Ness Battery is a coastal defence battery in Stromness, Orkney. It was a crucial element of the defences of the western entrance to Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, the main fleet base for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

in both

World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

. Several of the original wooden huts which formed the accommodation camp are still intact, and in one of these is a painted mural covering three walls, depicting rural English scenes. An extensive programme of stabilisation and renovation took place from 2009, and was completed in 2012, and the site is now open for guided tours. Scapa Flow

First World War

In 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 fightin ...

, Ness Battery was one of three batteries covering the Hoy Mouth from the north side. In 1915 the three batteries were equipped with guns manufactured in the United States and manned by a mixture of Royal Marines and local men of the Orkney Royal Garrison Artillery. After the war, the batteries were dismantled and the guns scrapped, but traces of the battery are still to be seen today.

Second World War

In the

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 opposi ...

, the site became a coast defence battery once more, and Ness Battery also became the headquarters of Orkney's Fixed Defences.WO 192/273 Ness Battery Fort Record Book It housed a Fire Command, controlling several other gun batteries around the harbour entrance. The battery's main purpose was to defend the Fleet anchorage from enemy attack, but it also had the role of Examination Battery, supporting the Royal Navy's Examination Service, which controlled the traffic in and out of

Hoy Sound Hoy Sound is a body of salt water subject to tidal currents situated south of the town of Stromness in the Orkney archipelago of Scotland. The sound lies north of the island of Hoy and to the south of Mainland Orkney. To the west are the open w ...

. The battery's main armament was a pair of breech loading Mk VII 6-inch guns on CP II mountings.

Post-War

The guns remained at Ness Battery until 1955, and the site was used for many years by the Territorial Army. The site was sold by the Ministry of Defence to

Orkney Islands Council The Orkney Islands Council ( gd, Comhairle Eileanan Arcaibh), is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes ...

in 2001.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Ness Battery website

Orkney Defence Interest Network

The National Archives National archives are central archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives. Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by governments, both ...

website
Site details for Ness Battery
on the

RCAHMS The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government that was "sponsored" inanced and with oversightthrough Historic Scotland, an executive ...

website
Images of Ness Battery during WWII
on the Imperial War Museum website
TWENTIETH CENTURY BRITISH COAST DEFENCE GUNS By Terry Gander
Buildings and structures in Orkney Military of Scotland Coastal artillery Royal Navy shore establishments Artillery batteries World War II sites in Scotland