20th Century
Improvements in artillery technology had rendered the various landward facing fortifications obsolete over the turn of the century and by the end of the first decade they largely disarmed.
After World War 1 the council started to buy various defences as they were released by the military. The 1920s and 30s saw the purchase of much of the Hilsea lines and Lumps fort by the city.
During WW2 anti tank defence blocks were constructed on Fraser Beach. Pill boxes were constructed to defend Portsmouth Airport in the form of Pickett-Hamilton Forts. The sea forts were re-equipped with AA guns. A new concrete gun emplacement which contained a single 75mm gun was constructed on the eastern part of the Hilsea lines.
The remaining defences were deactivated when the UK abandoned coastal artillery in 1956.
Read more about this topic: Fortifications Of Portsmouth
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