WWII Gun Emplacement near Airdrie

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WWII Gun Emplacement near Airdrie

Postby purplepantman » Sun May 24, 2009 10:57 am

Okay not strictly in Glasgow but only about 10 miles east.
It was there though to protect the good people of the city from those nasty Heinkels and the like during WW2.

I'd heard a rumour about this a few years back but could find out nothing about it.

Then I saw this;

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&F ... &encType=1

So since it was such a nice morning, I thought I'd go up early and take a nosey around for myself.

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View from the road

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Are those bullet holes? Surely not!

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This was the biggest building. Possibly main store for ammo?

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Again are those bullet holes? Target practice maybe?

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Round the side.

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Round the back. Someones been trying to get up there.

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Entrance to main area where guns were.

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Now were those wooden things for shells? Either that or they were baking french bread! ::):

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There were about 4 of these building in a circle.

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And this big long flat building(not a great pic - sorry!)

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Did they have tupperwear in the 40's?

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Anyway it's just of Brackenhirst Road, near Glenmavis in Airdrie.
Worth a visit if you like that sort of thing.

Perhaps someone on here knows more about it?

Cheers
Matt
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Re: WWII Gun Emplacement near Airdrie

Postby purplepantman » Mon May 25, 2009 10:58 am

How dissapointed am I?

This place never fired a shot in anger during WW2!
In fact it only really came into use at the beginning of the Cold War.
There also used to be an accomodation camp to the south.

There's loads of these things around all over Central Scotland.
They're all on the Secret Scotland website someone told me about.
Not sure if I'm allowed to post a link so I won't. Reason being they also have a forum.
There's probably one of these near you!

Here's some info on this one;

Battery Drumbowie
A World War II anti-aircraft battery was sited to the north of Glenmavis. Site number N12. Part of the Clyde AA Defences, the site was known as Drumbowie or Ryding, possibly Drumbowie Farm, or Glenmavis.
The Drumbowie battery is significant in that it is one of a small number of former World War II heavy anti-aircraft batteries that were converted for use during the Cold War.
World War II
The battery was equipped with four gun emplacements, command post, GL Radar mat, and an accommodation camp to the south. Aerial photographs taken by the RAF in 1945 show the emplacements to have been heavily overgrown then, suggesting lack of use, and records indicate the battery was not armed during the war.
Cold War
Following a site visit in 2008, investigation of the remains revealed that this was a formerly undocumented postwar AA battery conversion.
Aerial photographs taken of the site taken in 1947 are reported to show that the vegetation had been cleared, and further RAF photographs taken in 1955 showed the addition of two new flat roofed buildings to the site, west of the existing command post. Modifications were also observed to have been made to the gun emplacements.
These changes suggests that the battery had been incorporated into the Cold War anti-aircraft defences created as part of the postwar ROTOR air defence system, a massive air defence radar system created during the 1950s to counter the threat of Soviet bombers, and which controlled anti-aircraft batteries operated by Fighter Command and the British Army.
Site visit 2008
A site visit found that the four emplacements, command post, engine room, and computer room were extant, while the area formerly occupied by the accommodation camp has been planted with native hardwood trees. The farmer confirmed that the tree planting now covers the area where the bases for the camp buildings could be seen.
The command post was found to be of Type 2, unmodified since World War II, and complete with a small annexe (often found demolished), which may have been a toilet. The interior of the post is partly flooded, and the fabric of the building is beginning to decay. The rear of the building is fitted with a large door, similar to that found at the Houston battery, also a conversion.
The four emplacements were found to be of Type H construction, still structurally sound, and with additional features not normally found on the remains, including some electrical conduit and switchgear in two of the attached engine rooms, and a cable duct with its original steel cover in place.
The computer room remains largely intact, with two small rooms surviving in an annexe to the west. One was found to contain a heavy concrete base, which could have supported an engine or pump, while the other had no similar feature, it was provided with a 6 inch square hole leading through the connecting wall with the main room. The building was found to have a sump on the west side, still fitted with its original cover, and possibly extending under the building to connect with a similar feature to the east. The sump to the east had lost its cover, and the water level within could be seen to be similar to that in the western sump.
The engine room appeared to be substantially complete, having been reused as a farm building.
Three brick and concrete manholes were noted, and are assumed to be part of the site's original sewage system.


Cheers
Matt
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Re: WWII Gun Emplacement near Airdrie

Postby Dexter St. Clair » Mon May 25, 2009 7:39 pm

Have a look at this WW II site
"I before E, except after C" works in most cases but there are exceptions.
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