Braefoot Battery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Braefoot Battery |
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| Part of British coastal defence WW1 | |
| Firth of Forth Near Dalgety Bay in Scotland, United Kingdom |
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Original plan for the Braefoot Battery (1912)
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| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Royal Garrison Artillery |
| Condition | Derelict |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1915 |
| In use | 1915-1917 |
| Materials | Steel-reinforced concrete |
| Fate | Decommissioned |
The Braefoot Battery was a special place built during World War I. It was a big gun battery that helped protect the Firth of Forth, a large body of water in Scotland. It was built in 1915 at Braefoot Point, near the towns of Dalgety Bay and Aberdour in Fife, Scotland.
Contents
Protecting the Forth: Defence Lines
During World War I, it was very important to protect the Rosyth Dockyard. This was a naval base where many important ships, like the Battle Cruiser Fleet, were kept. To keep them safe, three main lines of defence were set up across the Firth of Forth.
These lines were called the Outer, Middle, and Inner Defence Lines. Each line had gun batteries and other defences to stop enemy ships.
- Outer Line: This line stretched from Kinghorn to Leith Docks. It also had strong gun positions on the island of Inchkeith.
- Middle Line: The Braefoot Battery was part of this line. It ran from Braefoot in the north to Cramond Island in the south. The islands of Inchcolm and Inchmickery also had fortified gun positions here.
- Inner Line: This line was closest to the Forth Bridge. It had batteries at places like Downing Point and Hound Point. Other batteries were at Carlingnose Point, Dalmeny, and on Inchgarvie island.
Each defence line also had a special anti-submarine net. This net helped stop enemy submarines from getting through.
Braefoot Battery: What It Was Like
The Braefoot Battery had two very large naval guns. These guns were designed to fire at big enemy ships that might try to attack the ships in the Forth or the naval base at Rosyth.
Each gun was a BL 9.2-inch Mk IX – X naval gun. These guns were huge! They could fire a shell weighing 55 kilograms (about 121 pounds) up to 26 kilometers (about 16 miles) away.
Local soldiers from the Territorial Royal Garrison Artillery operated the battery.
The guns were so important that a lot of effort went into protecting them. The battery had strong defences to stop enemy soldiers from attacking it. This included:
- A firing trench where soldiers could stand and shoot.
- A 10-foot-high fence called a 'palisade'.
- A tangled barbed wire fence.
The main building where the soldiers lived was also very strong. It had special openings for firing weapons. The whole area was surrounded by six small, strong buildings called blockhouses. These were placed inland and along the shore.
History of Braefoot Battery
Plans for building the Braefoot Battery were made even before World War I started, back in 1912. The War Office officially approved the construction.
Work on the battery began in July 1914. The large guns and their parts were ordered. The heavy bases for the guns arrived in January 1915. They were finally put in place at the battery in May 1915. The two big guns were ready for action by May and July 1915.
Later in the war, the main areas where ships anchored moved further east. Because of this, the defence lines also moved. There was an idea to move the Braefoot guns to another battery, but this didn't happen. However, in October 1917, the guns were taken apart. One of them was sent to Portsmouth in December.
Braefoot Battery Today
Today, much of the Braefoot Battery still remains. People can visit the site. The area around the battery is now covered by trees that grew after the war. These trees block the clear view of the River Forth that the gun emplacements once had.
The land is owned by ExxonMobil, which operates a nearby gas terminal. However, the public is allowed to access the area thanks to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. It's a popular spot for walkers, and there's even a mountain bike trail in the woods.
Even though the big guns are gone, you can still see the gun emplacements and all the battery buildings. For safety, the buildings are now bricked up. Here are some of the remaining parts of the battery:
- Gun Emplacements: NT 17877 83404 and NT 17905 83439
- Magazine and Tramway: NT 17878 83493
- Observation Post: NT 17929 83523
- Building: NT 17935 83543
- Barracks and Workshops: NT 17799 83466
- Another Observation Post: NT 17914 83482
- Pier: NT 17710 83128
See also
