Historic Building Details

HB Ref No:
HB01/06/019 B

Address :
Ammunition bunker Fincarn Glen Drumahoe Londonderry Co Londonderry BT47

Townland:
Managh Beg

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Survey 2:
Record Only

Date of Listing:

Date of De-listing:

Current Use:
World War II Structures

Former Use
World War II Structures

Conservation Area:
No

Industrial Archaeology:
No

Vernacular:
No

Thatched:
No

Monument:
No

Derelict:
Partially

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OS Map No:
37-05

IG Ref:
C4756 1594

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Owner Category

Exterior Description And Setting

Building 1 One of 21 ammunition bunkers erected in Fincarn Glen by American military personnel in 1941-42. Situated towards the N end of the glen, this single-storey, single-bay structure is aligned NE-SW into the hillside with its entrance at SW. It is of rectangular plan and semicircular cross-section. All its components are of pre-formed galvanised steel. Its roof and sides are of overlapping curved corrugated sheeting, all completely covered with earth. The two end walls are of flat steel panels held together with flanges bolted together up their outside faces. These walls have flat tops and sloping sides which extend beyond the roof and sides to retain their earth covering. The back wall (at NE) is dug into the hillside and thus covered with earth as well. There were originally two outward-opening steel doors at its SW end, both of which are now missing. Above the doorway are three small ventilators and in front of it is a mass concrete loading platform. The bunker is now derelict and very overgrown with trees and shrubs. Setting: All the ammo bunkers were widely spaced out along the glen to minimise collateral damage should one have exploded. The nearest to this one are 100m to W (HB01/06/019A Building 2) and 100m to SE (HB01/06/019B Building 3). This example sits at the bottom of a wooded slope rising up the east side of the glen. The stream running northwards through the glen is directly in front of its entrance. Building 2 This structure is located towards the north end of Fincarn Glen, on the east side of the stream of the same name. It is completely covered with earth (now heavily vegetated) except for its entrance at SE and smaller escape hatch at NW. It comprises a horizontally-mounted metal cylinder fabricated from pre-formed curved corrugated metal sheets bolted together. Its two ends comprise vertical metal sheets slotted together. Only the SE end is visible from the outside. It contains a single-leaf entrance door, also of steel. At the NW end is a circular cast-metal hinged cover (now detached) at the end of a small escape tunnel. Setting: The shelter sits at the bottom of a wooded slope rising up the east side of the glen, at the top of which is a motte & bailey (Scheduled Monument, LDY014/005). It is located between an ammunition bunker 40m to its NW (HB01/06/019B building 1) and another bunker 65m to its SE (HB01/06/019B Building 3). It would doubtless have been used should any of the bunkers at this end of the glen exploded, whether accidently or otherwise (there were 21 ammo bunkers in all in the glen). Building 3 One of 21 ammunition bunkers erected in Fincarn Glen by American military personnel in 1941-42. Situated towards the N end of the glen, this single-storey, single-bay structure is aligned NE-SW into the hillside with its entrance at SW. It is of rectangular plan and semicircular cross-section. All its components are of pre-formed galvanised steel. Its roof and sides are of overlapping curved corrugated sheeting, all completely covered with earth. The two end walls are of flat steel panels held together with flanges bolted together up their outside faces. These walls have flat tops and sloping sides which extend beyond the roof and sides to retain their earth covering. The back wall (at NE) is dug into the hillside and thus covered with earth as well. There are two outward-opening steel doors at its SW end, each with a vent at its bottom. Above the doorway are three ventilators (one subsequently enlarged), flanked by two later inserts. In front of the doorway is a mass concrete loading platform. On the wall to the left of the door are two triangular metal brackets which formerly held fire buckets. Below them is a painted partly-decipherable legend reading "Fire ... Pump". The bunker is now disused and overgrown with trees and shrubs. Setting: All the ammo bunkers were widely spaced out along the glen to minimise collateral damage should one have exploded. The nearest to this one are 100m to NW (HB01/06/019B Building 1) and 100m to SE (HB01/06/019C Building 1). This example sits at the bottom of a wooded slope rising up the east side of the glen. At the top of the slope is a motte & bailey (Scheduled Monument LDY014/005). The stream running northwards through the glen is directly in front of its entrance.

Architects

Historical Information

The Fincarn Ammunition Depot was constructed by American military personnel with the assistance of local labour. It was completed by May 1942 and used for the temporary storage of munitions shipped into Lisahally Port on Lough Foyle, 6km to the north. From Fincarn, the ammo was transferred to military bases such as the nearby Maydown and Eglinton airfields. The steelwork on many of the ammo bunkers bear the legend "Armco Ingot Iron Manufactured by the American Rolling Mill Co Middletown, Ohio 2oz coating". 'Armco' is the acronym of the American Roller Mill Corporation of Middletown Ohio, founded in 1899 and a pioneer of continuous rolled sheet steel production. The name is still used generically to this day to denote cylindrical corrugated metal culverts under roads etc. This bunker is essentially a standard Armco hut, the size of which was 50ft x 20ft x 10ft radius. Its heavy-duty galvanised steel sheeting and arched cross-section made it capable of being buried under several metres of earth. It is not unlike a Quonset hut, the American equivalent of the British Nissen hut, but without any internal framework and by a different maker. C Company of the 1st Provisional Marine Battalion, an infantry brigade of the US Marine Corps, was based nearby at Beech Hill and performed guard duty here for a time. The bunkers may also have been used for as a chemical storage depot (known as C-910) between November 1943 and August 1944. Although erected in the early 1940s, no buildings or structures are depicted in Fincarn Glen on the 1948-49 OS map, presumably for security reasons. All the features are, however, shown on the 1963 OS map under the caption "Disused Camp Site". References - Primary Sources: 1. PRONI OS/6/5/14/5. OS 1:2500 map, Co Londonderry sheet 14-05 (1948-49). 2. PRONI OS/11/37/5/1. OS Irish Grid map sheet 37-05 (1966-67). 3. PRONI OS/11/37/9/1. OS Irish Grid map sheet 37-05 (1968). Secondary Sources 1. A. Glenfield, Second World War in Northern Ireland, . 2. ARMCO history: ,, and . 3. Quonset huts: J. Decker & C. Chiei (eds), Quonset: Metal Living for a Modern Age (Princetown: Princetown Architectural Press, 2005), and . 4. Chemical storage, .

Criteria for Listing

Architectural Interest

Not listed

Historic Interest

Not listed

Evaluation

This record has now been protected by scheduling under LDY014:014 and can be viewed on the NISMR database: Building 1 A corrugated steel ammunition bunker built by the US military authorities in 1941-42 for the temporary storage of ammunition. Architecturally, this is a good example of a Second World War ammunition store. Its superstructure is of lightweight pre-fabricated components so that it could be transported easily (across the Atlantic in this case) and quickly erected using unskilled local labour. Its semicircular arch design did away with the need for an internal frame and no foundations were required as it was self-supporting. Pre-fabrication was extensively used during the war for military buildings and structures. Once fabricated, earth dug from its vicinity was used to give the store added protection against blast damage and also camouflaged it. The interior is remarkably well preserved. The bunker''s setting is of special note - in a narrow glen which could be easily defended at both ends. The spacing between it and its neighbours - 100+ metres - also minimised any damage should one have exploded. It also has considerable group value in being one of 21 ammo stores and one of 24 surviving military structures in Fincarn Glen. Historically, this bunker had a rare and unusual function. Except for the now-missing doors, virtually all its original fabric survives in an unaltered stare. It is a tangible reminder of the large American presence in and around Londonderry during the Second World War. The Fincarn ammo stores are probably the largest surviving concentration of their type anywhere in the Province. Because of their specialist function, American connection and survival as a group, they are not only of local interest, but of provincial significance as well. Building 2 A corrugated steel blast shelter built by the US military authorities in 1941-42 in connection with the Fincarn Glen ammunition depot. Architecturally, this is a good example of a small emergency Second World War blast shelter. Its lightweight pre-fabricated components could be transported easily (across the Atlantic in this case) and quickly erected using unskilled local labour. Its cylindrical design did away with the need for an internal frame and no foundations were required as it was self-supporting. Pre-fabrication was extensively used during the war for military buildings and structures. Once fabricated, earth dug from its vicinity was used to give the store added protection against blast damage and also camouflaged it. The shelter''s setting is of special note - amidst numerous ammunition bunkers in a narrow glen which could be easily defended at both ends. It also has considerable group value with the 21 ammo bunkers with which it is associated and is one of two such shelters in the glen (the other is HB01/06/019U towards the S end). Historically, this shelter had a rare and unusual function. Its original fabric survives in an unaltered stare. It is a tangible reminder of the large American presence in and around Londonderry during the Second World War. The Fincarn ammo store complex is probably the largest such concentration of bunkers and blast shelters still surviving anywhere in the Province. Because of its specialist function, American connection and survival as part of a larger group of military-related buildings and structures, this shelter is not only of local interest, but of provincial significance as well. Building 3 A corrugated steel ammunition bunker built by the US military authorities in 1941-42 for the temporary storage of ammunition. This intact and well preserved ammo bunker is of architectural interest as a good example of a Second World War ammunition store. Its superstructure is of lightweight pre-fabricated components so that it could be transported easily (across the Atlantic in this case) and quickly erected using unskilled local labour. Its semicircular arch design did away with the need for an internal frame and no foundations were required as it was self-supporting. Pre-fabrication was extensively used during the war for military buildings and structures. Once fabricated, earth dug from its vicinity was used to give the store added protection against blast damage and also camouflaged it. The interior is remarkably well preserved, although its character is somewhat diminished by the later animal pens (these additions are easily reversible). The bunker''s setting is of special note - in a narrow glen which could be easily defended at both ends. The spacing between it and its neighbours - 100+ metres - also minimised any damage should one have exploded. It also has considerable group value in being one of 21 ammo stores and one of 24 surviving military structures in Fincarn Glen. Historically, this bunker had a rare and unusual function. Virtually all its original fabric survives in an unaltered stare. It is a tangible reminder of the large American presence in and around Londonderry during the Second World War. The Fincarn ammo stores are probably the largest surviving concentration of their type anywhere in the Province. Because of their specialist function, American connection and survival as a group, they are not only of local interest, but of provincial significance as well.

General Comments

Date of Survey

01 December 2014