Dome Trainer Anti-Aircraft 1940 (Royal Navy, Army, Air Force

[Ewan WT]

I have just joined the Forum to research the Dome Trainer and complete a book about the technology. Bofors guns were the standard installation with shortened barrels.

This was the first (secret until 1945) anti-aircraft simulation technology invented by my grandfather, Lt-Commander Henry Stephens, for the Royal Navy in 1940 and used all over the world in over 300 sites.

There was a huge demand for this technology with 43 domes being built across the UK including one at Langham (Norfolk) which survives today. This was a forerunner of today's immersive experiences including IMAX screens, aircraft pilot simulation and computer games. This revolutionary invention saved thousands of lives and shortened the Second World War.

This is a link to the Royal Navy use with the Pathe News in 1951.

Henry's private journal has been deposited in the Imperial War Museum and the BBC made a documentary in 2025, narrated by the British actor Stephen Fry. YouTube has parts of the documentary.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/i...ect/1030031411

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rcd2x

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02rc8dl

I would be pleased to have any more information on the Dome Trainer, the gunnery used inside it and any personal experience of training with it.

At Scapa Flow, Scotland, I found what looks like a rear gunner turret developed for air-to-air gunnery inside a Dome Trainer. This is not in any of the official records that I can find!

Best wishes,

Ewan Ward-Thomas
Grandson of Henry Stephens, RN