The Kingswear Torpedo Station

From Kingswear Historians Newsletter No.1

The year is 1940 and there is a risk of invasion by Germany after Dunkirk.
Action was quickly taken to strengthen the defences of Dartmouth and protect the shipping in
the harbour. This included the building in 1940 of a torpedo battery in Kingswear at the edge of the
sea immediately below Kingswear Court in Castle Road. It was built on top of an existing salt-water
swimming pool and camouflaged to look like a thatched boat house.
Although the use of land-based torpedo batteries dates back to the 19th century, their use in
the 20th century is virtually unknown and only two others apart from the Kingswear battery are
believed to have been built in the Second World War. The battery would have been manned and
operated by naval personnel but it has proved difficult so far to trace details in official records.
Similarly, although it appears from remains of rail tracks that there were three launching positions,
the type of torpedoes used and how they would have been supplied are not yet fully clear. It would
have been linked to the overall defensive system for Dartmouth harbour including the boom across
the river mouth, the gun position at Dartmouth Castle and the Brownstone Battery built in 1942.
It is said that one night the wrong code for the day had been sent by mistake to all the
defensive positions. A Polish destroyer attempting to enter the harbour at night was seen and
challenged by the battery. Luckily, in spite of the confusion of codes, the officer in charge on-shore
believed he recognised the outline of the ship and a quick call to headquarters confirmed he was
correct.
The remains of the battery are part of the legacy of the war years and it is hoped that
continuing research will be able to fill some of the existing gaps concerning it.