How to Build a Bomb Shelter?

Building an Anderson shelter in WW2

Last Updated on October 7, 2024 by Tom Kane

Conflict in My Neighbourhood

You may have noticed, dear reader, that there’s a lot of missiles being fired and planes dropping bombs in the Middle East, and they’re killing a lot of people. In fact, the war-zone is more in the Eastern Mediterranean, than the Middle East at the moment. And yes, that is the neighbourhood in which I live. My home is in Cyprus, We are, to say the least, somewhat concerned and hoping the conflict between Israel on one side and Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas on the other, doesn’t escalate into a wider conflict.

There are a lot of aircraft flying around of late, and I don’t mean passenger planes, though there are quite a few of those too. I live in the hills above Paphos airport, which is also the same area for the Cyprus National Guard’s airfield.

There are several British bases on Cyprus and the RAF have, in the past, flown sorties to shoot down missiles aimed at Israel, from a variety of terrorist groups backed by Iran. Warfare in the area isn’t new. Anyone remember the Iran-Iraq war?

Iran-Iraq war

The Iran–Iraq War, known as the First Gulf War, came about when Iraq invaded Iran and it lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. The number of combatants killed was enormous on both sides.
Iran Military dead: 200,000–600,000
Iraq Military dead: 105,000–500,000
Nobody seems to know the exact figure. But these were mainly combatants.

Oddly enough, during this conflict, Israel, in a clandestine way, supported Iran. Israel was one of the main suppliers of military equipment and military instructors to Iran during the war.
Naturally, Iran denied any cooperation between the two countries.

Since the time of the Iran-Iraq war, weapons, particularly missiles and drones have become more deadly and powerful. And in this current conflict, it’s mainly civilians being killed, not combatants. It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine a few missiles being lobbed in our direction. Or even one or two going astray. During the height of the Syrian conflict, a lone fighter flew from Syria towards Cyprus. Scrambled RAF fighters soon saw the aircraft turnaround. Missiles don’t have pilots. So unless a stray missile fired by Hezbollah is shot down,who knows where it could end up.

A Bomb Shelter for All

In the light of all this warfare, the Cypriot government has been addressing the problem of bomb shelters for the public to use in an emergency. There were, we are told by the government, two options. 1) Build proper shelters to withstand the types of high explosives used in ballistic missiles or 2) Use basements in unoccupied buildings.

Needless to say the accountants had a say in the decision making, because the government has gone for option 2, utilising pre-existing basements. In order for we the public to use these, the authorities have checked these out and confirmed there are toilet facilities in these basements. Basements built and designed to house wine racks, spare furniture, maybe even made into a spare bedroom or two. Not, I hasten to add, a basement built to withstand a direct hit from a ballistic missile fired by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

Eastern med and Middle East combatants.

Any Shelter in a Bomb Storm

Put that aside, when the bombs and missiles are falling, we will be grateful for any shelter. So, where is the nearest one to me? I have no idea. The government has installed a 24 hour helpline where you can telephone and find out where the shelters are… except it was either busy or not working when I tried. Is there a website with a map… apparently not. So, if the bombs and missiles start anytime soon, I’m taking shelter under my desk. As I’ve already mentioned, where I live is very close to Paphos airport and any cruise missile with crappy GPS settings may well swoop onto my garden and create a very large hole. So maybe I could build my own shelter.

The WW2 DIY Bomb Shelter

The Anderson shelter was designed in 1938 and named after Sir John Anderson, Home Secretary during the Battle of Britain.
The air-raid shelter was designed for use in a garden and when covered with earth, it would give some protection from shell fragments, but probably not a direct hit. Many who placed them in their garden found that the ever present damp was more of a problem than bomb splinters.

So I either find the plans they used to build Anderson shelters in World War 2 or I sit under my desk and hope for the best.

 

Copyright © Tom Kane 2024

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I write historical fiction novels. I have published six novels with six more planned in the Midnight Series. For more information on my books, why not join my newsletter.

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