Forest Heritage Scotland webpage - Balmacara Gun Emplacements
Date 2009
Event ID 588090
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/588090
The website text produced for Balmacara Gun Emplacements webpages on the Forest Heritage Scotland website (www.forestheritagescotland.com).
Introduction: Defending our skies
The remains of Balmacara Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) gun battery, or station, are located along the north edge of Loch Alsh. During World War II, its purpose was to protect the military camp and port there from air attack by German planes.
Located to the west, at Kyle of Lochalsh, there was another gun battery called B1, the sister station to Balmacara, which was known as B2. Together, they defended the skies.
Today only the concrete bases, which held the guns in place, survive to testify to the important role such stations held in the defence of Britain.
First designed and used in World War I, there were two types of anti-aircraft guns. Light anti-aircraft guns (LAA) were suited to track and hit fast low flying planes. German bomber planes, however, flew at great heights, over 10,000 feet. To reach these planes the British needed powerful guns.
Records state that the guns placed at the Balmacara battery were the 3 inch type of Heavy Anti-Aircraft (HAA) artillery. This was the standard type of gun used during World War I and was only replaced well into World War II. The least powerful type of HAA, it still had an effective ceiling of 23,000 feet, meaning it could shoot artillery shells to this height.
People Story: Armed and ready
It was not until October 1940 that Balmacara had guns installed at the station and could actively prevent an enemy attack.
In a meeting on June 11th 1940, Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Fighter Command, noted that there was a
"difficulty finding additional guns for ports with so many competing requirements"
War record EAB 82/13 DCOS (AA) Meeting 15th June 1940, referenced by C. Dobinson (2001) in "AA Command"
Listed as a defence site but not armed, it was at this meeting that they decided that equipping Balmacara was a priority.
It became operational in October 1940, manned by the 51st Brigade of the 108th Regiment of the Royal Artillery. Two years later, the 113th Regiment of the same Brigade replaced them.
The soldiers would have lived in Nissen huts; metal, pre-made, portable huts placed beside the gun station.
The soldiers needed to hit a moving target at great heights. Each battery had its own height finder and predictor. These machines calculated where the plane should be, allowing the gunner to position and shoot with greater accuracy.
Flight paths of enemy planes, however, were still difficult to predict. The main success of anti-aircraft defences lay in putting enemy planes off their course by firing at them from the ground. This was termed "jinking".
Evidence Story: I spy
Aerial photography is a key tool for the military to develop a plan of attack and to keep an eye on the enemy.
Before World War II, Theodore Rowhel pretended to be checking out new commercial air routes for the German airline, Lufthansa. Disguised in a civilian plane, with hidden cameras, he flew over and photographed the coastline of Scotland and England.
During the war, this became a standard duty of the Luftwaffe, the German military air force. To avoid detection by British fighter planes they usually flew at a height of 30,000 feet.
Today the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) holds copies of the wartime spy photographs of Scotland taken by the Luftwaffe.
Germany used these images for intelligence work. This included selecting targets to bomb, assessing bombing accuracy and identifying the location of anti-aircraft defences. Today they are a fascinating resource to investigate German military strategy.
A German spy plane photographed the military camp and port at Loch Alsh on 29th September 1940. The area was a potential target for German planes to bomb. Highlighted on the photograph was the location of Balmacara's sister anti-aircraft station (B1). Alongside Balmacara (B2) to the east, it was a threat to the success of any planned attack.
Click on www.aerial.rcahms.gov.uk to view RCAHMS aerial photography collection.
