DM Gosport
50°49′30″N 1°08′57″W / 50.825026°N 1.149150°W
DM Gosport | |
---|---|
Gosport, Hampshire, England | |
Type | munitions site |
Site information | |
Owner | Ministry of Defence (Defence Equipment and Support) |
Operator | Royal Navy (1908-1997) Ministry of Defence (Since 1997) |
Condition | Operational |
Site history | |
In use | 1855-1901 (fort) 1908-1977 (satellite depots) 1977-present (primary depot) |
Defence Munitions Gosport is a defence munitions site situated on the southwestern shores of Portsmouth harbour, southeast of Fareham in Hampshire, England. The site occupies about 470 acres. Its facilities include two Integrated Weapon Complexes (IWCs), 24 processing rooms and 26 explosives stores. The site employs some 270 staff.[1]
The site is often used to supply munitions for ships at HMNB Portsmouth, which is on the other side of the harbour. Bedenham Pier, a jetty within the site, is used to unload munitions onto lighters, which carry munitions to the other side or the UHAF facility.[2][3]
Fort Elson lies within the boundary of the establishment.[4]
History
Origins (1855-1950)
Fort Elson was built on the site in 1855, to defend Gosport and Portsmouth amid
1950 explosions
On July 14, 1950, ammunition was being loaded onto a lighter at Bedenham Pier. At 18:45 an ammunition explosion occurred, which started a fire and exploded a second boat at 19:15. Around 1,000 tons of ammunition was detonated in the incident, although the quantity has been estimated to be as high as 5,000 tons.[6] The pier was badly damaged, nine barges were sunk and property damage occurred in the wider district. The roof of Cams Hall was torn off, one mile away from the site of the explosions. The accident caused 19 injuries, 14 of which were civilians. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 22:30.[7][8]
At the time of the incident, sabotage was suspected due to several other incidents in the preceding months involving other vessels. This investigation would later include the unrelated explosion of the RFA Bedenham, a ship docked in Gibraltar which exploded in early 1951. There was, however, no evidence of sabotage at Gosport that emerged after subsequent investigations.[9]
Bedenham received repairs after the disaster, and developed over time. It became a repair facility for
References
- ^ "DM Gosport: ASCE Site Safety Case" (PDF). Defence Equipment and Support. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "Arming the fleet – the network that supplies munitions to the Royal Navy | Navy Lookout". www.navylookout.com.
- ^ "Bedenham Pier". Constructex. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Fort Elson, RNAD, Military Road, Gosport - Gosport | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk.
- ISBN 978-0-9548453-9-1
- ^ "1950 - Explosion at Bedenham". portsmouthdockyard.org.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "EXPLOSION, PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR (Hansard, 19 July 1950)". api.parliament.uk.
- ^ "Huge blast at Gosport naval depot blew the roof off Fareham mansion: RETRO". www.portsmouth.co.uk.
- ^ "Ammunition Explosions". TheyWorkForYou.
- ISBN 1-85975-132-6). Page 32.