If you are travelling out to the island of Malta this summer and you are interested in acoustic engineering and World War II, you may find this landmark worth a visit. It is believed to be the only acoustic mirror built outside of the UK.
Built as an early warning system from enemy aircraft during 1934, the acoustic mirror is located at 'Maghtab' in between Sliema and Bugibba, a little off the beaten track but nevertheless not too hard to find. We travelled by hire car but still accessible by Malta's excellent (and renowned!!) bus service. Ask any of the 'locals' for directions, who refer to it as 'Il widna' ... Maltese for 'the ear'. Although the land now is owned by MaltaCom you can still get close enough to see the camouflage painting which is still visible blending the surrounding natural landscape.
During trials it was established that the range of the acoustic mirror was 21 to 37 miles, with an average of 25 miles, in contrast, the range of an unaided human ear was just 5 miles. It was estimated that this would provide a 6 minute warning of enemy aircraft approach at 250 mph.
Andrew Grantham has a special interest in Acoustic Mirrors and more information can be found at http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/soundmirrors/locations/il-widna-malta/
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