Adam LazzariThis mysterious dark sphere in north Norfolk frequently turns heads and incites the remark, 'what on earth is that?'Most people who drive past it on their way to or from Wells no doubt have no idea about the crucial role it played in defeating the Nazis.Adam Lazzari

This mysterious dark sphere in north Norfolk frequently turns heads and incites the remark, 'what on earth is that?'

Most people who drive past it on their way to or from Wells no doubt have no idea about the crucial role it played in defeating the Nazis.

However, the Langham Dome, built in 1942, was actually a training base for anti-aircraft gunners.

It was one of 40 built across the country - but there are now just six in existence.

And now the dome's vital past and potentially exciting future will be revealed in two open days, the first of which will be on Saturday.

They have been organised by The Friends of Langham Dome, a voluntary organisation set up six months ago with the goal of raising �400,000 to stabilise and restore the building.

Committee member Patrick Allen said: 'Other than the control tower, the Langham Dome is the last evidence that there was ever an airfield here. There is no memorial to those that flew out of Langham during the war and many of them never came back.

'The Langham Dome needs to be restored or it won't be here for future generations. This sounds like an awful lot of money, but in 50 years people will be glad that we have done it.

'We all rely on our predecessors preserving things to ensure that we are all richer in historical knowledge.'

The Langham Dome used what was at the time cutting edge technology to train ground to air gunners.

Servicemen from the UK, Australia and New Zealand would train inside and images of aircraft would be projected onto the walls.

The spherical shape would enable them to simulate firing at aircraft from all angles and the gunners would then be trained in firing live ammunition at nearby Weybourne and Stiffkey.

Langham Dome was once owned by Bernard Matthews Ltd as it is next to one of the company's turkey farms, but has been donated to The North Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust. The Friends of Langham Dome are applying for �267,500 from Heritage Lottery, �78,000 from English Heritage, �35,000 from Entrust, and �10,000 from both the Architectural Heritage Fund and North Norfolk Historical Buildings Trust.

Friends of Langham Dome committee member Henry Labouchere, 61, said: 'This building played a very important role in the second world war. Work needs to be done on the steel work inside and water proofing the outside. We want it to become a small museum and a tourist attraction and also an educational facility. English Heritage has an educationalist who is very keen to put it on the school curriculum.

'We are even seeing if we can get one of the old guns that people were trained on from the Imperial War Museum. It would be fantastic if there is anyone still around who trained in the Langham Dome that could come along to an open day and talk about their experiences.'

He added: 'If nothing is done this building will fall down. To secure this funding we need to convince Heritage Lottery that there is enough interest in restoring it. I know many people who are fascinated by Langham Dome, so I hope many come along to our open days and become members of our group. They would only have to pay a very small fee and could have an active role in restoring this historical building themselves.'

The open days will be at Langham Dome, adjacent to Cockthorpe Road, on Saturday from 10am-12pm and on August 2 from 4pm.

For more information, go to www.langhamdometrainer.co.uk