Searchlight No.1 emplacement, general view from North with Grunkeys Geo in the foreground.

Description Searchlight No.1 emplacement, general view from North with Grunkeys Geo in the foreground.

Date 24/5/1996

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

Catalogue Number SC 673075

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73237

Scope and Content World War II searchlight, 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 is a side view of the more southerly of the two round-fronted World War II searchlight emplacements associated with Rerwick Head Battery, showing it in its coastline context with the north coast of the Deerness peninsula in the background. Another, smaller coast battery stood on that coast, just out of view to the right, and on top of the hill in the distance was the Deerness Chain Home Low radar station, all part of the front-line defences of the east coast of Orkney Mainland. 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/673075

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap