The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45 H3246

Culver Battery is a former coastal artillery battery on

Culver Down Culver Down is a chalk down to the north of Sandown, Isle of Wight. It is believed that its name derives from "Culfre", which is Old English for dove. The down has a typical chalk downland wildlife on the uncultivated areas (generally the sout ...

, on the eastern side of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

, England. The fortification is one of several

Palmerston Forts The Palmerston Forts are a group of forts and associated structures around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. The forts were built during the Victorian period on the recommendations of the 1860 Royal Commission on the Defence of the U ...

built on the island following concerns about the size and strength of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

in the late 19th century. It was operational during the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

s. The battery was closed in 1956.

Planning

A battery on the eastern cliff of Culver Down was first proposed in 1887. Its purpose was to stop enemy ships firing unopposed at the pre-existing batteries at

Yaverland Yaverland is a village on the Isle of Wight, just north of Sandown on Sandown Bay. It has about 200 houses. About of a mile away from the village is the Yaverland Manor and Church. Holotype fossils have been discovered here of '' Yaver ...

and Redcliff. The new fortification would be armed with three 6-inch breechloaders with two

QF 6-pounder Hotchkiss The Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and Mk II or QF 6 pounder 8 cwt were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1885 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. There were ma ...

in support. The guns would all be fitted on hydraulically operated disappearing mounts. However, by 1889, even though the battery had still not been built, the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from t ...

had decided the Hotchkiss would be replaced with 4.7-inch guns. The delay in construction was caused by a disagreement at the War Office between the

Inspector-General of Fortifications The Chief Royal Engineer (CRE) is the official head of the Corps of Royal Engineers of the British Army. Origin and development Before the English Restoration a Chief Engineer was a pay grade and not defined. In 1660 King Charles II appointed S ...

and the Director of Artillery over the installation of disappearing mounts. Objections were raised over their necessity because Culver Down is atop a cliff, above the shoreline. The row led to further delay as the funding for the military project was no longer available.

Construction

The battery was eventually built between 3 May 1904 and 21 July 1906. The two main gun emplacements, which were built from brick and

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

, each had a fixed

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...

that housed a 9.2-inch Mk X gun. A report in 1906 by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the '' Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is head ...

stated: Due to the purpose of the battery being to deter naval attack, its two 9.2-inch guns were not intended to cover

Sandown Bay Sandown Bay is a broad open bay which stretches for much of the length of the Isle of Wight's southeastern coast. It extends from Culver Down, near Yaverland in the northeast of the Island, to just south of Shanklin, near the village of Luc ...

. But they could fire as far as

Spithead Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds except those from the southeast. It receives its name from the Spit, a sandbank stretching south from the Hampshir ...

, bombarding any enemy ship entering

The Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

. Its command post was in the same building as the Port War Signal Station, which was located between the battery and Bembridge Fort to the north.

First World War

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

, the battery's main role was to defend the Isle of Wight's torpedo boats' anchorage against long-range fire from armoured

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

s. Under war-time conditions, the battery had toilets, wash block, mess, and general storerooms as well as a workshop and telephone room. When not on duty, guns crews lived in the barracks at Bembridge Fort. Ammunition was kept in bombardment-proof underground magazines behind the emplacements. Additional shells and cordite were stored at Bembridge. In addition to the two coastal guns, the battery had a 6-pound Hotchkiss that was used as an anti-aircraft weapon.

Inter-war period

Between 1922 and 1924 the battery's barbettes were replaced with new mountings that allowed the guns to elevate up to 30 degrees, increasing the effective range beyond . In 1927, Culver was used as the test centre for the Fortress Plotting system, a type of experimental corrected firing for coastal artillery. In 1934 three 6-inch B.L. mark VII guns were temporarily fitted on 45-degree mountings for long range gunnery trials. An experimental twin-6 pounder was installed to test fire control in the mid-1930s.

Second World War

By the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Culver Down was manned by 118th Battery from the 527th Coast Regiment. The battery's two main guns now had ranges of up to , meaning they could assist Nodes Point to prevent long-range bombardments of

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is lo ...

. By 1942, as the fear of German invasion waned, the battery was stood down from full-time night alerts. In 1943, a Coastal Defence(CD)/Chain Home Low(CHL) radar station was erected just to the east of Culver Battery.

Post-war and decommissioning

In 1947 two BL 6 inch Mk 23 naval guns were erected in front of the 9.2-inch coastal guns for high-angle shooting tests. Two heavy-calibre 3.7-inch AA guns were also used for coast artillery practice. In 1956, the battery was decommissioned by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. After the guns, the fire control centre, storerooms and domestic quarters were completely removed, the site was covered with earth. However, in 1966, the gun emplacements were re-excavated to make them more accessible. The battery is now a viewing point and public picnic area owned and operated by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

References

Publications

External links

Aerial images of Culver Battery (c.1939)

Victorian Forts data sheet
{{Palmerston Forts on the Isle of Wight Forts on the Isle of Wight Palmerston Forts Infrastructure completed in 1906 Artillery batteries Bembridge 1906 establishments in England