Help-Braefoot Bay Gun Battery!!!

toaffer · #1 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 02:18 PM

Hello folks

,Myself and Pathfinder(new member also) are trying to find out info on Braefoot Bay gun battery and also Charles Hill situated just along from it nearer Aberdour.There are photos in the New Members Section on this site In "Toaffers Intro!"Basically and my little brother and myself found the site when walking the dogs two years back and I took Pathfinder there and he was very interested which kind of got the ball rolling for me!!! We know it was used in the 1st and 2nd WW and that the TA maybe ran the show. Our main goal is to see old photos of the gun battery fully operational,hopefully someone can help,thanks,toaffer & pathfinder

The_Historian · #2 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 02:57 PM

Hi Toafer and welcome to the forums.
I tried to answer Pathfinder's query in this thread-
www.ww2f.com/military-history/23542-braefoot-gun-battery-fife.html#post284683
I don't have any wartime pics of the battery myself, but someone else might. You could try PILLBOXES, PILLBOX, ANTI-INVASION DEFENCES, WWII, PILLBOX STUDY GROUP,INVASION HISTORY, BUNKERS, MILITARY HISTORY.
I should add that they were for defence against shipping, not aircraft. The battery at Charles Hill was a quick-firing battery for engaging enemy torpedo boats trying to sneak up the channel between Inchmickery and Dalgety Bay. The Downie Point battery is also anti-shipping.
Did you know there is also a battery on Inchmickery? Never been there, so I don't know what kind of condition it's in.
There's another WW1 coastal battery at Carlingnose Point, North Queensferry, just across the road from the station. What's left of it is now privately-owned, but the owner seemed a nice bloke when I met him.
If you're interested in other defences, there are WW2 anti-glider landing poles on the beach between Kinghorn and Burntisland. They've been cut down from their original height, but there must still be 80-100 of them left.
Nice pics of yours btw.

toaffer · #3 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 04:52 PM

Cheers again Historian! Pathfinder and myself's nxt venture is to Charles Hill with the dogs for a look around,Ive seen the poles at Burntisland,will try for some info in Inchmickery too,were probably keeping you quite busy lol!

The_Historian · #4 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 05:37 PM

The more the merrier! Got any pics of what's left of Donibristle airfield or Steeple Clump?

grim · #5 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 07:59 PM

Some pics of the charles hill gun battery for those not familiar. its superb, only fault! is that the roof of the main battery was removed for safety some years ago as part of a clearup

grim · #6 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 08:02 PM

and some more

The_Historian · #7 (**permalink**) April 29th, 2008, 08:21 PM

Nice pics Grim. The local history group did a great job of tidying it up; just a pity the roof was beyond help.

toaffer · #8 (**permalink**) April 30th, 2008, 04:16 PM

Thanx for the photos Grim! I Had a look on Microsoft Virtual Earth for signs of the airfield at Donibristle,very little sign that it existed.It was apparently where most of the Industrial Estate is today and you can make out a small part of it where the tennis courts are and some parts that could have been a runway but have houses and gardens right across it!As for Steeples Clump,Im guessing Ive walked by there but unsure of exact location.Its been a while but I might have a look in the local Libraries for photos of Braefoot,Donibristle Airfield & Charles Hill operational

The_Historian · #9 (**permalink**) April 30th, 2008, 06:00 PM

Don't know if there's actually anything left of Steeple Clump, it's just wishful thinking. There's a couple of buildings in the Donibristle estate which have original wartime murals inside; I think they were originally canteens.
I've got copies in a book, I'll try to scan them later.

grim · #10 (**permalink**) April 30th, 2008, 08:01 PM

there are quite a few wartime buildings left if you go via the industrial estate entrance, a tiny bit of runway/apron and a pill box if i remember correctly.... I've some pics somewhere.......

toaffer · #11 (**permalink**) May 1st, 2008, 04:04 AM

Thanks guys,probably wont see the ind.estate in the same prospective asI wasnt even aware that Dalgety Bay had an airfield until Gordon informed me!!! me living in Inverkeithing and Rosyth all my days too! there is however 1 single Pillbox between Inverkeithing Quarry and the bottom of Fraser Avenue and there are (or used to be) some bunkers and pillboxes in Pitreavie near Dunfermline which I seen about 15 years ago! Quite amazing to think that they are everywhere due to such a massive effort to save the country!

The_Historian · #12 (**permalink**) May 1st, 2008, 07:50 AM

Think the bunkers at Pitreavie are gone now, though the pillboxes are apparently still there. It was originally the HQ of No. 18 Group RAF Coastal Command during the war, then the Maritime command centre postwar.
Have you seen the steel pier off Carlingnose Point? That was built to load mines onto subs in WW1; there was a ramp at the bottom of the cliffs, covered by a pillbox, leading out. Only the pier remains now. The three big houses on the beach at Port Laing are built on the site of wartime barracks used to house the engineers working on the defences on Inchkeith.

toaffer · #13 (**permalink**) May 1st, 2008, 02:01 PM

Is that the pier that half of it is missing from the shore between Inverkeithing but nearer North Queensferry? If Carlingnose point is near/at the beach at North Queensferry(3 big houses-last ones stone wall sits on an old concrete sloping wall),I used to play there as a kid long before all the big houses were even thought of! I must say your well clued up in this department! BTW I ve posted a pic of a gun which possibly sat in the pit at Braefoot in the which guns post in WW weapons!

The_Historian · #14 (**permalink**) May 1st, 2008, 02:25 PM

That's the pier. As you drive past NQ station from Rosyth, you turn left into the new development that now covers the entire area; the battery is on the cliffs above the pier on the north side of the street now called Carlingnose Point. About 50 yards away from the gun battery (Inverkeithing end) is a concrete bunker. This was used to control minefields covering the approaches to Rosyth in WW1; at the first sign of trouble the crew could electrically detonate some (or all) of the minefield to stop an attack.
An old tarmac road used to lead from the rear of the battery right down the cliffs to Inverkeithing Bay. At the bottom the road (still there) forks; right takes you along the beach to the pier while left takes you to Port Laing. Port Laing barracks were just off the beach and were still visible as mounds of rubble inside the original War Department wire perimeter fence in '92. There was nothing between them and Carlingnose Court at that time.

toaffer · #15 (**permalink**) May 1st, 2008, 04:13 PM

mmm! I tell you i was getting board of taking the dog the same old routes but now ive more of an incentive! ive been along quite alot of fife coastal path and hidden treasure lying all over the place lol!