Verne Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery
Verne Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery (P3 Verne) is a former World War II anti-aircraft battery, also known as an ack-ack battery, on the north-east side of the island, south of the Verne Citadel and south-west of the Verne High Angle Battery. The battery is owned by Portland Stone Firms Ltd, currently leased to the Dorset Wildlife Trust and used by Fancy's Family Farm.
During World War II, heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) batteries were constructed across the UK to combat the threat of high-flying bomber aircraft, while light anti-aircraft (LAA) batteries were used as a defence against low-flying aircraft. With Germany's successful occupation of France in 1940, Portland and its naval base quickly became the target of many air attacks. Between 1940-44, the island saw 48 air raids and a total of 532 bombs dropped.
Although a number of World War II HAA and LAA sites were established around Portland and Weymouth, the battery at the Verne remains the only substantial survival of its type in the area. All six emplacements remain, along with the command bunker. The battery became a scheduled monument in March 2019.
History
The lead up to and outbreak of World War II in 1939 led to a number of heavy and light anti-aircraft defences being established across the UK in the effort to combat the threat of aerial bombardment. With Portland Harbour home to a major naval base, Portland was considered an important strategic location, prompting the establishment of a number of HAA and LAA positions to defend the area. The earliest HAA defences were 3-inch guns of World War I origin. Over the course of late 1939, two were installed on the glacis of the Nothe Fort, one at Ringstead Bay, one near Whitehead's Torpedo Works in Wyke Regis, and another two at Black Down. The two at Black Down went on to be moved to Barrow Camp at Wyke Regis then to the south-east glacis of the Verne.
During 1940, work began on constructing fixed HAA batteries at the Verne, Barrow Hill near Southwell, Nothe and Barrow Camp, for a mixture of the 3-inch and QF 3.7-inch guns. For the Verne site, local quarrymen assisted in levelling and clearing the area of waste stone and boulders. In addition to the four gun emplacements built there, a domestic site of huts and buildings was also erected, which included accommodation for the battery's personnel and officers' quarters among other facilities.
At the Verne site, the emplacements were constructed in the north-east corner of the domestic site. The guns operated from these positions until a new battery went on to be constructed a short distance west, within the disused Waycroft Quarries, in 1942-43. The new site was made up of four octagonal, concrete emplacements for 3.7-inch guns, with a command post behind. The huts and other temporary buildings at the original glacis site were retained.
Throughout its operational use, the battery was manned by personnel of AA Command, with various "Batteries" taking control of the site over the course of the war. The HAA battery's Gun Operations Room (GOR) was originally based at Red Barracks in Weymouth, which controlled the defence co-ordination of all AA gun sites in Dorset. However, in 1941, this responsibility was divided between two GORs, one at Nottington House, Weymouth, and the other at South Lytchett Manor, near Poole. The battery at the Verne had its operations moved to Nottington House.
During 1942, electronic predictors and radar control were installed at the battery, which included a GL Mark II radar. The original GL Mark I radar system was able to provide range information to the battery, but the Mark II edition had the ability to accurately determine bearing and elevation as well. That same year saw the general introduction of 3.7-inch guns equipped with Machine Fuze Setter No. 11, which allowed for an enhanced rate of fire. In order to increase ammunition storage capacity and aid faster gun loading times, square-shaped emplacements were designed in 1943 as an improvement on the original circular ones. The Verne battery had two square emplacements added sometime during 1943-44, while all four original octagonal emplacements were retained.
After the Allied victory of 1945, many HAA batteries across the UK were partially or wholly demolished. However, the Verne site was one of over 200 of the UK's HAA batteries to be retained at the beginning of the Cold War as part of the War Office's Nuclear Force programme for AA Command. Portland Harbour was classed as one of seven Category A ports in the UK and was therefore prioritised for AA defences in the early years of the Cold War. All batteries under this programme were selected for their strategically important locations along the south and east coasts. As a result, the Verne battery remained armed and in operation as a Battery Headquarters (BHQ) site until the Nuclear Force was dissolved in 1955.
After its military use, the battery became stables and in the latter half of the 20th century, and as far up to the 1990s, the site was occupied by New Ground Stables. Around 2013, the nearby community farm and tourist attraction Fancy's Family Farm began using the site. Meanwhile, most of the World War II buildings at the nearby domestic site were removed in early 1950, leaving only their concrete foundations in situ. These foundations remained until the 1970s when the area was progressively quarried away.
To date, the battery's emplacements and command bunker survive intact. Each emplacement retains original features such as gun mounting bolts, shelters and storage areas, while some of the original perimeter fencing also survives. However, due to its use as a stable ground, much farm waste and scrap is present at the site.
Scheduled monument status
The battery became a scheduled monument in March 2019 as approximately one of twenty batteries of its type to be included on the National Heritage List for England. Its scheduled status comprises two separate sections; the main site incorporating the emplacements and command post, and a small section to the north-east which features a series of five small square depressions, possibly to have held corrugated steel shelters for ammunition.
Historic England consider the battery an "important physical record" and "visual reminder" of AA defence during World War II and the early period of the Cold War. It was designated for additional merits, including its survival and rarity as a "well-preserved" battery of its type which "retains its core structures and many original fittings", its potential in helping understand the construction, use and development of HAA defences during the war and its group value with other military sites on Portland, at a time when the island was an important strategic location. The site's use as a mixed battery from 1942 (operated by both men and women soldiers) is also considered to add social interest, reflecting the "pioneering role of women assuming combat responsibilities" during the war.
Supporting LAA/HAA Batteries
In addition to the Verne battery, a number of other HAA batteries were once active within the area. There were also many other anti-aircraft guns installed across Portland and the surrounding region, including light AA positions.
Other local HAA batteries defending Portland Harbour and the surrounding area:
Armament
Portland's HAA armament was initially limited to 3-inch guns. In June 1940, Portland and Weymouth were recorded as having six 3-inch guns in operation, with eight mobile 3.7-inch guns arriving the following month. From late 1940, eight static 3.7-inch guns were in place across the local area, alongside four 3-inch guns.
Later in 1944, both Portland and Weymouth Harbours were commissioned as USNAAB Portland-Weymouth, for use as a major embarkation point for American troops as part of D-Day preparations. Over the course of 1944-45, the local area had twenty-four static 3.7-inch guns in place, alongside additional mobile ones of the same type.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) AA Command: Britain's Anti-aircraft Defences of the Second World War - Colin Dobinson - Methuen Publishing Ltd - 2001 - ISBN: 978-0413765406 - book
2) Aerial photography - including German reconnaissance photographs, dated 1940 and 1943, RAF photography dated 1946, and other aerial photography from 1972 and 1997-2017
3) Do You Remember? Portland's War - Part Five: September-December 1942 - "Memories are made of this" by Edward Andrews - An Island Time Publication - book
4) Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine - Danger UXB – Portland’s World War 2 Unexploded Bomb - Roger Mutch - website page
5) Frontline Dorset - A County at War 1939-45 - George Forty - Dorset Books - 1994 - ISBN: 978-1871164213 - book
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery (P3 Verne), 275m south-west of Fancy's Farm - website page
7) Historic England - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey for South-West England - South Coast Dorset - PDF document
8) Military Dorset Today: Second World War Scenes and Settings That Can Still Be Seen 50 Years On - Colin A. Pomeroy - Silver Link Publishing Ltd. - 1995 - ISBN: 978-1857940770 - page 71 - book
9) Ordnance Survey - various 20th century maps, including 1963 and 1975
10) Pastscape - various entries on database - website page
11) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
During World War II, heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) batteries were constructed across the UK to combat the threat of high-flying bomber aircraft, while light anti-aircraft (LAA) batteries were used as a defence against low-flying aircraft. With Germany's successful occupation of France in 1940, Portland and its naval base quickly became the target of many air attacks. Between 1940-44, the island saw 48 air raids and a total of 532 bombs dropped.
Although a number of World War II HAA and LAA sites were established around Portland and Weymouth, the battery at the Verne remains the only substantial survival of its type in the area. All six emplacements remain, along with the command bunker. The battery became a scheduled monument in March 2019.
History
The lead up to and outbreak of World War II in 1939 led to a number of heavy and light anti-aircraft defences being established across the UK in the effort to combat the threat of aerial bombardment. With Portland Harbour home to a major naval base, Portland was considered an important strategic location, prompting the establishment of a number of HAA and LAA positions to defend the area. The earliest HAA defences were 3-inch guns of World War I origin. Over the course of late 1939, two were installed on the glacis of the Nothe Fort, one at Ringstead Bay, one near Whitehead's Torpedo Works in Wyke Regis, and another two at Black Down. The two at Black Down went on to be moved to Barrow Camp at Wyke Regis then to the south-east glacis of the Verne.
During 1940, work began on constructing fixed HAA batteries at the Verne, Barrow Hill near Southwell, Nothe and Barrow Camp, for a mixture of the 3-inch and QF 3.7-inch guns. For the Verne site, local quarrymen assisted in levelling and clearing the area of waste stone and boulders. In addition to the four gun emplacements built there, a domestic site of huts and buildings was also erected, which included accommodation for the battery's personnel and officers' quarters among other facilities.
At the Verne site, the emplacements were constructed in the north-east corner of the domestic site. The guns operated from these positions until a new battery went on to be constructed a short distance west, within the disused Waycroft Quarries, in 1942-43. The new site was made up of four octagonal, concrete emplacements for 3.7-inch guns, with a command post behind. The huts and other temporary buildings at the original glacis site were retained.
Throughout its operational use, the battery was manned by personnel of AA Command, with various "Batteries" taking control of the site over the course of the war. The HAA battery's Gun Operations Room (GOR) was originally based at Red Barracks in Weymouth, which controlled the defence co-ordination of all AA gun sites in Dorset. However, in 1941, this responsibility was divided between two GORs, one at Nottington House, Weymouth, and the other at South Lytchett Manor, near Poole. The battery at the Verne had its operations moved to Nottington House.
During 1942, electronic predictors and radar control were installed at the battery, which included a GL Mark II radar. The original GL Mark I radar system was able to provide range information to the battery, but the Mark II edition had the ability to accurately determine bearing and elevation as well. That same year saw the general introduction of 3.7-inch guns equipped with Machine Fuze Setter No. 11, which allowed for an enhanced rate of fire. In order to increase ammunition storage capacity and aid faster gun loading times, square-shaped emplacements were designed in 1943 as an improvement on the original circular ones. The Verne battery had two square emplacements added sometime during 1943-44, while all four original octagonal emplacements were retained.
After the Allied victory of 1945, many HAA batteries across the UK were partially or wholly demolished. However, the Verne site was one of over 200 of the UK's HAA batteries to be retained at the beginning of the Cold War as part of the War Office's Nuclear Force programme for AA Command. Portland Harbour was classed as one of seven Category A ports in the UK and was therefore prioritised for AA defences in the early years of the Cold War. All batteries under this programme were selected for their strategically important locations along the south and east coasts. As a result, the Verne battery remained armed and in operation as a Battery Headquarters (BHQ) site until the Nuclear Force was dissolved in 1955.
After its military use, the battery became stables and in the latter half of the 20th century, and as far up to the 1990s, the site was occupied by New Ground Stables. Around 2013, the nearby community farm and tourist attraction Fancy's Family Farm began using the site. Meanwhile, most of the World War II buildings at the nearby domestic site were removed in early 1950, leaving only their concrete foundations in situ. These foundations remained until the 1970s when the area was progressively quarried away.
To date, the battery's emplacements and command bunker survive intact. Each emplacement retains original features such as gun mounting bolts, shelters and storage areas, while some of the original perimeter fencing also survives. However, due to its use as a stable ground, much farm waste and scrap is present at the site.
Scheduled monument status
The battery became a scheduled monument in March 2019 as approximately one of twenty batteries of its type to be included on the National Heritage List for England. Its scheduled status comprises two separate sections; the main site incorporating the emplacements and command post, and a small section to the north-east which features a series of five small square depressions, possibly to have held corrugated steel shelters for ammunition.
Historic England consider the battery an "important physical record" and "visual reminder" of AA defence during World War II and the early period of the Cold War. It was designated for additional merits, including its survival and rarity as a "well-preserved" battery of its type which "retains its core structures and many original fittings", its potential in helping understand the construction, use and development of HAA defences during the war and its group value with other military sites on Portland, at a time when the island was an important strategic location. The site's use as a mixed battery from 1942 (operated by both men and women soldiers) is also considered to add social interest, reflecting the "pioneering role of women assuming combat responsibilities" during the war.
Supporting LAA/HAA Batteries
In addition to the Verne battery, a number of other HAA batteries were once active within the area. There were also many other anti-aircraft guns installed across Portland and the surrounding region, including light AA positions.
Other local HAA batteries defending Portland Harbour and the surrounding area:
- Battery at Barrow Hill, near Southwell (Grid reference: SY 67984 70125) - active from 1940 and made up of four circular emplacements by the end of its operational use, with an additional two square emplacements having also been added in 1943-44. The battery was selected for retention for the Nuclear Force after the war, but the War Office agreed to relinquish the battery in 1947 to allow construction of the Admiralty's new Gunnery Establishment in 1949-54.
- Battery on the former glacis of the Nothe Fort (Grid reference: SY 68566 78697) - active from 1940 and made up of four circular emplacements. The battery's remains were removed when the site became a car park for Nothe Gardens in the 1970s.
- Battery at Barrow Camp, Wyke Regis (Grid reference: SY 65812 77642) - active from 1940 and made up of four circular emplacements. The battery was retained after the war and survived until development work took place from the early 1970s. The remains of two emplacements survived into the 1970s, but were later demolished. Part of the site is now developed as Barrow Rise.
- Battery at Black Head, near Osmington (Grid reference: SY 72534 82473) - active from 1942 and made up of four square emplacements by the end of its operational use. The battery survived into the 1970s, but the entire site was later demolished.
- Battery at Fleet, near Fleet Road, overlooking the Fleet Lagoon and Chesil Beach (Grid reference: SY 62411 80478) - active from 1942 and made up of six square emplacements by the end of its operational use. By the 1960s, four emplacements survived and only three by the early 1970s. These three survive to date.
Armament
Portland's HAA armament was initially limited to 3-inch guns. In June 1940, Portland and Weymouth were recorded as having six 3-inch guns in operation, with eight mobile 3.7-inch guns arriving the following month. From late 1940, eight static 3.7-inch guns were in place across the local area, alongside four 3-inch guns.
Later in 1944, both Portland and Weymouth Harbours were commissioned as USNAAB Portland-Weymouth, for use as a major embarkation point for American troops as part of D-Day preparations. Over the course of 1944-45, the local area had twenty-four static 3.7-inch guns in place, alongside additional mobile ones of the same type.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) AA Command: Britain's Anti-aircraft Defences of the Second World War - Colin Dobinson - Methuen Publishing Ltd - 2001 - ISBN: 978-0413765406 - book
2) Aerial photography - including German reconnaissance photographs, dated 1940 and 1943, RAF photography dated 1946, and other aerial photography from 1972 and 1997-2017
3) Do You Remember? Portland's War - Part Five: September-December 1942 - "Memories are made of this" by Edward Andrews - An Island Time Publication - book
4) Dorset Life - The Dorset Magazine - Danger UXB – Portland’s World War 2 Unexploded Bomb - Roger Mutch - website page
5) Frontline Dorset - A County at War 1939-45 - George Forty - Dorset Books - 1994 - ISBN: 978-1871164213 - book
6) Historic England - The National Heritage List for England - Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery (P3 Verne), 275m south-west of Fancy's Farm - website page
7) Historic England - Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey for South-West England - South Coast Dorset - PDF document
8) Military Dorset Today: Second World War Scenes and Settings That Can Still Be Seen 50 Years On - Colin A. Pomeroy - Silver Link Publishing Ltd. - 1995 - ISBN: 978-1857940770 - page 71 - book
9) Ordnance Survey - various 20th century maps, including 1963 and 1975
10) Pastscape - various entries on database - website page
11) The Coastal Defences of Portland and Weymouth - E. A. Andrews and M. L. Pinsent - 1981 - supplement to the journal Fort (Fortress Study Group) - report
Gallery
These images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Some images have information attached to them, and to view this you can either enlarge the image or hover the mouse over each thumbnail.
Many thanks to Fancy Farm's Jon and Su Illsley for allowing these photographs of the site to be taken.
Many thanks to Fancy Farm's Jon and Su Illsley for allowing these photographs of the site to be taken.
Modern plan of Verne Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery
A modern plan of the Verne Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, showing the core features that survive today. It can be enlarged by clicking on it.
