Domestic site facing east towards the magazine

            A very rare site indeed; a First World War anti-aircraft battery at Burray Ness on the island of Burray, Orkney. With the exception of the ammunition magazine, all standing structures have been removed, but their stone and concrete foundations remain almost untouched. 

I visited Orkney in August 2021, and this site had not originally been on my list to visit. But after a flight cancellation (due to low visibility, as you can see!) I took a trip out with a friend to record the site for myself. The views were limited, and the images a bit grainy due to the mist. They have all been processed using Topaz Labs SharpenAI to reduce the softness.

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Not much is known about the site, with a single contemporary (1919 approx.) photograph remaining in the Admiralty archives. From this image and the remains, it is safe to say that at one time there were two anti-aircraft guns deployed here, likely to be Vickers 3-pounder QF guns as fitted to many ships of the time. There is a third platform which may have mounted a searchlight. The stone built ammunition magazine remains, as do foundation blocks for what may have been a height finding instrument. 

Domestically, the crew would have lived on this site, and from the image we know there was a tin clad accommodation block, and what was most likely a wooden Armstrong Hut possibly serving as a communal area / kitchen / dining room. Two other structures are less easy to positively identify, however I would hazard a guess that one is a basic ablution block, and another a generator for site power, and to power the searchlight. Although many camps of this era were still lit by paraffin lamp.

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Taken on: August 21, 2021

Tags:

Burray Ness

Burray

First World War

Scapa Flow

anti-aircraft battery

anti-aircraft « less

Sets appears in: • Anti-Aircraft Battery (WW1) - Burray Ness, Orkney • Orkney Defence Heritage

Camera: Nikon D5300, f/8.0, 24mm (=36mm), ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5300
Lens:	AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0
Focal Length:	24mm (35mm equivalent: 36mm)
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ACDSee Photo Studio 6
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