General view of Z battery site from South East

Description General view of Z battery site from South East

Catalogue Number SC 666286

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 21524 CN

Scope and Content World War II Z battery, Roan Head, Golta, Flotta, 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. The three-inch (80mm) rockets or 'unrotated projectiles' (UPs) as they were known, were fired up to a height of 22,000 feet (6,706m) from single or multiple launcher sites, the latter being known as Z batteries. On the ridge of the northernmost headland on Flotta, forming a final eastern curtain of anti-aircraft fire in the defence of the Lyness naval base, is the most complete surviving Z battery in Britain, comprising a regular grid of 64 rocket launchers and 128 magazines with the outlying remains of four personnel shelters and a command post. Prominent in this general view of the Flotta Z battery are the ammunition shelters or magazines whose arched roofs give them the appearance of concrete tents. There were on average two magazines, facing in different directions, to each launcher. They were grouped into four 'quarters', each quarter comprising a regular arrangement of 16 launchers and 32 magazines. 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/666286

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap