Engine house No.1, detail of roof vent.

Description Engine house No.1, detail of roof vent.

Date 24/5/1996

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

Catalogue Number SC 673070

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73229

Scope and Content Roof ventilator, World War II engine room, 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 detail shows a dormer-style ventilator set in the concrete arched roof of the engine room, a feature designed to assist in the dispersal of the diesel fumes within the building. The joints in the face of the concrete roof, visible in this view, reflect the way in which the concrete has been erected in 'lifts' against shutter boards used in its construction. 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/673070

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap