Lavernock Battery
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Lavernock Battery was built at
History
The
The two 6-inch guns formed part of the Fixed Defences, Severn Scheme and protected the Atlantic shipping
On 13 May 1897, Guglielmo Marconi sent the world's first ever wireless communication over open sea. The experiment transmitted a message over the Bristol Channel from Flat Holm Island to Lavernock Point in Penarth, a distance of 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). The message read "Are you ready". The transmitting equipment was almost immediately relocated to Brean Down Fort on the Somerset coast, stretching the range to 16 kilometres (9.9 mi).[4]
Description
The battery was triangular shaped with four gun emplacements, a protective ditch, barracks, a laboratory, and a magazine.[5] Most of the battery has been demolished and the ditch filled in; a swimming pool has been built over one of the magazines. What remains is included in a holiday caravan and chalet park.[1]
The Second World War heavy anti-aircraft battery covers an area about 80 by 55 metres (87 by 60 yd) and also had four gun emplacements for 3.7-inch guns, each of which had some storage for ready-use ammunition. A larger magazine was positioned between two of the gun pits. All of the guns were controlled by a central director-rangefinder observation position. This battery is in good condition and has been listed as a
References
- ^ a b "Lavernock Point Battery" (PDF). Victorian Forts. Victorian Forts and Artillery. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
- ^ "Flat Holm Coastal and Anti-Aircraft Defences (407348)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ Col K W Maurice-Jones, 1959. The History of Coast Artillery in the British Army, Royal Artillery Institution, London, p221
- ^ BBC Wales, "Marconi's Waves". Archived from the original on 20 January 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Lavernock Battery Plan, The National Archives WO78/4938
- ^ "Lavernock Point Fortified Battery (300443)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
Further reading
- Saunders, A.; Spurgeon, C.J.; Thomas, H.J.; Roberts, D.J. (2001). Guns Across The Severn: The Victorian Fortifications of Glamorgan. Aberystwyth: ISBN 1-871184-25-8.
External links
