Fort Siloso 6 Inch BL Battery - No. 2 Gun
The No. 2 6-Inch Gun emplacement photographed in 1993. Mounted in the emplacement is the barrel of a 9.2 Inch BL gun. This gun barrel was one of two salvaged from the Woolwich Loop at the eastern end of the island and was mounted here in 1974. Both barrels were later moved to their current location by the Gunners Shelter.
The sign which was by the by the gun barrel stated, “These guns formed part of the 3 × 9.2 Inch battery mounted at Fort Connaught during the Second World War. On 13 February 1942, these guns fired their entire ammunition - mainly armour piercing - on Japanese troops at Tengah Airfield. As these high velocity guns were not designed for rapid firing their rifled barrels were consequently worn smooth. These two 9.2 inch guns were salvaged from Woolwich Loop near the Coralarium in 1970. They were mounted here in 1974”. In this, the sign was very wrong. The gun barrels come from an earlier generation of 9.2-Inch Guns than those which armed Fort Connaught in 1942. The barrels are actually from Mark IV guns which entered service in the Royal Artillery about 1889. It is not beyond credulity to assume that one of the barrels may actually have come from Fort Siloso. I would think that it is more likely that they came from Fort Connaught where two Mark IV 9.2-Inch BL Guns had once been emplaced.
Approaching the No. 2 Gun Emplacement. An entrance to the magazine is between the bottom two sets of railings.
To the right of these railings, in front of the steel doors on the side wall of the emplacement, is a metal plate over the top of a concrete square. This plate is covering the top of the shaft to the ammunition hoist which once served this gun emplacement.
LEFT: Storage lockers behind the gun. These were called ‘Ready To Use Lockers’ as they stored shells and propellant charges raised from the magazine prior to the need for them so that they were immediately to hand when required.
Right: More Ready to Use Lockers. These are to the right of the steps leading up to the gun emplacement.