View of battery from SE.

Description View of battery from SE.

Date 25/5/1996

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number C 73306 CN

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 664818

Scope and Content Command post, Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, Klondyke, Burray, Orkney Islands In World War II the famous Scapa anti-aircraft 'box barrage' was made up of 25 Heavy Anti-Aircraft batteries, supported by numerous Light Anti-Aircraft posts and rocket sites, all manned by the Army. Heavy Anti-Aircraft artillery could fire 3.7- or 4.5-inch (98- and 113-mm) calibre shells to heights of over 30,000 feet (9,144m), while smaller, faster-firing Light Anti-Aircraft guns such as the 40mm-calibre Bofors had an effective ceiling of about 5,000 feet (1,524m). Barrage balloons, an RAF responsibility, were extensively used as a deterrent against low-level enemy air attacks, the steel tethering wire being capable of cutting into and bringing down an aircraft. These are the overgrown remains of part of the command post from which battery operations were locally conducted as part of an Orkney-wide command network centred on Kirkwall. Equipped with telephone, telescope, height and range finder, and predictor - a form of mechanical computer - the post gathered intelligence on enemy aerial movements, and directed the guns accordingly. The post consisted of a number of conjoined open enclosures and structures. The area in the foreground contained either the predictor or the height/range finder, and behind the arched shelter are the semi-sunken remains of a large hut which probably contained the plotting room. Centred on the command post, the four guns of the battery radiated in a wide arc behind the camera viewpoint. At the heart of the Orkney archipelago, Scapa Flow was the main fleet anchorage for the Royal Navy during both World Wars. Its vital importance led to the creation of one of the most concentrated defence networks in Britain. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Medium Colour negative

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