The Red Sands Maunsell Sea Forts were sunk off the coast of Kent in 1942. They were designed by a man named Guy Maunsell,
and were for the sole purpose of defending the Thames Estuary from air attacks by the German Luftwaffe.
Each group of forts has 7 towers and each tower has a specific purpose, including intelligence, communications,
and at least one gun tower - normally a Bofors 40mm gun. Troops could be stationed on the forts for months at a time.
All 7 towers were joined together by walkways. These were removed after decommisioning, however it is easy to see where they once were.

Red Sands, at 6 miles off the Kent coast has a sister set of forts a further 4 miles out at Shivering Sands.
The Shivering Sands forts were also designed by Guy Maunsell, however, over the years they have not been as fortunate as Red Sands.
They were used as some of the first homes for Pirate Radio, being inhabited by Radio City and Screaming Lord Sutch.
However, being that far away from electricity they could only broadcast for a few minutes before the batteries ran out.
The signal only reached as far as Herne Bay.

The forts at Shivering Sands will be pulled down at some point as they are considered a danger to shipping.
During the 1950s a container ship hit one of the towers in thick fog and it collapsed. The remains were towed back to Whitstable and left on the beach.
They are still there today. One of the towers at Shivering Sands is protected by the RSPB as it houses one of Britain's only breeding pairs of Peregrine Falcons.

Since being decommisioned during the 1950s they have not only been home to Pirate Radio but also SAS Training, apparently for simulated storming of an Oil Rig.
At present the group known as Project Redsand are trying to gain funding to restore the forts to their original glory.
It may include opening them as a museum, hotel and restaurant. They recently had the structure below the water level surveyed.
It is surprisingly good condition.

Now, on to the Photos.
All of the pictures included in this gallery were featured on BBC News 24 in August 2007.