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Downing Point Battery

20th-century fortificationsBritish World War I defensive linesCoastal fortificationsFirth of ForthFortification lines
Scheduled monuments in FifeUse British English from October 2016World War I sites in the United Kingdom
War Office Plan of the Downing Point Battery
War Office Plan of the Downing Point Battery

The Downing Point Battery was a World War I coastal gun battery defending the Firth of Forth. The battery was constructed in 1914 at Downing Point, then part of the Earl of Moray's Donibristle Estate. The site is now within the new town of Dalgety Bay in Fife.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Downing Point Battery (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Downing Point Battery
Swallow Craig,

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Wikipedia: Downing Point BatteryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 56.02763 ° E -3.35317 °
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Address

Downing Point Battery

Swallow Craig
KY11 9YR , Dalgety Bay & Hillend
Scotland, United Kingdom
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War Office Plan of the Downing Point Battery
War Office Plan of the Downing Point Battery
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RNAS Donibristle (HMS Merlin)

Royal Naval Air Station Donibristle or more simply RNAS Donibristle was a former Fleet Air Arm base located 2.7 miles (4.3 km) east of Rosyth, Fife, and 8.7 miles (14.0 km) northwest of Edinburgh. It was also known as HMS Merlin. It grew from an emergency landing ground first established in 1917 on the Earl of Moray's Donibristle Estate by 77 Sqn of the Royal Flying Corps and was transferred to Royal Naval Air Service control in September 1917 becoming a RNAS Aircraft Repair Depot. On 1 April 1918 the Royal Naval Air Service merged with the Royal Flying Corps to create the Royal Air Force and Donibristle became a RAF Station between 1918-1939 operated by the Fleet Air Arm as part of RAF Coastal Area and later Coastal Command. During the interbellum Donibristle was an important centre of training for torpedo bomber crews with a number of new squadrons forming at the airfield. On 24 May 1939, control of the Fleet Air Arm was returned to the Royal Navy and the airfield was renamed Royal Naval Air Station Donibristle (HMS Merlin). In addition to being an important shore base for training and disembarked naval aircraft units, a substantial Royal Naval Aircraft Repair Yard was developed in the North West corner of the airfield which employed a large civilian workforce alongside naval personnel. Over 7,000 aircraft were repaired and maintained at Donibristle during the Second World War. Post war, Fleet Air Arm activity at Donibristle slowed considerably and HMS Merlin was eventually run down and paid off by the Royal Navy in November 1953. The Royal Naval Aircraft Yard continued to operate under the civilian contracted management of Airwork Ltd until April 1959 at which point the airfield site was completely closed. The land was sold to developers who created the Hillend and Donibristle Industrial Estates and the new town of Dalgety Bay. The first residents moved in to Dalgety Bay on 28 October 1965.