Air-raid shelter, view from North.

Description Air-raid shelter, view from North.

Date 24/5/1996

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

Catalogue Number SC 645250

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73140

Scope and Content Air raid shelter, World War II airfield, Twatt, Mainland, Orkney Islands In World War II there were four main military airfields in Orkney, two of which were originally operated by the Royal Navy (Twatt and Hatston) and two by the Royal Air Force (Skeabrae and Grimsetter), Grimsetter, now Kirkwall Airport, being transferred to the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1945. The most complete surviving wartime airfield remains are at the Royal Naval Air Station at Twatt which was commissioned as HMS Tern on 1 April 1941. At first a satellite of Hatston, Twatt became an independent command on 31 March 1942. This long, earth-covered structure is one of a number of semi-sunken air-raid shelters which still survive on the western perimeter of the former naval airfield at Twatt. It is of a type which has entrances at each end, lined with concrete panels. 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.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/645250

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap