Ness Battery is a coastal defence battery in Stromness,

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...

. It was a crucial element of the defences of the western entrance to

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay an ...

, 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 Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

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 fig ...

, 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 The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

and local men of the

Orkney Royal Garrison Artillery The 1st Orkney Artillery Volunteers (OAV) was a part-time unit of Britain's Royal Artillery formed in the Orkney Islands in 1860 as a response to a French invasion threat. The unit served as coast artillery until it was disbanded after World War ...

. 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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. 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 {{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 state ...

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 archive, 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 government ...

website
Site details for Ness Battery
on the RCAHMS website
Images of Ness Battery during WWII
on the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

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