Scanned image of view of World War I gun emplacements from North

Description Scanned image of view of World War I gun emplacements from North

Date 26/5/1996

Catalogue Number SC 673971

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 73028 CN

Scope and Content Parapet detail, World War I four-inch gun emplacements, Hoxa Battery, Hoxa Head, South Ronaldsay, Orkney Islands In both World Wars coast batteries were built to protect the channels into Scapa Flow and Kirkwall Bay, where there was an important contraband control. The greatest concentrations of firepower were at the main north-western and southern entrances to the Flow, the latter covered by the coast batteries on Stanger Head on Flotta and here on Hoxa Head on South Ronaldsay. This close-up view shows the pointed elliptical shape of the front wall or apron of one of the four World War I four-inch gun emplacements at Hoxa Battery. It also shows the smooth finish and chamfered or bevelled angles characteristic of concrete construction dating from the 1914-18 period. The lower part of the parapet corresponds with the expected arc of fire from the centre of the barbette, and the ready ammunition would have been stored, probably in cases, against the raised flanks. An earthwork bank marks the line of a track linking this barbette with the other pair in the middle distance. 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/673971

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap