Spitbank Fort
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Spitbank Fort, a Royal Commission fort built between 1867 and 1878, the smallest of the 3 main forts in the Solent off Portsmouth, 162' across, with 1 floor and a basement, with armour plating only on the seaward side. It was originally planned to have armed with 9 10" eighteen ton RML guns on the seaward side, and 6 7" seven ton RML guns on the landward side. In fact 12.5" thirty eight ton RML guns were placed on the seaward side, but the extreme difficulty of reloading the guns in such a confined area gave such a low rate of fire that all but 2 were removed in 1898, when 2 4.7" quick firing guns were fitted on the roof aided by searchlights. The fort is currently in private hands, open as a museum and for private functions.
Other sea forts include St Helens Fort, Horse Sand Fort and No Mans Land Fort
External links
- Spitbank Fort (http://www.spitbankfort.co.uk/)
- Palmerston Forts Society description (http://www.palmerstonforts.org.uk/redan/spit.htm)