Anti-invasion Defences – Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Crombie & Rosyth

 
The Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) at Crombie, west of Rosyth, was more heavily defended during the war than Rosyth itself, presumably because of the vulnerability of such a large concentration of explosives to a relatively minor raid.

The RNAD’s defences were mapped in 1915. As was the norm with explosives stores, the depot was spread out over a considerable area, comprising about 11 large sheds at the modern beach level, and 21 smaller sheds on the raised beach above. Six large underground magazines were also built. Five blockhouses covered a barbed wire perimeter, which obstructed the approaches from the north and along the coast. The location of three anti-aircraft guns was also marked.

Extract from the map of the defences of Crombie Royal Naval Armaments Depot, c1915, showing the perimeter defences, five blockhouses and two anti-aircraft guns. The storage sheds of the Depot were arranged along the shore. There were also six large underground magazines built into the cliff.

The overall security of the Rosyth Dockyard relied on the defences immediately to the east, covering the northern end of the Forth Bridge, the Castlandhill radio station and the batteries at Carlingnose and Coastguard.