Welcome to Clackmannanshire.Scot. The site aims to celebrate the county of Clackmannanshire via its towns and villages, history and community and to shine a light on Clackmannanshire's history, community and attractions for tourists and residents alike - you may be surprised by what's on offer.
This time we look at an old foe's wartime interest in the area:
Operation Sea Lion survey photograph
On the 16th of July 1940, Adolf Hitler issued Führer Directive No.16, setting in motion preparations for an invasion of Britain. A set of documents were prepared by the German Military High Command for the operation code-named Seelöwe (Sea Lion). The invasion was supposed to take place during the Battle of Britain, nine months after the start of the Second World War, however as air and naval superiority could not be achieved, the plans were shelved.
With Alloa having coastal access, it was of interest to the German military. The picture's numbered legend of their places of interest is as follows: (with English translation)
Hafenstadt (13000 Einw.) an der Nordseite des Flusses Forth vor seiner Ausbuchtung zum Firth of Forth.
Port city (13,000 inhabitants) on the north side of the River Forth before its bulge to the Firth of Forth.
Die Ziffern bezeichnen:
1 Munitionshauser, 2 Lagerhallen fur Munitionsteile, 3 Eisenbahnbrucke, 4 Eisenbahnfahre, 5 Hafenbassin mit Schleuse, 6 Güterbahnhof.
The digits denote:
1 Ammunition houses, 2 Warehouses for ammunition parts, 3 Railway bridge, 4 Railway ferry, 5 Harbour basin with lock, 6 Freight yard.
Thankfully the documents were not used for their intended purpose.
References :
Archive.org - Picture
Wikipedia.org - Operation Sea Lion
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