One of the places I always enjoy visiting in Second Life is the homestead region of Natthimmel, held and curated by Konrad (Kaiju Kohime) and Saskia Rieko as a public space, and which is regularly updated to (in general) reflect re-world locations. Sadly, I was unable to cover the September / October iteration of the reason, as for some reason – and despite my best efforts – the setting repeatedly refused to fully render on my PC.
Given this, and aware that Rieko and Konrad had opened their latest build at Natthimmel towards the end of October, I was determined to hop over to take a look as soon as I was able to spend a sufficient amount of time sitting at my computer in order to appreciate it. In this, I was doubly curious / keen to do so, not only for having been unable to write about the previous build, but also because of the subject Konrad and Saskia had selected: the British Maunsell Sea Forts of World War Two.
Maunsell Forts were offshore defence structures built in the estuaries of the rivers Mersey (to defend the port of Liverpool and the western industrial regions of England against bombers using the Mersey as a navigational aid) and Thames, where they performed the dual roles of trying to shoot down bombers attempting to reach London or east coast ports such as Felixstowe and Harwich or which would try to mine the coastal sea lanes, and offering a line of defence against any fast German seaborne raiders attempting to strike ports in East Anglia.
Of the two groups of forts, those within and offshore to the Thames estuary are perhaps the most famous, primarily because some survive through to this day, whereas those on the west coast were all demolished following the end of World War Two. It is the east coast forts which form the basis for the Natthimmel build.
These forts were of two types: four Navy forts grounded on sand bars between 10 and 18 kilometres off the coast, and three metal Army forts of a more complex design located closer to the Thames estuary shoreline. The Navy forts were of a simpler design, comprising two large concrete towers containing 7 levels each of accommodation and storage spaces, topped by large metal gun decks mounting their main armament of guns, together with the main control building, radar and officer’s accommodation. They were were the forts charged with both anti-aircraft and anti surface vessel operations and protecting the approaches to the ports of East Anglia as well as the Thames estuary.
The Army forts were more complicated in design, comprising seven metal towers atop metal legs. Five of these were built around a central “control tower” and mounted anti-aircraft guns, with the remaining tower slightly offset and housing searchlights for illuminating enemy bombers to the guns. Connected by elevated walkways, the towers of the Army forts saw extensive action throughout the war, claiming over 20 Luftwaffe bombers shot down and, later in the war, around 20 V1 flying bombs.
For their build at Natthimmel, Konrad and Saskia present interpretations of both styles of Maunsell fort, with six Army-style towers linked (or partially linked) by their raised catwalks, some of which sport both single quick-firing guns and what might be taken as rapid-fire Bofors guns, whilst another appears to be the main command tower. They are joined by a structure resembling the more off-shore Navy style fort, this one acting as the searchlight tower.
Whilst not strictly historically accurate, the combining of the two styles of fort in this way allows visitors to explore them both with relative ease (allowing for the partially collapsed catwalks between some of the “army” towers!) from the Landing Point. The latter takes the form of one of the resupply moorings located at the base of some of the Army towers, and offers a link between the accessible Army fort elements and the slightly more distant Navy element.
Caught under a night-time sky which helps evoke their wartime operation, the forts at Nathhimmel are presented in a way that both also evokes the original purpose through the inclusion of their anti-aircraft guns and the beam of a searchlight splitting the sky, whilst also referencing their abandonment and decay following the end of the war, with the Army towers rusting away, their catwalks looking none too safe (or completely collapsed!), the Navy tower also looking strangely industrial in its deserted state, whilst the machinery and systems within their aging walls is clearly well past any practical use. It’s a haunting and captivating presentation.
I also like the fact that, as with so many of Saskia and Konrad’s builds, Nathhimmel: Maunsell opens the door on a period of history that might not be widely known, encouraging people to take a peep inside and perhaps find out more about the location being presented through their own research.
In the case of the Maunsell forts, doing the latter is particularly worthwhile, as one of the Navy forts – Roughs Tower (formerly HM Fort Roughs) – has a very colourful post-war history commencing in the 1960s and extending right up pretty much to modern times. It encapsulates the so-called “Principality of Sealand”, armed assaults by both civilians and a band of Dutch mercenaries, hostage-taking, a ransom demand, a so-called “government in exile” (itself allegedly mixed up in laundering drug money!), and much, much more. All of this you can lean about by looking up the “Principality of Sealand”, Major Patrick Bates and Alexander Achenbach, alongside the broader history of Guy Maunsell and his sea forts.
Just be sure to do so after you’ve visited Nathhimmel: Maunsell!
Slurl Details
- Nathhimmel: Maunsell (NewMoon, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 