Scala Big Gun
The cache, a black-taped, screw-capped tablet bottle, is hidden near a huge derelict BL 9.2” Mk X gun emplacement near Scala Barracks on a steep hillside with fantastic views (favourable weather permitting!) over False Bay and Simon’s Town. There used to be a cache here in the past, GC&Dogs GCT1QF Hollow Hills which was hidden on 14/1/06 and archived after it became waterlogged on 12/4/07 after 30 finds - so the site also has some GC history!
I had originally thought of hiding the cache somewhere in the gun, but once I saw the general state of the area and especially the inside which was minging, I decided against this pretty quickly!
This cache may be conveniently combined with the nearby GCWKQE Forgotten Lookout - WC and GC94YC2 Red Hill ViewPoint Revisited caches and others in the Red Hill area.
To reach the cache location: turn off the M4 Main Rd on the M66 Red Hill Road. After ascending almost to the top, turn right at the junction on a sharp left-hand bend at S 34 10.662 E 18 25.014 onto a small road (Scala Rd).
After proceeding approx 200m and just beyond the open gates, at S 34 10.596 E 18 25.111 turn right onto a small side road and continue for a short distance to the gun where there is plenty of space to park.
Caution: When exploring the gun and surrounding area, please be aware of the many potential hazards (eg. gun area: deep unprotected holes to lower levels, open floor covers, rotten/rusted flooring, all manner of litter; surroundings: snakes, ticks) and proceed accordingly - with extreme caution - definitely not a place to let kids wander around! (Note: the caution regarding the gun area is no longer applicable - see update below).
Standing at (or on?) the end of the gun barrel, the cache is hidden approx 23m to the SE (ie. towards Swartkop Mountain above Simon’s Town) in a small niche in the rocks at approx 199m altitude. A small track leads conveniently from the gun towards the cache area and a marvellous view-point.
For an alternative return route back down to the M4, turn right when you get back to the small road near the gates and right again at S 34 10.291 E 18 25.135 (after passing part of the barracks on your right).
A twisty old concrete road passes steeply down through the bush, passing other abandoned ruins and another old (smaller!) gun position with the famous restored Betsy gun (see above) which is worth checking out at S 34 10.516 E 18 25.443 - this is the location of GC94Y1N Betsy Big Gun . . . Revisited!. Remember to sound your horn approaching the hairpins – although this is not exactly a busy road, it is used every day as an access road to the barracks.
Information on the BL 9.2 inch gun Mk X:
Weight: 28 tons (barrel + breach)
Barrel length: 429.3 inches (10,904 mm) bore (46.7 cal)
Shell: 380 pounds (172 kg)
Calibre: 9.2 inch (233.7 mm)
Muzzle velocity: 2,643 feet per second (806 m/s)
Maximum range: 29,200 yards (26,700 m)
The BL (breach-loading) 9.2 inch guns Mk IX and Mk X were British 46.7 calibre naval and coast defence guns made by Elswick Ordnance Company, Vickers and William Beardmore & Co. They were in Royal Navy service from 1899 to the 1950s and had possibly the longest, most varied and successful service history of any British heavy ordnance.
The Mk IX was designed as a coast defence gun, with a 3-motion breech - only 14 were built. The Mk X was introduced in 1900 with a single-motion breech (loading mechanism at the rear of the gun) and changed rifling (helix-shaped grooved pattern inside the barrel which makes the projectile spin on its longitudinal axis).
It was mounted on the armoured cruiser classes Cressy, Drake and Duke of Edinburgh, on King Edward VII class battleships and from 1915 on the M15 class monitors M15, M16, M17, M18.
These guns, together with the 6-inch Mk VII, provided the main heavy gun defence of the United Kingdom in World War I. Three Mk IX and 53 Mk X guns were in place as at April 1918. Many Mk X guns were emplaced to defend harbours and ports around the British Empire (such as Simon’s Town) until the 1950s.
From 1917 several Mk X guns were deployed ashore on the section of the Belgian coast still held by the Allies, near Nieuport. They were part of the ‘Royal Naval Siege Guns’ under the command of Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, and were used for attacking German heavy gun batteries.
In 1916 Elswick adapted a small number of Mk X guns, two Mk X variants originally intended for coast defence in Australia, and four 45-calibre Vickers export guns (under the designation 9.2 inch gun Mk XIV) and mounted them on Mk 3 railway truck mountings for service on the Western Front in France and Belgium.
A similar gun is found at the De Waal Battery on Robben Island.
(Information adapted/edited from Wikipedia)
Apparently the last time this particular gun was fired (as part of the Scala Battery) was on 13 May 1947 in order to scuttle the SATS General Botha (formerly HMS Thames) which was parked some 9 nautical miles out in the middle of False Bay – it must have been quite a spectacle for local residents!
(This information and correct identification of the type of gun kindly provided by capeccr)
This gun is part of the Scala Battery which consists of two of the Mark X type and one Mark IX type BL 9.2” guns. They were installed sometime around WW2 and were only ever used for training purposes - including their last use as described above. They made a deafening noise which could be heard for a great distance around (well beyond Muizenberg) and the local population was pre-warned before they were fired to prevent confusion & panic! They were so powerful that they caused damage to windows in neighbouring residential areas - some residents tried to sue the government of the time for the damage caused! The famous Betsy - an older type of gun (see www.simonstown.com/archives/betsy-biggun.htm for interesting details) which was partly renovated may be found at the Middle North Battery which is about half-way down the hillside on the narrow twisty concrete road mentioned below. Apparently there are plans to get this gun back into working order!
(Information kindly supplied by staff of the South African Navy Museum in Simon's Town - free entry and well worth a visit - open weekdays from approx 10h00-16h00 and Saturdays 10h00-13h00)
Notes on the Simon's Town Batteries
Lower North Battery, the oldest continuously armed artillery site in South Africa, dating from 1793 (Zoutman Battery), this is now the SA Navy's gunnery range battery. Queen's Battery, built on this site in 1887-9, served in both World Wars and part has now been converted into the SA Naval War Memorial.
Middle North Battery was built in 1886, and retains a 9-inch 12-ton RML. This gun (Betsy) has travelled - Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the 1860s, Bermuda, Sheerness in 1881 and was installed here in 1895. This is the location of Betsy - Big Gun cache GC1RR76
Scala/Upper North Battery was constructed 1904-6 and armed with three 9.2-inch Mk X guns, two converted to Mk VII mountings in 1939. This is the location of Scala Big Gun cache.
Information extracted from: FORTRESS STUDY GROUP Fort 34: Three centuries of fortifications in South Africa 1652-1958, by Richard Tomlinson (see here)
UPDATE 2 October 2010:
1. Access to the inner parts of the gun structure and associated buildings has been blocked off - however that was hazardous anyway and accumulating trash.
2. The area around the cache has been cleared of the previous bush cover and is thus somewhat exposed - thus a degree of stealth may now be required in retrieving and replacing the cache.