Thursday, August 20, 2009

what are these grown ups up to?





this shell and a replica of the 15-inch gun are found at the johore battery located at cosford road, off upper changi road north. the place is open on weekdays (monday to friday) from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. admission is free. what you see at the site is a replica of one of the 'monster guns'. it is a pity the underground tunnels are not open to the public.





the johore battery comprised 3 guns. they were part of a group of 29 large coastal guns installed in singapore in the 1930s.

the johore battery's 3 weapons were among singapore's largest coastal guns. they were known as 15-inch guns because 15 inches (38cm) was the diameter of the shell they fired. their gun barrels were 16.5m long and the shells stood 1.5m high. the guns were capable of hurling these shells at battleships over 20 miles (32km) away.

they were originally called 'monster guns' when tested in england in 1934, before being sent to singapore. when world war ii started, there were only 7 of these defending the coasts of the british empire. 2 were near dover in england, and 5 in singapore.

besides the johore battery, singapore also had 15-inch guns at buona vista battery. they were located at the junction of ulu pandan and clementi roads, in the west of the island.

each of the johore battery's guns had its own ammunition bunker. these were 500m apart, arranged in a line that stretched from the present site onto what are now the runways of changi airport. though these guns were originally intended to stop an attack from the sea, two of these guns could turn around to fire to the rear, towards johor bahru. the third, the one located at this site, could only fire out to sea.

from 5 to 12 feb 1942, the 2 guns of the johore battery that could turn around fired landwards in s'pore defence. they shelled japanese infantry positions from johor bahru, just across the causeway, eastwards to the area north of tanjong punggol.

the guns of the johore battery fired 194 rounds before their demoltion by the british on 12 feb. the demolition, and the postwar upgrading of changi aerodrome, means that all that remains are the underground tunnels on the site, which once house ammunition and power plants.

there's a similar posting but with a different picture here.

10 comments:

peter said...

pole-dancing?

Lam Chun See said...

Your photo of the MacRitchie boardwalk, the one showing the reflection of condo buildings is very nice indeed. I too have taken some photos from that spot.

Lam Chun See said...

I just checked my photos. The reflections are not so sharp as yours how come? What time of the day did you take the photo? Can show big size image on your blog itself?

yg said...

chun see, the photo with the reflection of buildings is not macritchie; it was taken from the geylang bahru side of the kallang river. i think the picture was taken at around 8 o'clock in the morning two years ago. i will try and look for the original.

Unknown said...

Hi, I'm from CNN's new lifestyle, city travel website (to be launched) and would like to link up with your blog? Can you pls drop me a email at larry.loh@turner.com and I'll send you details? Thanks!

fr said...

The first picture reminds me of Tarzan swinging from tree to tree.

Lam Chun See said...

Oops. Anyway, since you have taken photos from the MacRitchie Boardwalk, you know what I am talking about.

nah said...

What’s up? Give up lah…
These two ‘ah pek’, no longer able to stand up for Singapore, still think they can lift up the ammunition in front of them.

yg said...

chun see, i have almost taken a photo of some buildings from the macritchie boardwalk, so i know what you are talking about.

yg said...

mr nah, the other person does not qualify as an 'ah pek'; he's not 55 yet.