Kilroot Fort, Defence Electric Light Position (South)

            I was privileged to have a tour of the old Kilroot Fort on Belfast Lough at the end of December 2019. The fort is privately owned and in daily use by heavy industry. It can not be accessed without permission. 

Constructed as a sister coastal artillery battery to Grey Point Fort, the battery at Kilroot was completed in 1910 and equipped with twin 6in guns in barbettes. The two gun positions have since been removed, as have two flanking infantry blockhouses, and the earth banks to the front have also been dug away, exposing the front of the fort structure and helpfully giving an insight into construction. It appears that all the ancillary fort buildings remain and are still in daily use, and a large proportion of the original internal boundary wall exists. Kilroot shares a number of features with Grey Point fort but does not appear to have seen the further developments that Grey Point saw.

There doesn't appear to be a Battery Commanders post remaining at Kilroot and I am unsure where it would have been.

On the shore are two searchlight (aka DEL; Defence Electric Light) emplacements constructed from reinforced concrete with steel fittings. These are unique in that they are two stories high and sit elevated above the Lough. The purpose of the lower level is unclear, but the steel shuttering and profile of the windows or loopholes suggests they may also have served as infantry fighting positions. However, they only open to the flanks and rear of the post, and not to the front. The lower level may even have served as a crew shelter or generator room, however I saw no evidence of a plinth for such equipment. The upper level houses the Defence Electric Light or searchlight, and would have bene operated by an Electric Light Operator (ELO) to signal to and light up shipping attempting to enter Belfast Lough. 

The battery and searchlight emplacements are now scheduled monuments.

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Taken on: December 31, 2019

Tags:

Kilroot Battery

Kilroot Fort

World War One

World War Two

WW1

WW2

home front

Northern Ireland

County Antrim

Carrickfergus

Royal Artillery « less

Sets appears in: • Searchlight Emplacements, Kilroot Fort • Coastal Artillery Battery - Kilroot Fort, County Antrim

Camera: Sony ILCE-6000, f/8.0, 1/45 sec, 16mm (=24mm), ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony ILCE-6000
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.022 sec (1/45)
Focal Length:	16mm (35mm equivalent: 24mm)
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ILCE-6000 v3.20
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