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Scanned image view from East.
SC 645286
Description Scanned image view from East.
Date 24/5/1996
Catalogue Number SC 645286
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of C 73152
Scope and Content Pillbox, 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 low, semi-sunken concrete pillbox stands near the perimeter of the former naval airfield at Twatt. It is of a standard Type 27 design commonly associated with airfields, octagonal on plan with one embrasure in each wall for use with rifles and light machine guns. The concrete walls show evidence of the corrugated shuttering used in their construction and the concrete canopy retains some of its original turf camouflage. In the distance, the control tower and other airfield buildings are visible. 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/645286
File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap
Attribution: © RCAHMS
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