No.1 Gun emplacement and crew shelter, view from South East.

Description No.1 Gun emplacement and crew shelter, view from South East.

Date 24/5/1996

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

Catalogue Number SC 673026

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73219

Scope and Content World War II gun emplacement, Rerwick Head Battery, 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 shows one of the two six-inch gun emplacements and associated crew shelter, with the second gun emplacement in the right background. The breech-loading, six-inch naval guns were mounted in the centre of the open front and the ready ammunition was stored in the rear compartment. The canopy was designed to protect the gun crews from aerial strafing and was draped in camouflage netting secured by twisted picket wires. 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/673026

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap