EAW007290 ENGLAND (1947). The S.S. Stratheden in the Thames Estuary by Cliffe Fort, Cliffe, 1947

2-ft tramway moving coal and cement between the cement plant and the new wharf.

Cliffe new wharf. This replaced the old wharf and ropeway in the 1930s, and was served by a 2-ft tramway.

Pylon of disused ropeway.

Cliffe old wharf. For import of coal and export of cement, connected to the cement plant by ropeway.

Another launch slip for the Brennan Torpedo added subsequently.

Two coasters being loaded with cement, or possibly unloading coal.

Launching slip for a Brennan torpedo

Cliffe Fort was in service from 1870 to 1927. It was built following the ‘Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom’ report of 1860, to protect the lower Thames from naval attack together with Coalhouse Fort in Essex and Shornmead Fort, upstream in Kent (see image EAW045337) . The planned armament was for 38 guns of which 2 would be to protect against a land attack. Subsidence problems encountered during the build lead to a revision giving, by 1887, two 12.5 inch plus nine 11 inch rifled muzzle loading (RML) in casemates within the fort and two 9 inch RMLs in an open battery upstream of the fort. Optical range finders were mounted on the fort’s roof. At some time after 1887, two slipways were built for launching Brennan torpedos, described elsewhere as the World’s first guided missile. After 1895, emplacements were added to the roof to accommodate three 3 pdr quick-firing guns (QF). Four 11 inch guns had been removed and one of the 9 inch guns (possibly as part of the alterations required to install the Brennan torpedos, as one magazine had been converted to an engine room for these?). The three 3pdr QF guns were later replaced by four 12 pdr QF guns. In World War 1, the four 12 pdr QF guns were replaced by two 6 inch breech loading Mark VII guns on the roof, which in turn were replaced by four QF guns towards the War’s end. While the fort was disarmed in 1927, during WW2, two 4 inch anti-aircraft guns were stationed on the fort’s roof in adapted positions. Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffe_Fort

Cliffe cement works