What is now one of Suffolk's most tranquil and secluded beaches used to be a top-secret military base. 

Orford Ness has grown in popularity, but do you know about its military history?

Its first involvement in military activity began soon after the War Office agreed to its £13,500 purchase in 1913.

East Anglian Daily Times: The Black Beacon at Orford Ness was built to house an experimental rotating radio beacon transmitter. The Black Beacon at Orford Ness was built to house an experimental rotating radio beacon transmitter. (Image: Newsquest)

The 2,000 acre site was prepared as an airstrip, with the first squadron setting off for manoeuvres in Ireland the following year.

After the First World War broke out, the Ness took on a more experimental role, with tests on bombing, aerial photography and later on the use of machine guns and parachutes. Much of the work was fraught with danger and several young men lost their lives.

The experiments continued throughout the war and beyond through “lethality and vulnerability” trials, which sought ways to destroy enemy aircraft more efficiently.

Eminent figures present around this time and into the Second World War included Sir Henry Tizard, a scientist who worked with Robert Watson-Watt on radar, and Professor Bennett Melvill Jones, who went on to become chairman Aeronautical Research Committee.

East Anglian Daily Times: The famous Orford Ness pagodas were built to test the the ability to withstand the accidental detonation high explosivesThe famous Orford Ness pagodas were built to test the the ability to withstand the accidental detonation high explosives (Image: Newsquest)

Bombing ballistics took on a new significance with the coming of the atomic age, with the Ness again playing a pivotal role.

From 1954, Orford Ness was a major player in Britain’s nuclear deterrent. The Atomic Weapons Research Establishment took over more than half the site. It created a research facility to test the ballistics of bombs when dropped and the elaborate trigger mechanisms needed to ensure they detonated.

By 1972, however, the ness’s military role was drawing to a close and it began to fall into decline.

The National Trust acquired the site in 1993 and it’s since become an internationally important nature reserve, which is open to visitors on select days, usually from Easter until the end of October. Spaces are limited due to boat capacity and tickets are released on a weekly rolling basis. More information can be found here.