# Something slightly exotic



## cptpies (Feb 25, 2010)

I just got back off my hols, where out in the car one day I stumbled across this exotic beastie. There isn't much info on the web but I've gleaned that it's one of four 9.2" naval guns emplaced during WWII to defend the naval base at Simonstown South Africa. I've read one anecdote from one of the female volunteers that manned them that says when they test fired an identical one overlooking Cape Town it blew out the windows of houses a mile away.


Side view looking Northeast. Another of the four guns can just be seen in this pic just a little high and to the right of the end of the barrel. It was inside a military compound and inaccessible. Maybe even in working condition?







Rear view, I'm not sure what purpose the concrete blocks served.






Inside the turret, what looks like the loading mechanism, but no breech block is apparent. looks like they have chavs in SA too.






Below the turret the traverse mechanism seems mostly complete.






A shot of one of the ready magazines.






Detail of a turret hatch probably used for aiming.






The money shot.






Last but not least the commanding view over the naval base.






Thanks for looking.

Steve


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## godzilla73 (Feb 25, 2010)

Great pics - that loading mechanism looks quite similar to the one on the Admiralty Pier gun battery in Dover, which is of about the same vintage.
Thanks!
GDZ


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## Seahorse (Feb 25, 2010)

Yowzah!!!!!


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## theterrorwheel (Feb 25, 2010)

sweet as fudge


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## smileysal (Feb 26, 2010)

Excellent find, I do like this. Excellent pics of the glorious location. 

Cheers,

 Sal


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## the_historian (Feb 26, 2010)

Oh, wow!


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## Krypton (Feb 26, 2010)

I just want to be there now!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great find!


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## cptpies (Feb 26, 2010)

Thanks for the comments. Cape Town really is a glorious place and I'd recommend a visit. There was a control bunker underneath the turret too but I didn't fancy negotiating the Puff Adders and other nasties that would have been lurking down there, besides my wife had that look on her face by then so it was time to go.


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## Bax__ (Feb 26, 2010)

Nice pics! I'm moving to Joburg soon but I plan to do a fair bit of travelling around South Africa, this will be one of my stops.... I forgot about the snakes.....


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## smiffy (Feb 26, 2010)

Brilliant !They really remind me of the 2 big gun emplacements in southern Spain near to Cartegena......There are some 9" ish turrets there too alongside of the really serious ones that are about 
18" ish ...I did a post on them once on another site but do still have all info and photos... if there was any interest I could put it up on here as a new post?........these links below aren't the best but they do give an idea of the scale of the Spanish ones......


[nomedia]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu7Vi63IB14[/nomedia]
http://www.discoveringcartagena.com/guns.htm


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## Neosea (Feb 26, 2010)

There is one of these at Duxford Imperial War Museum


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## ekp09 (Feb 26, 2010)

Awww they are really interesting!! There's a place near Birmingham which I was told was a lookout point/firing point during WWII, and would have, I assume, had guns like this, but all you can see are the circular scars.


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## cptpies (Feb 27, 2010)

Neosea, thanks for reminding me. I've climbed over that one numerous times, I thought the one in SA looked familiar 

ekp09. If you download the Google overlay in my sig all the WWII coastal batteries are located in there so you can probably find out a bit more about the one you mention.

smiffy those are some big ol guns there in Cartagena I reckon they blew windows out a lot more than a mile away.


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## MaBs (Mar 3, 2010)

Interesting pictures, surprised that the majority of it is still there!


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## cptpies (Mar 3, 2010)

All four guns are still there but this was the only easily accessible one, way up a hill on a back road. You'd have to make a special effort to chav it and probably need a truck and a crane to take anything away.


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## Foxylady (Mar 6, 2010)

Ooh, only just saw this post. Brilliant! Very nice find. Cheers for sharing.


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