Admiralty Tunnel

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Admiralty Tunnel
Fortification Gibraltar 02852.jpg
View down the tunnel
Overview
Location Gibraltar
Coordinates 36°07′47″N5°21′11″W / 36.129634°N 5.352938°W / 36.129634; -5.352938 Coordinates: 36°07′47″N5°21′11″W / 36.129634°N 5.352938°W / 36.129634; -5.352938
Statusprivate
Operation
ConstructedCochrane Ltd
Owner Government of Gibraltar
OperatorContinent 8
Technical
Length1,000 metres (3,300 ft)

Admiralty Tunnel is a tunnel in Gibraltar. [1] The tunnel was used for the purpose of bringing stone from the east side. [2] During the second World War the tunnel contained an operations centre where Dwight Eisenhower planned Operation Torch. As of 2013, the operations centre is used to house a secure data facility.

Gibraltar British Overseas Territory

Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. It has an area of 6.7 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain. The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar at the foot of which is a densely populated town area, home to over 32,000 people, primarily Gibraltarians.

Operation Torch Allied landing operations in French North Africa during World War II

Operation Torch was an Anglo–American invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. It was aimed at reducing pressure on Allied forces in Egypt, and enabling an invasion of Southern Europe. It also provided the 'second front' which the Soviet Union had been requesting since it was invaded by the Germans in 1941. The region was dominated by the Vichy French, officially in collaboration with Germany, but with mixed loyalties, and reports indicated that they might support the Allied initiative. The American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commanding the operation, planned a three-pronged attack, aimed at Casablanca (Western), Oran (Center) and Algiers (Eastern), in advance of a rapid move on Tunis.

History

The new navy base was begun in 1893, but for some time the stone was brought by barge from the east side of the rock to Gibraltar Harbour on the west side. The tunnel allowed stone from the quarries on the east side to be brought via a one-metre narrow gauge railway to help construct the navy base on the west side. [2]

The Women's Royal Naval Service relaxing in their recreation room inside the rock during World War Two. This is the type of accommodation available inside the rock during the war The Royal Navy during the Second World War A24599.jpg
The Women's Royal Naval Service relaxing in their recreation room inside the rock during World War Two. This is the type of accommodation available inside the rock during the war

It is the only tunnel that runs from east to the west of the Rock of Gibraltar, and during World War Two the tunnel was reworked and a 3,000-square-metre area roughly halfway down it became a state-of-the-art communications centre. This Allied Command Headquarters centre was protected from enemy bombs by metres of rock in every direction and contained the board room where the invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch) was planned [3] by Dwight Eisenhower. As a result, Eisenhower not only commanded the operation, but he was the first non-British person to command Gibraltar in 200 years. [4] It had its own systems for fresh air, electricity, lighting and communication links to the outside world.

Rock of Gibraltar Monolithic limestone promontory located in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar, also known as the Rock, is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is 426 m (1,398 ft) high. Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 300 Barbary macaques. These macaques, as well as a labyrinthine network of tunnels, attract many tourists each year.

The space now contains a very secure data storage facility previously owned by Vault Technology Services [3] and now operated by Continent 8. [5] Size of data storage facility is 3,000 square metres (32,000 sq ft), which is split up into 80 separate rooms. It is not open to the public but it is possible to see from one end to the other and thus to observe how straight the tunnel is. The west end of the tunnel is accessible from Queensway. [5]

Queensway, Gibraltar

Queensway is a main coastal road in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar and the only road servicing the oldest leisure marina on The Rock, Queensway Quay. It connects the marina with the industrial park in the southern end of the Gibraltar Harbour.

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Parsons Lodge Battery A gun battery on the Rock of Gibraltar

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Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar Hospital in Europa Road, Gibraltar

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American War Memorial, Gibraltar war memorial

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References

  1. Eley, Colonel D.M. (1957). The Gibraltar Tunnels.
  2. 1 2 "The Gibraltar Tunnels" (PDF). Siegebattlefieldtours.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Visit to Secure Data Facility". Gibraltar Group of Professional Engineers. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  4. Gallagher, Wes (December 1942). "Eisenhower Commanded Gibraltar". The Lewiston Daily Sun. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  5. 1 2 Directions to ..., Continent 8 Technologies - Gibraltar, accessed April 2013