C HA P T E R T I T L E
C ON T E N T S
Acknowledgements ix List of Figures xi List of Tables xvii List of Abbreviations and Key Terms xix PA RT I : ‘ I N T I M E OF WA R . . .’ 1 T H E F ORT H 3 1.1 Introduction 1.2 The Forth Estuary 1.3 The naval infrastructure
3 5 7
2 T H E NA M I NG OF PA RT S 15
2.1 The guns of the Forth 2.2 Terminology and conventions 2.3 How the defences were intended to work 2.4 Who manned the guns? 2.5 Visiting the surviving remains
15 19 21 22 23
PA RT I I : T H E DE V E L OPM E N T OF T H E F ORT R E S S , 18 5 4 –19 7 7 3 F R A NC E A N D RUS S I A 27 3.1 ‘The most extensive injury to shipping’, 1854–80 27 3.2 Technological advances, 1859–80 28 3.3 The Forth, 1880–1903 28 4 T H E G E R M A N T H R E AT, 19 03 –14 39 4.1 Coming to fruition, 1903–5 39 4.2 General Owen’s Committee, 1905 39 4.3 The anchorage east of the Forth Bridge, 1909–12 42 4.4 The run-up to war, 1912–July 1914 43 text box: Submarine activity in the Forth, 1914–18 45 5 T H E F I R S T WOR L D WA R , 1914 –19 49 5.1 Introduction 49 5.2 The state of the defences on the outbreak of war 49 5.3 Guns, nets and booms, 1914–16 50 5.4 ‘A matter of the first Naval importance’: defences for the Grand Fleet, 1916–18 57 5.5 Anti-aircraft defence 64
vii
F ORT I F IC AT ION OF T H E F I RT H OF F ORT H
6 M UC H A D O A B OU T NO T H I NG , 1919 –3 8 67 6.1 Stasis, 1919–38 67 6.2 Developments affecting the Forth, 1930–8 69 7 T H E SE C ON D WOR L D WA R , 193 8– 4 5 71
7.1 Growing tension, March 1938 to 1939 71 7.2 Indicator loops, ASDIC, booms and mines, 1939–45 73 7.3 Changes: 1941–5: 45° mountings, ‘Ebb Tide’, ‘Flood Tide’ and ‘Neap Tide’ 78 7.4 The final act 79
8 G ROW I NG I R R E L E VA NC E , 19 4 5 –7 7 81 PA RT I I I : T H E BAT T E R I E S 9 F I R E C OM M A N D (I N N E R )/21 (F ORT H) F I R E C OM M A N D
9.1 Carlingnose Battery and Fire Command Post 9.2 Coastguard 9.3 Inchgarvie 9.4 Dalmeny 9.5 Landward defences of the Forth Bridge 9.6 Hound Point 9.7 Downing Point
85 85 89 93 99 100 101 104
10 I NC HC OL M F I R E C OM M A N D/2 0 (F ORT H) F I R E C OM M A N D
107
10.1 The Middle Line (1909–31)/The Inner Line (1939–56) 10.2 Close protection, landward defence and anti-aircraft defence 10.3 Cramond 10.4 Inchmickery 10.5 Inchcolm 10.6 Braefoot 10.7 Charles Hill
107 109 111 117 124 138 142
11 I NC H K E I T H F I R E C OM M A N D/19 (F ORT H) F I R E C OM M A N D
147
11.1 Inchkeith 11.2 Kinghorn and Pettycur 11.3 Leith Docks
147 193 208
12 T H E OU T E R MO S T DE F E NC E S 215
12.1 Kincraig, Elie 12.2 Fidra, Dirleton 12.3 Dunbar 12.4 The May Island
215 222 224 224
CONCLUSION 231 Annex: List of Canmore Numbers 233 References 235 Index
viii
241