View from south west

Description View from south west

Catalogue Number SC 665164

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 17922

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 one of the two concrete-walled enclosures which formed part of the command post at this battery. Its precise function is uncertain though the wall-head brackets suggest that it may have been roofed and served perhaps as a communal crew room, rather than as an open area for the use of identification instruments such as telescopes and height/range finders. 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/665164

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap