View of command post buildings from north

Description View of command post buildings from north

Catalogue Number SC 665153

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 17919

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 the three main structures which made up the command post at this battery, a group of roofed buildings (with later fuel tank) to the right, and two open enclosures, one behind the other, on the left. The roofed buildings served as plotting, telephone and rest rooms, while the open-ended enclosures would have housed the essential instruments of telescope, height/range finder and predictor. In most other batteries of this type these functions were brought together in an integrated single design. 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/665153

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap