West 12 pound gun emplacement, detail of calibrated gun ring/hold fast.

Description West 12 pound gun emplacement, detail of calibrated gun ring/hold fast.

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

Catalogue Number SC 672930

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of D 17985 CN

Scope and Content Gun holdfast and graduated ring, World War II 12-pounder gun emplacement, Gate Battery, Flotta, 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 the other southern approach through Switha Sound also required special protection which a series of batteries on the south-western headland of Flotta, including Gate, was intended to provide. This view within the front area of the gun house of one of the two 12-pounder gun emplacements shows the well-preserved remains of the metal bolt ring and base, or holdfast, on which the gun was actually mounted. For operational stability the holdfast was set and bolted into a deep concrete substructure, and in this case is surrounded by a graduated or calibrated ring which provides 360-degree directional bearings, a useful feature which is peculiar to a number of Orkney coast batteries. The low parapet wall and apron is topped with stones and boulders for camouflage purposes. 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/672930

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap