View of command post buildings from south west

Description View of command post buildings from south west

Catalogue Number SC 665147

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 17916 CN

Scope and Content Command post, Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, Rysa Lodge, Hoy, 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. This view shows two of the three structures which made up the command post at this battery. The roofed buildings to the left, surmounted by a later fuel tank, probably served as plotting, telephone and rest rooms, while the open-ended enclosure to the right would have contained the height/range finder or predictor. This Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery to the north of the Lyness base was one of only two such Orkney batteries operational at the outbreak of war in September 1939, and on 17 October laid claim to being the first battery in Britain to bring down an enemy aeroplane with anti-aircraft fire. 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/665147

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap