🔴 ArtilleryStrike | 9/10
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Artillery Strikes on Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk Regions
Shelling reported in Sumy region (Sumy, Esman) and Dnipropetrovsk region (Tsarychanka, Dnipro, Samar, Ternivka, Sofiyivka, Hirnytske).

🔗 https://newsgroup.site/artyleriyski-obstrily-sumskoyi-ta-dnipropetrovskoyi-oblastey/

#OSINT #NewsGroup #Ukraine #Artillery #Shelling

The thread about Leith Fort and why it was soon abandoned as a defensive position

Historic Environment Scotland released a very nice 3D model of a 19th century gun from Fort George mounted on a “traversing frame“.

In case you didn’t know, there was also once an artillery fort in Leith – Leith Battery or Redoubt (but for simplicity’s sake we shall call it the Fort) – and most of its guns were mounted in this manner. The animation shows a 32pdr weapon and Leith originally had smaller 24pdrs (pdr, or pounder, was the weight of the shot in pounds, the method by which such artillery was classified).

The Fort had been built in something of a panic commencing in 1780, after Leith and Edinburgh had been threatened by the squadron of the American John Paul Jones in 1779 during the War of Independence. A temporary battery of cannon was placed in North Leith to cover the entrance to the Port of Leith from seaborne assault; the tidal nature of the harbour meant any ship intent on entry had to navigate a relatively narrow and defined channel. When the dust from the John Paul Jones panic had settled it was decided to formalise this battery into a permanent defensive fortification. It was somewhat unusual in origin in that it was largely paid for and constructed by not the military but by the City of Edinburgh and the town of Leith. It was further unusual in that its architect was the mason James Craig – better known for his plan of Edinburgh’s New Town – who was not a military engineer. Captain Andrew Frazer, the Army’s Chief Engineer for Scotland who had designed and superintended the construction of Fort George, therefore oversaw the practical details. The Board of Ordnance completed the construction and fitting out of the Fort after it was handed over to them by the Town Council only completed up to the level of the first storey. It took until 1793 until everything was finalised and it was formally occupied by the Royal Artillery.

I have read more than once than the Fort was something of a folly, incapable of fulfilling its intended purpose of defending the Port of Leith. But if you plot the fields of fire of its artillery you get a good idea of how advantageously sited it actually was; the intensity of the red shading shows how many guns can be trained to fire at that particular point. The effective range of the 24pdr weapons was just shy of 1,000 metres; any ship making an attack on the port therefore had to transit a considerable distance under the overlapping fire of the Fort‘s guns. A newspaper report of artillery practice in 1840 confirmed the guns were capable of firing on practice targets located at 200 to 1,200 yards distant with some degree of accuracy.

A contemporary account notes;

The Battery will effectually command the range from one mile to one mile and a half of the road for shipping and the entry to the harbour

An original survey of the fort made by the Board of Ordnance in 1785 gives details of its planned artillery. The principal battery, annotated at a and b were the eight 24pdr cannons; those at b were on traversing frames, those at a on wheeled carriages. The traversing frame offered the advantage that the gun could be rapidly trained to aim at the target, the wheel carriage was quite cumbersome and required block and tackle to shift its aim. If you follow the link to this Youtube video, it shows such a 24pdr cannon on a traversing frame being loaded, aimed and fired by re-enactors at Old Fort Henry in Ontario, Canada. Notice it takes the best part of 3.5 minutes to complete the loading and firing drill although regular gunners in the 18th and 19th century would have probably had this down nearer to a minute.

At c was a colossal 13 inch mortar: that distance being the diameter of the bore, not the length of the weapon! The mortar was a terrifying weapon, more suited to siege work and with a very slow rate of fire thanks to its huge 195lb (90kg) explosive bombs. But even a near miss from one of these would have made it very difficult for any small boats caught in the blast, or for ships trying to anchor outside the port or come alongside its piers. In addition it could fire a special “ball light” shot to help illuminating the scene for night actions. You can read a full information leaflet about the 13 inch mortar here.

In addition to all this firepower there was a trainable 18pdr weapon to protect the seaward entrance and a single 68pdr Carronade mounted at the lower level. The Carronade was for point-blank use against ships trying to force their way into the Port of Leith. It was a compact but very powerful weapon intended to cause extreme damage at shorter ranges. It took its name from its inventors, the Carron Company, a pioneering Scottish ironworks which was further up the River Forth, near Falkirk. Coincidentally they had a foundry in Leith at this time.

To protect the Fort from naval gunfire it had two broad parapet walls, faced and backed with masonry. The inner parapet, of the battery itself (at B on the diagram) was further protected with a ditch, through which ran a fence.

Protection from the ravages of the waters and storms of the Firth of Forth – which had reduced the seaward walls and bastions of Cromwell’s nearby 1655 Citadel to rubble in a matter of years – came from a sea wall was constructed in front in 1785. To reinforce this and to secure it against direct assault by small boats, 3 rows of large wooden posts were driven into it.

The rest of the Fort‘s defences all pointed landward, with loopholes along the walls and corner bastions to provide enfilading fire (i.e. they can shoot lengthways along the face of a wall, to prevent any attackers from taking refuge up against it from the defenders above). As well as its 100 gunners, there was accommodation for a squad of 12 defending soldiers and their sergeant. It was not designed or intended to resist a siege, this was purely self defence to prevent it being overwhelmed before regular forces from Edinburgh could come to its relief.

There is a single contemporary image of the Fort that I am aware of, a sketch made in 1784 looking from the west towards Leith. In it we can see the grass-covered battery wall, with the notches cut in it for firing the guns through, the flag pole, and some of the accommodation buildings to the right.

Helpfully, it confirms that the Fort was actually armed, one of the 24 pounders can be seen poking through its loophole.

In 1805 and 1806, it is recorded that Leith had five 24pdrs and four, later siz, 18pdrs. The 24pdrs were still there, on more modern carriages, around 1843 when David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson took some calotype photographs of some of the weapons and men of the Fort. A newspaper report in the Caledonian Mercury of April 1847 noted the strength at Leith Fort was seven 24pdrs, four 18pdrs and a 10 inch mortar.

An 1860s newspaper illustration shows the City of Edinburgh Artillery Volunteers practising at the Fort, but their weapons look to be rather larger than the 24pdrs and on more substantial carriages than the iron ones shown in Hill and Adamson’s photos. It was reported that in February 1860 that three 32pdr and three 64pdr cannon were delivered to Leith from Woolwich; judging by the scale the weapons below are the 64pdrs. The Volunteers were raised in 1859 on the back of an invasion scare, and there was much enthusiasm to join; 9 batteries were formed in Edinburgh and Leith alone. Their role was to man the home defences in times of invasion and to provide mobile support to the regulars, using agricultural horses to haul their weaponry to where it was required.

A side-effect of the invasion scare was that the military stockpiled immense quantities of gunpowder and ammunition in both Leith Fort and Edinburgh Castle. Leith found itself being used as the main ordnance store for all of “North Britain”. The Town Councils of Edinburgh and Leith were alarmed to discover in 1865 that there were one hundred and thirty barrels at Leith, each containing 100lbs of black powder. This 130,000lbs amounts to 59 metric tonnes, “sufficient to blow the whole town into the Firth of Forth” as Mr Wishart, a Leith Town Councillor, put it. Official remonstrations to the government resulted in Blackness Castle, further up the Forth, being converted into a central gunpowder store for Scotland and by 1870 the stockpiles had a much safer new home, away from the centres of population and industry.

Hill & Adamson’s pictures also show a number of small, horse-drawn field artillery pieces. These would have been suitable for rapid deployment to firing positions outwith the Fort in the event of action.

Between 1795 and 1815, there are thirteen recorded substantial repair and improvement works at Leith, including making provision for it to hold French prisoners during the Napoleonic wars. However the Fort‘s life as an artillery battery was cut short. When the new wet docks began to be constructed in Leith along Commercial Street in 1801 by John Rennie they blocked the field of fire of the Fort and rendered it “useless as a work of defence“. These docks would take some 16 years to complete and ended in a government bail-out of the near-bankrupt Edinburgh Town Council, requiring that the latter cede land to the Naval Board who moved the Leith Naval Yard from Constitution Street to a more advantageous position directly below the Fort.

New defensive bastions were constructed on the sea wall of the wet docks, where cannons could be mounted in times of threat. The outer approaches of the harbour were to be defended by a Martello Tower, work on which commenced in 1809. Left also to the City of Edinburgh to finance and construct, it took them a whole 29 years before they handed it over to the military; unfinished! The Fort was ultimately re-purposed as an artillery depot, as a barracks and as a muster and training depot for artillery volunteers. By the end of the 19th century, the weaponry allocated to the Fort was a mixed bag of older weapons for drill purposes. It continued to serve as an artillery depot right up until the 1950s and its final occupants, the Royal Army Pay Corps, paraded out in 1956 and the location was locked up and abandoned.

It was afterwards re-purchased by the City of Edinburgh and it formed a core part of the Leith Fort Comprehensive Redevelopment Area, its inner buildings apart from a pair of guard houses were demolished and an infamous housing scheme was constructed within it’s tall, oppressive walls.

This scheme, which had all the ambience and aesthetic of a prison (and in later life, most of the social ills of one), was demolished in 2013 and a much more pleasant housing development replaced it, with the Fort’s oppressive walls much reduced in height. Somewhat appropriately, the new streets within are called Guardhouse Parade, Cannon Wynd and John Paul Jones View.

For a comprehensive paper with detailed research on the Fort and the Napoleonic defences of the Forth, you can download The Fixed Defences of the Forth in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, 1779-1815 by Gordon Barclay and Ron Morris from the Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal. This has proved an invaluable source for me on some of the details of how Leith Fort was actually used and equipped.

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🔴 Artillery Shelling | 8/10
🇱🇧 🇮🇱

Artillery Shelling in Southern Lebanon
24 minutes into the ceasefire, Israeli artillery shelling was reported over Khiam, southern Lebanon.

💬 SENTINEL: Порушення режиму припинення вогню. Вказує на високу напруженість та можливість швидкого відновлення повномасштабних бойових дій.

#Lebanon #Israel #CeasefireViolation #Artillery

🟡 Weapons Deployment | 4/10
🇮🇱 🇱🇧

IDF uses new automated howitzer for first time in Lebanon
The IDF announced it has used the new "Ro'em" automatic howitzer in combat for the first time, striking Hezbollah rocket and anti-tank missile launchers in southern Lebanon. The truck-mounted system reduces response time and requires only three crew members.

💬 SENTINEL: Впровадження нової артилерійської системи вказує на прагнення Ізраїлю до підвищення ефективності та скорочення людських ресурсів на фронті.

#MilitaryTech #Artillery #IsraelLebanon

🔴 Artillery Attack | 8/10
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Artillery Shelling of Kharkiv
Air raid alert and artillery shelling reported in Kharkiv. Possible destruction and threat to life.

💬 SENTINEL: Активна загроза - необхідна увага ППО та цивільного захисту.

#Ukraine #Kharkiv #Artillery

🔴 Artillery Shelling | 8/10
🇱🇧 🇮🇱

Israeli artillery shelling on the town of Qlayleh, southern Lebanon
Israeli military forces conducted an artillery strike on the Lebanese town of Qlayleh in the southern part of the country. Preliminary reports indicate that heavy artillery was used in the shelling of the populated area. Current information regarding the extent of damage remains limited. Local sources report that emergency services have been dispatched to the scene. The exact number of casualties from the attack has not been confirmed at this time.

💬 SENTINEL: Escalation on Israel-Lebanon border requires monitoring for Hezbollah response.

🔗 https://newsgroup.site/artyleriyskyy-obstril-izrayilem-mista-klayle-na-pivdni-livan/

#Lebanon #Israel #Artillery

🟡 Artillery Shelling | 7/10
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Artillery Shelling in Southern Lebanon
Israeli artillery shelling reported in the town of Qlayleh, southern Lebanon. Casualties and damage unconfirmed.

💬 SENTINEL: Можлива ескалація на лівано-ізраїльському кордоні. Варто стежити за подальшими повідомленнями.

#Lebanon #Israel #Artillery

🔴 Airstrike | 7/10
🇱🇧 🇮🇱

Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon
Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike on the area between the towns of Ain Baal and Aytit in southern Lebanon's Tyre district. According to reports, the strike was carried out by fighter jets. Additionally, artillery shelling was recorded in the vicinity of the town of Qlayleh. The incident occurred in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel. Details regarding casualties and damage are currently being verified.

💬 SENTINEL: Відповідь Ізраїлю на дії Хезболли, ризик ескалації

🔗 https://newsgroup.site/izrayilska-aviatsiya-zavdala-udaru-po-pivdennomu-livanu/

#Israel #Lebanon #Airstrike #Artillery