The SAAF Forum

Thanks Allan, it's a great excuse to go out to Simonstown & look at ships

Anybody got some history on this Coastal gun off Red-Hill Road.

34°10'36.54"S, 18°25'10.00"E

_________________
Brent Best

It's one of the coastal batteries installed around the coast during WW2. South Africa had one of the most extensive coastal defence systems of any of the commonwealth nations. Cape Town and it's approaches were guarded by nine 9.2 inch coastal guns - 3 on Robben Island, 3 at Apostle battery and 3 at Scala battery. The Apostle guns could fire into False Bay and the Scala guns could fire into Table Bay. They never fired a round in anger. The last guns were only installed after WW2 was over. The chain stretched from Saldanha Bay to Durban and consisted of many smaller guns as well - 6 inch coastal guns being the most numerous - and at Fort Wynyard there are still a couple. Fort Wynyard was the close defence fortress for Table Bay. I do not recall if any of the six inch guns remain at Signal Hill - I have a feeling they were removed when the chain was finally declared obsolete in 1975. It survived that long in mothballs despite there being no ammunition for it since the nineteen fifties. A chain of radar stations provided targetting data. At one stage South Africa bought the 15 inch gunned monitor HMS Roberts to provide extra gunfire support but the Brits cancelled the deal at the outbreak of WW2. In 1976 I was part of a team that went up to Fort Collins to reactivate the 10cm radar station there as an exercise. A most enjoyable jaunt it was - living on the top of Karbonkelberg for a fortnight. There are some pics on my Facebook page.

Nice

Ai ai ai, Nostalgia is not what it used to be

_________________
Brent Best

There are some moves afoot to try and save/restore these guns. Armscor has recently refurbished one on Robben Island as a tourist attraction and the Cannon Society is going to restore one of the Scala guns at some stage. Rumour in the navy was that the last time they fired in the early 1950s so many windows were broken in Cape Town and so many claims for damages arose that their firing again was forbidden. Fort Wynyard had a disappearing 9.2 mount (It popped up out of the ground and fired a round then popped back down) but the barrel was melted down during WW2 for it's steel. I recall visiting Wynyard several decades ago and the thing was still there - with a fake wooden barrel.

The 9.2 inch guns were a strange combination of marques - all old WW1 guns removed from cruisers and remodelled as coastal defence weapons. The 9.2 batteries on Singapore fired against the attacking Japanese until the ammunition ran out. Japanese reports after the attack stated that the rifling on the guns was completely worn away as the guns had fired many more rounds than the maximum barrel life allowed. But other than those - and maybe some of the Channel guns - none ever seemed to have fired in anger in either Australia or New Zealand or Hong Kong. One of ours - at Port Elizabeth IIRC - did fire a "shot across the bow" round at a ship that would not stop when challenged - but that was the sum total of local belligerence.

A lot of the manning of the SA Coastal Artillery was done by woman.



The "girls" were still having reunions in the nineties - don't suppose there are many survivors now. I knew one of the ladies - pal of my mother - and she had some great stories to tell about the various batteries she was stationed at along the coast.

A rather forlorn and neglected 6 inch gun stands guard over North Heads at the entrance to Saldanha bay - taken a couple of decades back.

Thanks Eugene

I am though getting lost in Simonstown ... are these the three locations, which comprised the Scala Battery With #1 being what I photographed today.

_________________
Brent Best

your Number 1 is the one you photographed. Up to about a year ago you could go down inside that gun. We went in once and could not believe how big it is inside and two levels down.

Its has been sealed due to metal been stolen and its very recent that its been painted and looking rather good now.

On the other side of False Bay close to Steenbras Point is another magazine for a coastal gun. Gun long since removed but everything else in place. Yes will get a shot next time we pass by there.

_________________
"Kwassie"

More like:



I see I have transposed guns 1 and 2 insets.

The restored gun at the de Waal Battery on Robben Island.

All the 9.2 inch gun houses were designed and built locally. As delivered they were basically open mounts.

The Gun Kremlin photographed is the one close to Red Hill Road, So your number 3

That was a six inch battery - plenty of those about the coast. There was the Noah's Ark battery in Simon's Town where the memorial now is and it had it's counterpart on the other side of False Bay.
Also radar sites abounded. One on Kommetjie, one near Cape Point - look for small square drab concrete buildings around the coast, sitting on the highest points available.

Yep - but he has included the middle north battery on his photograph and missed gun 1.

http://yourarchives.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php?title=The_History_of_Fortifications_in_South_Africa,_1914-1947

Is a fair overview of the coastal gun batteries around Cape Town.