DM Glen Douglas

DM Glen Douglas
Loch Long, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
RFA Fort Austin at the Glenmallan jetty
Coordinates 56°09′36″N 4°46′16″W / 56.159901°N 4.771220°W / 56.159901; -4.771220
Type Defence Munitions centres (DM)
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Controlled by Joint Supply Chain Services (JSCS)
Glen Douglas munitions depot being constructed in 1966, showing tunnel entries into hillside

DM Glen Douglas is a NATO defence munitions depot in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, built between 1962 and 1966. As of 1989, it served NATO as a pre-positioned wartime ammunition depot, storing around 40,000 tons of missiles, depth charges, and conventional shells.[1] It is now used only by the UK.[2] The depot lies in Glen Douglas, a 6-mile (9.7 km) glen through which the Douglas Water flows east to Loch Lomond. The depot itself is near the glen's head, less than a mile from Loch Long. Arrochar is the nearest village.

The depot is served by a rail link to the West Highland Line at the former Glen Douglas Halt railway station.[3]

The depot covers almost 650 acres (2.6 km2) and contains 56 magazines built into a hillside.[2] It is connected to the rail network via a short spur from the West Highland Line. In the 1970s, a jetty was built at Glen Mallan on Loch Long, linked to the depot via an MoD road which climbs along the western flank of Craggan Hill.[4]

In January 2003, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal docked at the Glen Mallon jetty to stock up on supplies ahead of the impending invasion of Iraq. With the tacit backing of trade union ASLEF, Motherwell based EWS drivers working on a Ministry of Defence contract refused to transport munitions to the depot, in opposition to what they branded a "rush to war".[5] The drivers' action was supported in an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons signed by 25 MPs.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ United States Military Forces and Installations in Europe. SIPRI. 1989. ISBN 0-19-829132-9.
  2. 1 2 Lisa Cole and Melanie Tanner. "Bombs, bullets, and Brimstone" (PDF). DLO News. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-27. Glen Mallen Jetty offers considerable scope
  3. ↑ Canmore (National Record of the Historic Environment) https://canmore.org.uk/site/128009/glen-douglas-halt
  4. ↑ Malcolm Spaven (December 1983). Fortress Scotland. Pluto Press. p. 133. ISBN 0-86104-735-4. Loch Long NATO jetty
  5. ↑ "The Forgotten Story of How Scottish Train Drivers Tried to Derail the Iraq War". Vice. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
  6. ↑ "Early day motion 484 - ANTI-WAR ACTION BY TRAIN DRIVERS". UK Parliament. Retrieved 2018-01-29.


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