Shared description

Maunsell Forts

The Maunsell Forts are a group of defensive structures built during the Second World War to defend London and Liverpool against German attacks. They are split into two broad types: Army Forts and Navy Forts. The Navy Forts look of a more substantial construction than the Army ones being two large circular towers with a platform straddling both upon which a superstructure was raised. The Army Forts on the other hand appear rather like large metal containers with windows set upon four slanting concrete columns.Each Army "Fort" consisted of several separate towers, typically a control tower surrounded by five gunnery towers and a slightly off-set searchlight tower. The full complement of seven towers can still be seen at the Red Sands Fort in the Thames Estuary / North Sea north of Whitstable.

They are named after their designer Guy Anson Maunsell (1 September 1884 – 20 June 1961) and although many no longer exist, several remarkable remnants in the Thames Estuary / North Sea can still be visited by boat.

The fate of the forts is as follows:

ARMY FORTS

The Liverpool (Mersey) Forts: 3 forts each of 7 towers constructed from October 1941 - None remain - removed as a hazard to shipping in the early 1950s, with the last demolished in 1955.
See LinkExternal link

Nore Fort: After being hit by the Norwegian ship Baalbek in 1953 which destroyed two of the towers and resulted in four fatalities, it was considered an urgent hazard to shipping and was demolished in 1959-60
There are remnants of it at Alpha wharf near the village of Cliffe, Kent, see LinkExternal link

Red Sands Fort: All seven towers remain - see separate detailed shared description - Red Sands Maunsell Fort

Shivering Sands Fort: Six of the seven towers remain, one having collapsed in 1963 when the ship Ribersborg accidentally collided with it in foggy conditions.
See LinkExternal link

NAVY FORTS

Rough Sands Fort: Perhaps the most remarkable of all the forts, after a period hosting "pirate" radio stations in the 1960s, it was occupied by the Bates family, who declared it to be an independent country "Sealand". Being in international waters they have de facto (if not de jure) independence and have their own flag, currency stamps etc. See their own website LinkExternal link for more details.

Sunk Head Fort: (effective 1942-1945) To prevent its use as a pirate radio station it was partly dismantled using acetylene cutting torches and then 1½ tons of high explosives blew it to pieces on 21 August 1967. 20' (6m) of the leg stumps remain however. See LinkExternal link

Tongue Sands Fort: (effective 1942-1945) Unlike the other forts which were either destroyed or remain standing, this fort gradually succumbed to the actions of the sea; first shaking, then listing and finally being broken down from beneath by the action of the waves. A single 18' (5m) stump of the south leg remains visible above sea level. See LinkExternal link

Knock John Fort: This fort is still standing [2019] although apparently some distortion of the legs has been observed. See LinkExternal link for more information
by Rob Farrow

Created: Fri, 23 Aug 2019, Updated: Fri, 23 Aug 2019


12 images use this description:

TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Connecting bridge by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Five of the seven towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - General view of all seven towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Eastern Gunnery towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Control and four Gunnery Towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Northern Gunnery Towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Northern and eastern towers by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Control Tower close-up by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Searchlight Tower by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Control & Gunnery tower linked by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : Red Sands Maunsell Fort - Searchlight Tower close-up by Rob Farrow
TR0779 : North Red Sand Buoy by Rob Farrow


Shared descriptions

This shared description

The 'Shared Description' text on this page is © copyright 2019 Rob Farrow.

Shared descriptions are specifically licensed so that contributors can reuse them on their own images, without restriction.

About shared descriptions

These Shared Descriptions are common to multiple images.

For example, you can create a generic description for an object shown in a photo, and reuse the description on all photos of the object. All descriptions are public and shared between contributors, i.e. you can reuse a description created by others, just as they can use yours.

Other shared descriptions

Related descriptions

The above selections are automatic and approximate, it might not always select closely matching descriptions


You are not logged in login | register