Publication Account
Event ID 1022527
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1022527
The southern end of the Houton Boom terminated at the bottom of the cliffs at Scad Head on Hoy. As a preliminary measure in June 1940 a battery of two quick-firing 12-pounder guns was installed on temporary mountings, pending the arrival of the twin six-pounder equipment which was intended to provide an anti-motor torpedo protection for the boom and Bring Deeps. The first gun-site, which lies some distance to the north of the later battery, was identified for us by one of the team involved. By August 1941 the twin six-pounder was mounted and ready for action, although the overhead canopy for the gun itself was never built. Because of the battery's position a light railway or inclined plane operated by cables was built down the steep hillside, together with a small jetty to facilitate re-supply of the battery. Scad Battery remained operational until the end of the war when it was placed in care and maintenance. In June 1950 the gun was removed and the site abandoned.
The gun emplacement, director tower, magazine and war shelter, the two associated searchlight emplacements and engine room all survive, as do traces of the earlier 12-pounder position (and the camp layout with its neat array of paths). There are also fragments of track and the remains of the winding gear for the light railway to be found. A number of the railway trucks are dumped on the rocks below the battery, and substantial remains of the boom can be found in a gully to the east of the battery.
Information from 'RCAHMS Excursion Guide 1999: Commissioners' field excursion, Orkney, 8-10 September 1999'.
