Viewof oil barrel ramp from NE.

Description Viewof oil barrel ramp from NE.

Date 28/5/1996

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number SC 672623

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73276

Scope and Content World War II oil drum base and searchlight emplacement, East Breckan or Clett Battery, Holm, Mainland, Orkney Islands In both World Wars coast batteries were built to protect the channels into Scapa Flow and Kirkwall Bay, where there was an important contraband control. The greatest concentrations of firepower were at the main north-western and southern entrances to the Flow, but Kirk or Holm Sound, the deepest and fastest flowing of the eastern channels also required special protection which this battery at East Breckan was intended to provide. This was the channel through which a German U-boat entered Scapa Flow and sank HMS Royal Oak in October 1939 when the battery lay un-manned. This detail show the low concrete ramp up which full oil drums were rolled on their sides, set in the curved cradle and then emptied of their contents through a tap and drain connection into an underground oil storage tank. The tank was located near the engine room and contained the fuel for the diesel generators. In the background, overlooking Kirk Sound, is one of the battery's four searchlight emplacements. 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/672623

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap