Monument record MWX675 - Second World War heavy anti-aircraft battery, Holton Heath 4, Arne Hill, Arne

A Heavy Anti-aircraft (HAA) battery located on Arne Hill. This battery formed part of a group built to defend the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath. The central control block and 4 gun emplacements survive. Records show that the battery was operational between 1940 and 1944. A group of buildings, gun emplacements and trackways are visible on aerial photographs of Arne Hill taken between 1947 and 1952. These features are considered likely to be the remains of the Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery described above.

A Second World War heavy anti-aircraft (HAA) battery located on Arne Hill. This battery forms part of a group of 5 such sites, designed to defend the Royal Naval Cordite Factory at Holton Heath. The battery comprised a brick-built central control block with a concrete roof. 4 gun emplacements arranged in a semi-circle to face Poole Harbour flanked it to the south east. The emplacements are of concrete and hexagonal in plan. A series of terraces lie to the north. These were probably the site of domestic structures associated with the battery. Records show that the battery was operational between 1940 and 1944 and was fitted with two 3 inch guns in 1941. It appears that the battery was subsequently remodelled and four 3.7 inch guns then installed. <1>

A group of buildings, gun emplacements and trackways are visible on aerial photographs of Arne Hill taken between 1947 <3> and 1952 <4>. These features are considered likely to be the remains of the Second World War heavy anti aircraft battery described above. This site was digitally plotted during the South West Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment Survey (Dorset). These features are still visible on the most recent comprehensive imagery available to the project <5>.

<1> Dobinson, C S, 1996, Twentieth century fortifications in England, volume 1. Anti-aircraft artillery: England's air defence gunsites, 1914-46, 438 (Monograph). SDO11874.

<2> DCMS, 2000, Scheduled Monument Notification 2000, 24-NOV-2000 (Scheduling record). SWX2721.

<3> Royal Air Force, 17-JAN-1947, RAF/CPE/UK/1934 F36 3052-53 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12693.

<4> Royal Air Force, 09-MAY-1952, RAF/540/723 F10 5178-79 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12751.

<5> Channel Coastal Observatory, 15-OCT-2010, CCO Aerial Photographic Coverage 2009 (Aerial Photograph). SDO12622.

<6> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1343699 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2024 8:23AM