Eliott's Practice Battery

Last updated
Eliott's Practice Battery
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Type Artillery Battery
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence

Eliott's Practice Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. [1]

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Napier of Magdala Battery

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Princess Annes Battery

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OHaras Battery

O'Hara's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the highest point of the Rock of Gibraltar, near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, in close proximity to Lord Airey's Battery. It was constructed in 1890 at the former site of a watchtower that had earned the name O'Hara's Folly. The battery and tower were both named after the Governor of Gibraltar Charles O'Hara. The first gun mounted on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun, which was replaced with a 9.2 inch Mark X BL gun in 1901. The battery was in use during World War II and was last fired during training exercises in 1976. O'Hara's Battery has been refurbished and is open to the public. The battery and its associated works are listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Princess Amelias Battery

Princess Amelia's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Willis's Plateau at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, adjacent to Gun No. 4 of Princess Anne's Battery. It was named after Princess Amelia of Great Britain, the second daughter of George II. It was formerly referred to as the 2nd Willis's Battery. The plateau and its batteries had previously been named after an artillery officer by the name of Willis who was outstanding during the capture of Gibraltar in 1704. Princess Amelia's Battery saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, during which it sustained substantial damage. Little remains of the original site, aside from two derelict buildings. The battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Lord Aireys Battery Artillery battery in Gibraltar

Lord Airey's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just north of O'Hara's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Richard Airey. Construction of the battery was completed in 1891. The first gun mounted on the battery was a 6-inch breech loading gun, which was replaced with a 9.2-inch Mark X BL gun by 1900. The gun at the battery was last fired in the 1970s. In 1997, it was discovered that Lord Airey's Shelter, adjacent to Lord Airey's Battery, was the site chosen for a covert World War II operation that entailed construction of a cave complex in the Rock of Gibraltar, to serve as an observation post. The battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Princess Royals Battery

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Breakneck Battery

Breakneck Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Ministry of Defence property at the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, north of Lord Airey's Battery. It is one of a dozen batteries in Gibraltar that had 9.2-inch (233.7 mm) guns installed around the turn of the twentieth century. The emplacement features a 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun on a Mark V mounting. The battery was refurbished by 10 Signal Regiment in 2012 and 2016 whilst being on Ceremonial duties whilst the Gibraltar Regiment where on exercise and is one of three surviving 9.2-inch gun emplacements at the Upper Ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar. By the late twentieth century, the 9.2-inch guns in Gibraltar, Bermuda, Portugal, South Africa, and Australia were the remaining examples of an emplacement that at one point had been mounted at strategic locations across the British Empire.

Spur Battery Artillery battery in Gibraltar

Spur Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located in the Upper Battery area of the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just southwest of O'Hara's Battery. A 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun was mounted on the emplacement in 1902, with improvements made to the battery after World War I. In 1981 the 9.2-inch gun at Spur Battery was dismantled and transferred to the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England, for preservation. The operation was known as Project Vitello.

Levant Battery

Levant Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Windmill Hill, at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below observation post Fire Control South. It was named after the Levanter cloud, below which it perched, giving it an unobstructed view. Construction started in 1901 and, by 1903, a 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun had been mounted. The battery was decommissioned in the 1970s and the gun was later removed, to rest in a scrap yard. A community group has been formed to garner support for the gun's recovery and restoration.

Greens Lodge Battery

Green's Lodge Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on the North Face of the Rock of Gibraltar at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Farringdon's Battery. Also known as the Superior Battery, it was named after General Sir William Green, who served in Gibraltar for twenty-two years, most of them as the chief engineer of Gibraltar. In 1776, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. The emplacement also underwent reconstruction in the early and mid twentieth century. Green's Lodge Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

Rock Gun Battery

Rock Gun Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on the North Face of the Rock of Gibraltar at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Green's Lodge Battery. The emplacement on Middle Hill is at the northern summit of the Rock. It was constructed during the Great Siege of Gibraltar, due to its advantageous position and the success of the gun at Green's Lodge Battery. It was used effectively during the Great Siege and was rebuilt during the Second World War. During the mid-twentieth century, the Ministry of Defence began to use the site as an aerial farm, which was then refurbished in 1958. The Rock Gun Battery and the Middle Hill Battery were closed to the public for decades. In 2005, the radio farm was closed and the Ministry of Defence withdrew from most of the area, transferring it to the Government of Gibraltar. However, the summit, the site of the Rock Gun Battery, continues to be under MOD authority.

Farringdons Battery

Farringdon's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Named after Sir Anthony Farrington, 1st Baronet, it is located above the north face of the Rock of Gibraltar within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

Devils Tongue Battery

Devil's Tongue Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The battery could overlook the harbour but the remains are now surrounded by reclaimed land.

Gardiners Battery

Gardiner's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is named after the governor Sir Robert Gardiner.

Haynes Cave Battery

Hayne's Cave Battery is the remains of two gun positions that made up an artillery battery on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar at Hayne's Cave. Gun emplacements can still be visited at this cave.

Kings Lines Battery

King's Lines Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was originally built along the access path up to the Gate of Granada.

Saluting Battery, Gibraltar

Saluting Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

Europa Pass Batteries

Europa Pass Batteries are a group of artillery batteries in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. They are located north west of Europa Point in the south of Gibraltar, just off Europa Road.

Castle Batteries

Castle Batteries are a series of artillery batteries that are part of the Northern Defences of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The batteries descend from the Moorish Castle to end at the sixth and seven batteries which are known as Crutchett's Batteries. There are brick vaulted bombproof rooms (casemates) under Crutchets Battery.

References

  1. Fa & Finlayson (2006). The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945. Osprey Publishing. ISBN   978-1-84603-016-1 . Retrieved 4 April 2013.