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Archaeology Notes
Event ID 844004
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Archaeology Notes
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/844004
NO52NW 1 5040 2668
For other military command, training and defensive structures on Tentsmuir Sands, see also:
NO42NE 71-3, 117 and 127
NO42SE 56-7, 77-9 and 81
A concrete observation post on brick built legs is situated in Tentsmuir Forest to the N of the car park picnic area. Known as a quadrant tower, it was part of the bombing range on Tentsmuir Sands.
J Guy 194; NMRS MS 810/3, 142.
2 storey brick observation post.
Site recorded by Maritime Fife during the Coastal Assessment Survey for Historic Scotland, Fife Ness to Newburgh 1996.
The observation (quadrant) towers along the Tentsmuir coast were built to observe the fall of bombs on Tentsmuir Sands, used as a bombing range during World War II. Most are quadrant towers or variants of, and are spaced along the coast to allow observation of the fall of bombs from aircraft.
In addition, records show that Tentsmuir Sands was used regularly by aircraft from Leuchars and other airfields for bombing practice. Photographic evidence of such use can be found in a concrete aiming arrow at c. NO 504 263, a built circular target area at c. NO 505 268, along with at least one bomb crater all visible on RAF vertical air photographs (106G/Scot/UK 33, 3072-3073, flown 25 April 1946), suggesting that the towers are connected with this activity rather than any anti-invasion purpose.
Information from Guy (J Guy, via e-mail, February 2005) also confirms that the towers main purpose was for observation connected to training on the bombing range.
Examples of similar structures can be found all over the country (e.g. see NH87SW 45 - Nigg Bombing range, ND35SW 52, Ackergill and NX96SE 17 and NX96SE 18 ), all being used for the same purpose and this type of tower is also found on inland bombing ranges.
Other observation or command posts can be found on Tentsmuir Sands, but they are not of the quadrant tower type.
Information from RCAHMS (DE), February 2005.
