
Machine Gun Range, Enford Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
The machine gun range was established in 1922, and in operation until 1995. This is the only remaining part of the original three-kilometre zig-zag pattern rail system along which targets travelled at varying speeds.

Target Store, former Machine Gun Ranges, Enford Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
The Machine Gun School (Netheravon Wing) was absorbed into the Small Arms School Corps in 1926, eventually becoming the Support Weapons Wing of SASC. In 1995, it moved to the Land Warfare Centre (LWC) at Warminster.
Before the establishment of the Machine Gun School, the area had been part of the Netheravon Cavalry School (1904-1922), founded by Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) after his appointment as Inspector-General of the Cavalry in 1903.


Range marker, Machine Gun Range, Enford Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.

Forward Battery, Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC), Gore Cross, Westdown Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
Constructed in the 1960s as a Ministry of Defence Proof and Experimental Establishment (P&EE) station, the site has been leased by COTEC since 1995.
The building's roof is made of three-metre-thick solid concrete to protect the workshops and observation room from falling debris during vertical ordnance and countermeasures testing.
COTEC is part of Cranfield University, which was established in 1946 at RAF Cranfield, Bedfordshire. It was originally known as the College of Aeronautics (CoA).

Observation tower, Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC), Gore Cross, Westdown Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
One of six observation towers associated with the Forward Battery. The oversized roof protects the observation deck from falling debris during vertical ordnance testing.

Byway (RUSH18) southwest towards the Demolition Pit, Rushall Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.


Hard Target (FV4201 Chieftain), Demonstration Area, Alton Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
Decommissioned vehicles used as artillery or anti-tank targets on the Plain can date back as far as World War II. They are primarily British and US-built armour, with a small number of Soviet tanks. Occasionally, a vehicle is identified as having historic value and is removed for restoration.
One of 25 US-built Sherman M4 tanks placed on the Plain after World War II was later identified as having been manufactured in September 1942 by Chrysler at the Detroit Tank Arsenal, making it one of the earliest M4s built. It was the 467th out of a total production run of 49,234 units across all variants. The tank was recovered in 1991 and underwent a full restoration, which took 4,500 hours.
Another M4 was removed, and, partway through an extensive restoration, was featured in the David Ayer-directed film Fury (2014).
Of the 49,234 M4s built during WWII, the UK was the largest recipient under the US Lend-Lease programme, receiving 17,181 units. A further 4,065 went to the Soviet Union, while the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB), Canada, and the Free French forces received a combined total of 713 units.


Byway (ENFO45), north of Water Dean Bottom, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.

Lavington Folly Anti-tank Range, Newcome’s Gorse, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.

Cranfield Ordnance Test and Evaluation Centre (COTEC) Flare Test Track, Gore Cross, Westdown Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
The horizontal test track is used to evaluate countermeasure flares. Which are propelled along the track using compressed air at approximately 860 kph. Before being fired vertically into the air.

New Copse Down, Westdown Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
A disused telegraph pole takes on a second life hosting a nest box for the Amber listed Eurasian Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus).
Salisbury Plain holds the largest remaining area of species-rich calcareous grassland in northwest Europe. As such, many areas hold multiple protections, including Special Area of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Area (SPA), and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).




Earthworks, Machine Gun Range, Enford Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
The rail system along which moving targets once travelled has long since been removed. However, the extensive earthworks built in the early 20th century to protect the tracks from live fire remain.
Today, archaeologists continue to explore the thousands of ancient earthworks on Salisbury Plain, with the earliest dating back four millennia, as well as the sites created by military activity over the past century. After Celtic field systems and linear ditches, the most common earthworks found on the Plain are military trenches, with the earliest dating from the First World War.




Demolition Pit, Rushall Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
“It is currently estimated that there remain in excess of 250,000 pieces of UXO and other explosive military debris across the Range.” Project Ubique, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, 2008.
Live ordnance found on the SPTA is recovered and transported to the demolition pit for safe disposal.






Byway (FIGH25), Netheravon Down, Larkhill Artillery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.

Hard Target (FV4007 Centurion), Demonstration Area, Alton Gorse, Larkhill Artillery Range, 2024.
Introduced into service in 1946, the Centurion was the UK’s main battle tank up until 1962. After which it was replaced by the FV4201 Chieftain.

Looking northeast towards Cherry Tree Farm Wood, Great Lynch, Netheravon, Larkhill Artilery Range, Wiltshire, 2024.
When the War Office began acquiring land in 1897, fencing was common on the estates and farms within its boundaries. This posed a challenge for efficient military training and was soon dismantled. In 1902, on one 1,000-hectare estate alone, 16 kilometres of fencing was removed almost overnight.
Today, beyond the perimeter fences of the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA) or those protecting vulnerable areas and impact zones, fencing is absent from vast stretches of land.