Abandoned strengthen Britain

It is not oil rigs, not box office hits characters War of the Worlds, not walking robots from Star Wars, the very real structures. It - abandoned sea forts Munsell, the strengthening of the Second World War, the British built in the mouths of the rivers Thames and Mersey. In the years since the war, people have forgotten about them. So they are rusting and fell into disrepair. However, one of these towers in the 60's had time to visit the studio of pirate radio stations, and the other was prepared for even more amazing destiny - to become an independent state of Sealand, the royal power, resting on a platform in the middle of the sea.



Unusual construction - a project of the British engineer Guy Munsell, so in our time to strengthen the forts known as Munsell (Maunsell Sea Forts). The main objectives of these structures built in 1941-42. Were protection against attacks from the sea and air, as well as the detection of sea mines. These concrete tower - Fort Shivering Sands.



Each fort, designed by Mansell, consisted of towers ranging from 2 to 7.



At the end of the 50s the tower finally lost military importance. Their partially dismantled and the remaining on the surface of building gradually fell into disrepair, and older than rusting.



Two-tower forts going entirely on land. Tower rested on a common basis in the form of a pontoon barge. Platforms like Fort Knock John, it was only three - Tongue Sands, destroyed by storm in the mid-90s, Roughs Tower, which first became a haven for pirate radio station, and then turned into a self-proclaimed state Sealand and Sunk Head Tower, destroyed by the military in 1967 in order to avoid capture, and this facility to create a pirate radio stations (or states).



The construction of the fort Red Sands exactly repeats appearance Shivering Sands: central command tower surrounded by five watchtowers in a circle. In the original all the towers were interconnected by steel bridges, but then they were removed for safety reasons.



The weight of this tower is more than 300 tons.



Shestibashennye forts like Red Sands, specialized in aviation. The towers were equipped with anti-aircraft guns, and the sixth, standing slightly to the side of the tower - a spotlight.



When constructing six- and semibashennyh forts each tower separately collected at the docks on dry land, and only then transported to the shallows, installed in the right place and connected to another tower with metal bridges.



The platform Roughs Tower, which is Sealand, was abandoned and removed from lists of British Admiralty. This fact gave grounds for its colonization. A retired British Army Major Paddy Roy Bates chose this platform for basing his pirate radio Britain's Better Music Station (recall that at this time in the country legally existed only state radio station BBC BBC). In 1967, he announced the creation of a sovereign state and proclaimed himself Prince Roy I.



Forts long been abandoned, so their internal state is terrible. Most facilities will not be restored.



Externally, the design is still quite strong. At least sure of albatrosses, taken a liking to the tower as a huge nest, and numerous plants germinated directly on the roofs.