West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery, Dorset.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

West Bay was sealed off from the outside world by a long barbed wire entanglement, there were road blocks and the locals needed passes to get in and out. There was a row of anti-tank obstacles on the west side where it is now holiday flats. The east beach had anti-tank obstacles along the shingle and on the west side up on the cliff, an Emergency Coastal Battery of 5.5inh BL guns dated from 1940 to 1946.

The Breech Loading 5.5-inch Mk I was a naval gun used by the Royal Navy during both World Wars.

Often redundant ships secondary guns, removed when either the ship is updated or when one was scrapped.,

Barbed wire.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Information

Name

Details

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

A pair of 5.5 guns and their ancillary structures – Battery observation post, searchlights, generators and a magazine – was complete by April 1941. The object of the Battery was to guard the approach channel to West Bay and the beaches. A trawler SS Sunlight was bought to West Bay to act as a block ship, it was moored inside the harbour the plan being to place it at the entrance if an invasion was likely.
(From The War years in West Bay 1939-1945).

BL 5.5" gun.

Barr & Stroud GK 5 6x42 director binoculars.

Fire control post.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

The fire control post can just be seen with the pointed roof.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

A better view of the windows that run around the upper structure. The roof was added to make it look like one of the houses. It would still have had its concrete hardened roof underneath it.

 

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

About 1947 showing the two casemates A & B and the fire control post. The local houses were used as barracks for the men stationed here.

British BL 5" gun, Skansin (Faroe_Islands). How the guns may have looked.

 

 

 

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

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The front of the fire control post.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

Where I am stood is roughly where the B casemate was and behind a small ammunition room.

Fort Nepean, Victoria, Australia. This is s BL 16" casemate, very like the one that was here.

B casemate.

Fuzing the shells.

 

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

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Another view of the remaining ammunition room.

Emergency Coastal Battery, Rubha nan Sasan (Cove), Loch Ewe, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.
This is a 6inch Mk.VII guns on naval mounts from HMS Iron Duke installed July 1941.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

The east cliff.

eDoB Id e07343 this is a massive data base of most of the defences in Great Britain.
eDoB.
The plan shows the defence of West Bay, there does not seem to be any pillboxes though?

 

 

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

The War years in West Bay 1939-1945.

A trawler SS Sunlight was brought to West Bay to act as a block ship, it was moored inside the harbour the plan being to place it at the entrance if an invasion was likely. The picture is a Manx trawler, probably like the Sunlight.

West Bay Emergency Coastal Battery

Details

Emergency Coastal Battery, Rubha nan Sasan (Cove), Loch Ewe, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.

© 2013 Richard Drew