View of control building from South West

Description View of control building from South West

Catalogue Number SC 666297

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 21548 CN

Scope and Content Command post, 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. This partially collapsed structure stands just to the west of the battery, outside the main grid of launchers and magazines. Of panelled concrete slab construction with an entrance in the side wall, its position and general character suggest that it probably served as the battery command post, though little can now be made out of its detailed arrangements. 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/666297

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap