Aberdeen@War - Bridge of Dee Spigot Mortar Traditional Cache
Westhill_Wanderer: Can't find it myself so it must have gone. Archiving
Aberdeen@War - Bridge of Dee Spigot Mortar
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Another in an occasional series of war-related caches along the banks of the River Dee
Close to the site of this cache used to stand the spider-like remains of a World War 2 Spigot Mortar Mounting or Blacker Bombard positioned to defend the Bridge of Dee, the major entry point to Aberdeen from the south.
The rather strange looking Spigot Mortar or Blacker Bomber was designed by Lieutenant-Colonel L.V.S. Blacker and 22,000 were issued betweem 1941 and 1942. Designed to be used by the Home Guard it would have been manned by a crew of three and was a 29mm close range weapon that could fire a 20lb/9.1 kg anti tank projectile. Theoretically it could fire 15-20 rounds a minute, but due to the amount of smoke produced after the first it became known as the 'one shot and that's it' weapon. It is reckoned for an accurate shot an enemy tank had to be within 100 yards, hardly very practical for the three man crew.
The original metal mounting was replaced with by a solid concrete form and internal metal frame as this improved its accuracy. The drum of concrete known as a `thimble' was 1.22 m high by 0.9m in diameter. It was domed at the top with a stainless steel pin set into the top of it on which the mortar itself sat
I can still remember seeing the remains of the metal mount (see picture) which I always assumed was the derelict remains of a piece of children's play equipment.
Cache is now a magnetic nano. Please take your own pen or pencil
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jul qba'g lbh fvg n juvyr naq ersyrpg ba ubj guvf ynaqfpncr unf punatrq fvar 1939-1945
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