Operation Starfish: The Rhubodach Decoy Village

During World War II, German bombers regularly attacked British cities. To protect these areas, Britain created a secret project called Operation Starfish. This was a network of fake, decoy towns built in the empty countryside. Their job was to use lights and controlled fires at night to look like real cities, tricking enemy pilots into dropping their bombs in the wrong place.

While the Royal Air Force (RAF) ran most Starfish sites across Britain, the Rhubodach decoy village on the Isle of Bute was different. It was built by the Royal Navy in 1941. Its main goal was to protect the busy shipyards and factories of Greenock and Clydebank, as well as naval bases around Bute.

The Rhubodach decoy worked in two simple steps to trick the German bombers:

The site was run by a small team of six to seven Royal Navy sailors who lived down the hill at Rhubodach House. When an air-raid warning came through on their special phone line, they ran up the hill to the command bunker. This bunker was made of thick concrete to protect them from bomb blasts. It even had a hidden vertical escape hatch with iron rungs inside the wall in case the main door became blocked.

Across Britain, Operation Starfish was a massive success that saved thousands of lives. However, the Rhubodach site never actually caught the attention of the enemy. German flight maps showed that their bombers simply didn't fly far enough west over the hills of Bute. Because of this, no bombs ever fell on the Rhubodach decoy village or the nearby woods.

Today, you can still visit the heart of this secret operation. The concrete command bunker has been cleared of overgrown bushes and is kept safe by the Bute Forest Trust. It sits right along the West Island Way and the Balnakailly Loop walking trails. Next to the bunker, you will find a timber visitor shelter and an informational display board. Visitors can even climb onto the flat roof of the bunker to enjoy a peaceful view over the Kyles of Bute viewpoint, a quiet contrast to the secret wartime base it used to be.