No.2 Gun emplacement and crew shelter, view from North East.

Description No.2 Gun emplacement and crew shelter, view from North East.

Date 24/5/1996

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

Catalogue Number SC 673025

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73218 CN

Scope and Content World War II gun emplacement, Rerwick Head, Mainland, Orkney Islands In both World Wars coast batteries were built to protect the channels into Scapa Flow, the greatest concentrations of firepower being at the main north-western and southern entrances to the Flow. In World War II there were also seven coast batteries on the east coast of Orkney Mainland protecting the approaches to Kirkwall Bay, which served as an examination anchorage where foreign shipping was impounded and searched for contraband. These batteries formed the Kirkwall Fire Command centred on Rerwick Head Battery, which also included a shore station for a controlled minefield in Shapinsay Sound. This is a side view of one of the six-inch gun emplacements (right) with the crew shelter beyond. It shows the ventilation gap between the side walls and the roof canopy which is supported on a system of steel posts and internal walls. The wires attached to the canopy are remnants of the camouflage netting which covered the gun house, and the lines in the walls are evidence of shuttered concrete construction. The horizontal slits are rifle loopholes for close-range defence. 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/673025

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