Air-raid shelter, view of interior from East.
SC 645252
Description Air-raid shelter, view of interior from East.
Date 24/5/1996
Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu
Catalogue Number SC 645252
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of C 73142
Scope and Content Interior, 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 interior view of a well-preserved air-raid shelter on the former naval airfield at Twatt shows its modular, pre-cast concrete panel construction and hooped or parabolic profile, the sections being butt-jointed in the centre of the ceiling. Unlike civilian shelters which were equipped with latrines, military shelters were designed only for temporary use during an attack. 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.
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