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Maunsell Army Sea Forts
The pictures below show the second group of towers, officially U6, but known as Red Sands Army Fort. There are placed at 51 28' 62"N 0 59' 60"E. There floated out and positioned as follows:
Bofors tower (B2) July 23rd 1943
Control tower (C2) August 5th 1943
Gun tower (G2) August 14th 1943
Searchlight tower (S2) August 16th 1943
Gun tower (G3) August 20th 1943
Gun Tower (G4) September 1st 1943
Gun tower (G1) September 3rd 1943
It took just 6 weeks from begining to end to place these towers.
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The pictures below show the Shivering Sand Army Fort. This was the final fort placed in the Thames and was officially called U7. It is positioned at 51 29' 95"N 1 04' 48"E. The towers were placed as follows.
Bofors tower (B3) 18th September 1943
Control tower (C3) 30th September 1943
Gun Tower (G2) Proposed 12th October but placed
13th October 1943
Searchlight tower (S3) 19th October 1943
Gun tower (G3) Proposed 27th October but potponed due to bad weather, wrong tides and a lack of tugs. Placed 11th November 1943
Gun tower (G4) Proposed 30th October but placed 13th November 1943
Gun tower (G1) Proposed 2nd November but positioned 13th December 1943.
In all of the pictures, the remains of tower G4 can be seen. In the early hours of June 7th 1963 the 295 ton "Ribersborg" crashed into the gun tower in foggy weather. The ship suffered bow and foremast damage but no one was injured. The steel superstructure sunk into the sea, but the legs remain visible.
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Home Page
The Coalhouse Fort Project was started in the 1980's to maintain, restore and promote Coalhouse Fort. The Fort was built between 1861 and 1874 and remained in service until 1956 when Coastal Defence was abolished.
Open Days For 2008
This page lists the open days for 2008, opening hours and admission prices.
How to Find Us
This page shows directions to Coalhouse Fort, East Tilbury, Essex, RM18 8PB. Directions are shown by road, rail and bus.
Membership Information
How to join the Coalhouse Fort Project Team.
Fort Plans
Plans of the fort showing magazines, casemates and roof positions.
Recommended Reading List
This list, although not exhaustive, lists some of the books that cover Coastal Defences in England and Wales. Some are out of print due to their age but they can be found in libraries and second hand book shops.
Recommended Booklets
As with the reading list it is not exhaustive. Most forts such as Nothe in Weymouth, Newhaven in Sussex and Landguard in Sufffolk all produce their own leaflets and books obout themselves. ISBN numbers are shown where available.
Links Page
This page includes links to other sites I have found useful in studying forts and associated defences.
Guided tour
These pictures follow the route taken by the guided tour. The tours take about an hour, during which you will hear an abridged history of the fort from its conception until 1956 when coastal defence was abolished.
Pictures From 1983
This gallery contains pictures of the fort from 1983 when the restoration was begun. It also includes comparison pictures from 2006 and will include photos of various events throughout the year.
Pictures From 1984
These pictures show the progress made after one years work by a dedicated group of volunteers
Pictures From 1985
These pictures were taken in December 1985 and show further improvements made in the previous year.
Pictures From 2005
These pictures were taken during my first year as a guide at Coalhouse Fort. They show the various defences installed during the Victorian Period, WWI and WWII.
Victory in Europe Day 2005
Pictures taken during our VE Day commemorations in 2005. A number of military vehicles attended along with re-enactment groups from both allied and axis units representing some of those who fought during WWII.
Victory in Europe Day 2005 (page 2)
More pictures of vehicles and volunteers that took part in the commemorations.
Classic and Vintage Bike Meet 26th March 2006
The first open day of Coalhouse Fort for 2006 was accompanied by the Classic and Vintage Bike Meet
Fort Open Day April 30th 2006
During the open day, a number of military vehicles made an appearance along with their owners or operators who were on hand to answer questions and show off their vehicles.
Classic and Vintage Car Day 30th July 2006
Coalhouse Fort hosted its annual Classic Car Day on a fine summers day, and included cars from Anglias to Zephyrs, via Jaguars, Rovers and a Skoda!
Classic and Vintage Bike Show 8th October 2006
A few pictures of some of the bikes that attended this ever popular event.
Halloween Event 2006
Coalhouse Fort is once again hosting its annual Halloween event. On the 27th and 28th October the fort will be home to ghosts and goolies so come along and have a frightfully good evening. Be there and be scared!!! The longest ghost walk in Essex???
Classic Vehicle Day 29th July 2007
Our annual event proved to be our best open day of 2007. The vehicles turned out imaculate as always and even the sun shone, a rare site in 2007!! A group of Truimphs were shown together with Morris Minors, Ford Escorts and even a Rolls Royce.
Shoeburyness Gunnery School
The Shoeburyness Gunnery School was closed down a number of years ago to make way for a housing estate. Some of the emplacements that were, for many years on MOD land can now be reached.
Shoeburyness Heavy Quick Firing Battery
This battery would have mounted two 6" breech loaders and two 12lb quick firing guns. The guns were served with two shell lifts, one for each gun feeding from magazines below. Both guns were served by a common cartridge lift.
Shornemead Fort, Kent
These pictures show the remains of Shornemead Fort, one of the sister forts to Coalhouse. It is similar in size, but a mirror image being on the other side of the Thames. It was largely destroyed with explosives used by the Army School of Demolitions.
New Tavern Fort, Gravesend, Kent
New Tavern was built to protect London from invasion by an enemy using the River Thames. Henry VIII had a blockhouse built nearby c1539 to cross fire with others at West Tilbury, East Tilbury, Milton and Higham.
Maunsell Army Sea Forts
These pictures were taken on the 21st September 2003 from the Pocahontas out of Tilbury Riverside.
Satellite pictures from Google Earth.
These pictures show a number of Forts and Batteries on the Isle of Wight and around Portsmouth viewed from space illustrating the various layouts and forms these structures take.
More satellite pictures
These Google Earth satellite pictures are of the Forts and Batteries in the Plymouth area.
Landguard Fort
Landguard Fort is situated at the mouth of the River Orwell opposite Harwich Redoubt in Essex. As Felixstowe is an important deep water terminal the area has always been well defended
Newhaven Fort, East Sussex
Newhaven is a Palmerston fort built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission and was the first to use a large ammount of concrete in its construction. It is run by Lewes Council and is open to the public for a number of weeks each year.
Newhaven Fort, East Sussex
With so many things to see at Newhaven, I have decided to include another page of pictures,
Newhaven, East Sussex, Emergency Battery
These three gun emplacements lie approximately 800m to the West of Newhaven Fort. They were installed during WWII to mount 3 x 6" breech loaders. The battery is in very good condition with most of the original buildings intact but bricked up.
Puckpool Mortar Battery, Isle of Wight
A large and well preserved battery looking out across the Spit Banks between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. Built between 1863 and 1865. Re-worked in 1889 and again between 1901 and 1945.
Brean Down Fort, Somerset
Brean Down Fort, Near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset. One of 'Palmerston's Follies' built as a result of the 1859 Royal Commission.
High Angle Battery, Portland, Dorset
The High Angle Battery, Portland is situated outside Verne Citadel overlooking Weymouth Bay. The Battery was built to mount 9" Rifle Muzzle Loaders firing high angle shots to penertrate the thinner deck armour of the enemies ships
Wormhoudt Massacre Site
On Tuesday 28th May 1940, a number of young soldiers - mostly British - were massacred in cold blood by the SS of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler.
V1 (flying bomb) Vengance weapon site, Hazebrouck
In the woods near Ebblinghem to the West of Hazebrouck, Northerm France are the remains of a V1 fixed launching ramp. The V1 (flying bomb) was launched against London and resulted in the deaths of over 6,000 people
Corton, Suffolk defences
As the East Coast was so heavily defended during WWII, a large number of structures have survived. Several pillboxes, a tank trap and an anti-tank gun emplacement can be found along the Corton Beaches.
Pictures of Coalhouse Fort
Photographs of Coalhouse showing: Depression Position Finder (Battery Observation Post): WWII Gun houses: Degausing monitor position: 1943 Bofors position: Loop-holed firing position:
Green Goddess at Coalhouse Fort
Coalhouse Fort has taken delivery of a Bedford Green Goddess. This Goddess is fully servicable and will be added to the resident vehicles based at the fort throughout the year.
East Essex Aviation Society
The EEAS has been housed in the historic Martello Tower at Point Clear since it's first opening to visitors in 1986. The collection formed around the recovered wreck of a P51 Mustang of the U.S. 479th Fighter Group
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