Machine gun post, view from North-East.

Description Machine gun post, view from North-East.

Catalogue Number SC 673080

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73244 CN

Scope and Content World War II machine gun post, 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. These are the earthwork remains of an embanked foxhole or machine gun pit which would have been revetted or lined with rubble and sandbags. A slit trench runs off to the right. It is one of a number of such posts for use with light machine guns and hand firearms against any close-range terrestrial or aerial assault on the battery. 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/673080

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap