Rosneath, Boatyard

NS28SE 333.00 centred 25584 83490

Boatbuilding Yard [NAT]

OS (GIS) MasterMap, November 2008.

Not to be confused with boatyard around NS 25764 82851, for which see NS28SE 332.

NS28SE 333.01 NS 25485 83593 to NS 25506 83516 Slipway

NS28SE 333.02 NS 25603 83621 to NS 25624 83527 Slipway

NS28SE 333.03 NS 25547 83609 Landing Stage

Rosneath boatbuilding yard is centred around large sheds, slipways and a landing stage centred at NS 25584 83490.

The harbour and shore facilities at Rosneath were originally centred around a small boatbuilding yard which is depicted on the 2nd Edition of the OS 6-inch map (Dumbartonshire, 1899, sheet xvi NE). The yard was adjacent to Burnside Cottage (later Seabank Cottage), which is depicted as roofed on the 1st Edition of the OS 6-inch map (Dumbartonshire, 1865-9, sheet xvi).

The Second World War brought about large alterations to the yard. It was selected by the United States in March 1941 following the Lease Lend agreement to be a base for USN destroyers and submarines (Lavery 2004). Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour on Hawai, these units were sent to the Pacific theatre of war and the base was therefore not required. The base was now available to British forces and was commissioned as HMS Louisborg as a centre for Combined Operations training, with eighteen Nissen huts centred on the Ferry Inn (NS28SE 85). (Lavery 2004)

In 1942 the United States requested the use of the base and it was developed as a reception area for landing craft in prepration for the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch). The base also became a Training Establishment for landing craft crews.

The shore base extended from NS 2521 8353 to NS 2582 8253 with a fuel tank farm at NS 25787 82667, large extended two-armed jetty with pntoons, now demolished, at NS 25761 82995, a group a eight large sheds or aircraft hangars centred on NS 2563 8317 with further large sheds or huts centred on NS 2558 8349.

The Base with shore installations is visible on a series of RAF wartime vertical air photographs (NLA 44, frame nos. 5.80-5.85, flown 27 August 1942), which show that at that date a floating dock was moored in Stroul Bay. Also visible on the air photographs are many landing craft and support vessels lying offshore in the Gareloch.

Since the closing of the base following the end of the war most of the installations have been removed incuding the fuel tanks, sheds. New marina facilities (NS28SE 331 and NS28SE 332 ) and housing have been built to replace them so that virtually none of the wartime structures remain.

Information from RCAHMS (DE), November 2009; B Lavery 2004