 The pier was taken over by the Admiralty in 1941 as an outpost of the Directorate of Miscellaneous Weapons Development ( DMWD ) . It was commissioned as HMS Birnbeck and was used for secret weapons development and storage with testing . The " Bouncing bomb " was tested at the Brean Down Fort on the opposite side of Weston Bay . After the war , the pier resumed its role as a tourist attraction , but business declined due to competition from the Grand Pier which opened its amusement arcades in 1946 . 
