Document record MAB50470 - WESTER COVESEA

Site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery, situated in a field immediately north of Wester Covesea farm and overlooking Covesea village.

Site of a heavy anti-aircraft battery, situated in a field immediately north of Wester Covesea farm and overlooking Covesea village. Built to protect Lossiemouth Airfield some 1km to the southeast. The battery is visible on post-war vertical air photographs (RAF 106G/Scot/UK 169, 5314-15, flown 1946), which show a small accommodation camp in the southwest corner of the field and at least two gun-emplacements approximately 50m to the northeast. The battery mounted two 3in guns, but records in the PRO suggest that in June 1943 there was a 4 x 3.7in mobile unit (PRO AIR 2/4768, AA Cmd letter 6AAG/S/2002/7/2/H (Ops) Armament returns). Oblique aerial photographs taken in 1950 (RAF 541/431, 18,21, flown 1950) show the site at a later stage of development. The gun-emplacements have been cleared, along with three nissen huts on the northern edge of the site and replaced by two small 'bedstead' radar aerials with several mobile units. The radar site has been identified as a type 15 with in addition, possible types 13 and 14. This type of radar was a successor to the type 8 and was a self-propelled unit, mounted on a lorry chassis.There is some evidence from 1948, to suggest that this was a Naval radar site for Lossiemouth airfield, available to Fighter Command to provide cover over the northeast approaches to the Clyde/Forth areas. Probably for use by Fleet Air Arms aircrews under training from Lossiemouth.

106G/SCOT/UK169 5314-1315, 106G/SCOT/UK169 5314-1315 (Air-vertical Photograph). SAB32211.

FOX, S, 2012, DEFENDING BRITAIN'S BACK DOOR: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MORAYSHIRE'S SECOND WORLD WAR DEFENCE LANDSCAPE (Bibliographic reference). SAB2549.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2020 2:29PM