Description

Circa 1940. Massive reinforced concrete testing tank adjoined to 3-storey 11 bay building.

TANK: 100ft long by 10ft wide, 40ft deep, 13-bay with slightly recessed and buttressed N elevation, further large double buttress projecting from W elevation. Coping and railings to parapet walkway. Control rooms and launch mechanism, including hoist, still in situ on flat roof to E of tank.

INTERIOR: large viewing hall to internal (S) elevation with glazed wall of small pane glazing set between buttresses and caged ladders. Numbered bays and rails at ground.

Statement of Interest

Constructed to monitor the underwater trajectory of anti-submarine weaponry, the testing tank at Strone camp is unique in Scotland and one of only two examples known to exist in Britain. This highly distinctive and technically innovative structure is particularly notable for its massive buttressing and the completeness of the machinery still in-situ.

The tank played a critical part in Naval warfare development during the Second World. By 1940, when the outcome of the war remained far from certain, the need for accurate weaponry was acute with German U-boats posing a major threat to trans-Atlantic shipping. Prior to 1940, it was possible to gauge the trajectory of anti-submarine weapons in the air but the path taken once they hit the water was less predictable. The tank was constructed as a direct response to this problem. Each internal bay within the tank was numbered and underwater cameras used to record the progress of missiles through the water.

The weapons to be tested were propelled by rocket driven carriage along a 100ft rail at the E end of the structure and launched into the tank. The railway was hinged in order to allow simulation of firing from different trajectories. The rail is no longer in place but concrete stumps to the E mark its starting point.

Anti-submarine mortar bombs such as the 'Hedge-Hog' and the 'Squid' proved to be war-winning weapons when used by escorts against U-boats in the latter part of the war. Both relied on knowledge of the bombs' trajectory in water to accurately prosecute a sonar contact. Three inch rockets fired from aircraft were aimed short of a surfaced U-boat so that the known underwater trajectory would curve upwards before striking the hull. A wide variety of other weaponry including the 'homing torpedo' may also have been tested in the tank.

There is a misconception that Barnes Wallace made use of the tank for testing his 'bouncing' bombs. This was not the case and in fact the two operations were in competition for resources. The tank is no longer in use while the adjoining building is used for army and police training.

External Links

• Historic Environment Scotland Listing
• Wikidata Q17774785

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)