mainline railway connections. The form goes on to note that Hastings is a 'Bathing and excursion destination. No port facilities. The seaside resorts of Hastings and St. Leonards each have a pier for pleasure boats. An old, partly dilapidated breakwater serves as protection for fishing boats. Not suitable for military use. Open roadstead.'
The form notes that the following airfields are nearby (with bearings and distances as below):-
29 km in the W.S.W. is located at Wilmington Airfield
33 km in the N.E. is Littlestone Airfield
34.5 km to the N.N.W. is Marden Airfield
37.5 km N.W. Grangemouth Airfield
40 km to the N.E. is Lympne Air Base
In terms of known defences (to the Germans at that time) there is recorded a Heavy Flak Battery 6.5 km W.N.W. of the town - this bearing would imply the battery was in the vicinity of Crowhurst - possibly on the seaward facing high ground. Finally, nearby landmarks to confirm target identification are Beachy Head and Dungeness.
