Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Near the coast of Suffolk at a spot a little to the north of Harwich lies the village of Orford. There, from close to the ancient castle, Quay Street runs eastwards until it ends abruptly at the river, beyond which is the aerodrome and the stone and shingle banks stretching to Orfordness point and the sea. It was here in the winter of 1916–17 at the Aircraft Armament and Gunnery Experimental Establishment, that a handful of Boffins and pilots carried out a programme of research and development of gunsights and bombsights.