Dome's day

This morning I attended an excellent talk by the author of a new book about RAF Langham and the Langham Dome, who just happens also to be a good friend and the husband of Blipper GracieG.  The dome was built during the second world war and was effectively a very early form of AI, with anti-aircraft gunners being trained how to shoot down enemy aircraft using a film projected onto the inside of the dome and a series of enhancements to show whether or not the gunner was accurate.  A bit too complex to explain here but the system was very effective, replacing the previous technique of someone running past the trainees holding a model plane on the end of a stick!  The new form of training was so successful it is considered to have saved hundreds of million pounds worth of shipping and changed the course of the war as anti-aircraft gunners were so well trained.

The Dome is now a museum and for a couple of years has been one of the top ten visitor attractions in the world on Tripadvisor.  It seems a little remote but is on the edge of the airfield that used to be RAF Langham; however, it is a long time since it was an RAF base and the runways are now occupied by Bernard Matthews turkey sheds.  If you happen to be in the area the Dome museum is well worth a visit and from a quick flick through the book I can see I am going to enjoy reading it.