Stokes Bay, Hampshire

News and discussion threads concerning defence personnel and their units.
Post Reply
User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »

Image

Introduction
Stokes Bay (grid ref.: SZ 590 980) is an area of the Solent that lies just south of Gosport, between Portsmouth and Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire. There is a shingle beach with views of the Isle of Wight to the south and Fawley to the south west. The village of Alverstoke is close by.


History
To the east of Stokes Bay is Fort Gilkicker, which was built in 1871 to guard the headland and the western approaches to Portsmouth Harbour and housed 22 gun emplacements. It was used in both world wars to protect Portsmouth and air attacks and fell into disrepair shortly after 1945; it is on the Buildings at Risk Register and support is being sought for its conservation and for an alternative use.

There was also a pier, adjacent to Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Lifeboat station, from which a ferry service ran which was the quickest crossing to the Isle of Wight. The pier had a railway station, opened 6 April 1863, which had a branch line (Stokes Bay Line) from the Fareham to Gosport Line. This railway stopped running services to the pier on 1 November 1915 and sold the land to the Admiralty in 1922. The line was not as popular as the Portsmouth to Ryde crossing although the journey from London was longer than from Portsmouth. Most of the railway line is now a cycle path.

The Admiralty used the pier from 1922 to transport munitions and fuel and had a narrow gauge railway line which replaced the branch line. The pier was then used as a torpedo station and fell into disrepair before being demolished in the late 1970s. In June 1944, landing craft embarked from Stokes Bay for France as part of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy.

The Solent opposite Stokes Bay is often used by extremely large warships (e.g. US supercarriers) to anchor, as Portsmouth Harbour is not deep enough to berth them. It has also been the site of many fleet reviews, the most recent being to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.

Google Maps: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.78099 ... a=!3m1!1e3

User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »


1:07 for USS Theodore Roosevelt (in 2015)




User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »

27th July 2017 - USS George HW Bush arrives at Stokes Bay

Good practice for tug SD Tempest ;)

USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) arriving in the Solent and dropping anchor off Stokes Bay, Gosport, UK (C Anchorage) on Thursday 27th July 2017
Scheduled visit to Portsmouth UK and to participate in Exercise Saxon Warrior around the coast of the UK next week.


Dropping anchor in Stokes Bay.

bobp
Senior Member
Posts: 2684
Joined: 06 May 2015, 07:52
United Kingdom

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by bobp »

Hmm the last picture shows she needs a lick of paint.

sea_eagle
Member
Posts: 175
Joined: 06 May 2015, 13:57
United Kingdom

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by sea_eagle »

Why do the USN put all their air assets on deck, is this just for show or is there another reason? Maybe to free up hangar space for the country dancing events? :lol:

User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »


User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »


(Wonkabar007) 6th October 2018
The USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, appears out of the fog as it sails into The Solent. The Nimitz class carrier is visiting Portsmouth for five days for some R&R.

User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »

Image
(HMNB Portsmouth)

User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »



User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »

HMS Queen Elizabeth at anchor in Stokes Bay
Image
(@WarshipCam) 8th May 2020 - VE Day

Image
(@dhartley_NMRN) 7th May 2020
HMS Queen Elizabeth at anchor in the Solent, can make out her silhouette from Southsea!

User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »

USS Gerald R Ford arrives in Stokes Bay, Hampshire.

(Wonkabar007) 14th November 2022
The brand new $13 billion USS Gerald R Ford super carrier, arrived in the UK today for a four day visit, the boat trip around the worlds biggest warship was amazing, its huge and packed with a whole bunch of new technology.


User avatar
SKB
Senior Member
Posts: 7931
Joined: 30 Apr 2015, 18:35
England

Re: Stokes Bay, Hampshire

Post by SKB »


(Forces News) 17th November 2022
Forces News has been onboard the US' brand new aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, which has been moored in the Solent, near Portsmouth.

As the biggest warship in the world, the USS Gerald R Ford is the first in a whole new Ford Class which will eventually replace the famous Nimitz class.

We took a tour of the ship, which is packed full of new technology.

Post Reply