Hollesley Heath 6" Gun Emplacements

I have been doing a bit of work on these two gun emplacements recently. Each gun emplacement contains its own sunken command post / crew shelter and ammunition lockers as well as lockers in the gun pit itself. The first reference I can find of the emplacements is from 1941, manned by a detachment from 10 / 1st Super Heavy Regt. The task of the guns was to enfilade the beaches and cover the entrance to the Deben Estuary.

As usual the there is the accompanying piles of rubbish and litter. both gun positions are also overgrown to some extent, one much more than the other.

Above shows the arc of fire to enfilade the beaches - note the 'blind spot. The guns had a range of 14,000 yards.

Above: Top - plan of individual gun position (reminds me of a Darlek on it's side!!)

Bottom: GPS plan showing location and orientation of the two gun sites.

The photos below (from the best of the two positions) show the gun pits with the holdfast and ammunition lockers. Note the lumps of what appear to be slag iron set into the concrete roof on the bottom photo - this would have been done to attempt to camouflage the battery by hiding the 'shine' from the concrete which would otherwise stand out on any aerial photo.

Next series of images shows the sunken Command Post / ammunition lockers. In the bottom photo again note the slag iron (or what ever it is) incorporated into the concrete roof for the purpose of camouflage.

The last two photos are of the second gun position which is much more overgrown than the first.

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WW1 and WW2 Defences - Suffolk and beyond

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