5331 x 3558 px | 45,1 x 30,1 cm | 17,8 x 11,9 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
2 juin 2016
Lieu:
Cross Hill, Ascension Island, South Atlantic Ocean
Informations supplémentaires:
This memorial can be found on Cross Hill overlooking Georgetown on Ascension Island. It is located in the area which used to be Fort Bedford. Fort Bedford was constructed between 1903 and 1906. It is the most modern of the three naval forts, and originally housed two six-inch guns. All of the forts were deactivated after WWI, and their guns removed. With the start of WWII, Fort Bedford was re-armed, by fitting two 5.5-inch guns from HMS Hood. (They had been removed from the Hood as part of a refit in Malta in 1934). The guns were used in anger in 1941, when a U-Boat, U-124 approached Ascension to try and create a diversion. The U-Boat carrying many survivors was, with other boats, returning to France, and hoped to convince the British that they were still active in the South Atlantic. Fort Bedford proved to be too accurate for comfort, and the boat was forced to crash dive. However, the tactics worked, and all the boats returned to France safely. The Fort remained active until 1953, when HMS Sparrow called to service the guns, and to remove any live ammunition.
