Levant Battery

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Levant Battery
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar
Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar
Levant Battery.png
Levant Battery in Gibraltar
Levant Battery and Windmill Hill, Gibraltar.jpg
Levant Battery and Windmill Hill
Gibraltar location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Levant Battery
Coordinates 36°07′12″N5°20′37″W / 36.119943°N 5.343540°W / 36.119943; -5.343540
Type Artillery Battery
Site information
Owner Ministry of Defence
Site history
Built1901-1903
In use Ship decommissioning

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.

Contents

Early history

Levanter cloud over Gibraltar Gibraltar Levante Cloud 7.jpg
Levanter cloud over Gibraltar

Levant Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. [1] [2] The artillery battery is located at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, on Windmill Hill, east of Jews' Gate Cemetery and south of Mediterranean Road (links to maps below). It is positioned below the observation post Fire Control South. [3] [4] Levant Battery was in what was referred to as the Middle South Section. The other emplacements in that section included Edward VII Battery, Genista Battery, Jews' (Gate) Cemetery Battery, Engineer Battery, and Europa Advance Battery. [5] The battery received its name from its position below the Levanter cloud, which afforded it an unobstructed field of view when other, higher batteries were limited by reduced visibility. [4]

Construction of Levant Battery commenced in April 1901. By August 1903, a 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun had been installed on a Mark V mounting. When approval for the battery was granted in 1901, it was anticipated that there would be two weapons, one to target the Mediterranean to the east and the other to bear on Spanish batteries to the west. However, the emplacement was designed as an artillery battery for just one gun, to bear on Mediterranean targets. [4] [5] [6] By 1907, a supply of drinking water for Levant Battery had been provided by connecting it to reservoirs at the Mediterranean Steps. In addition, a water-carriage system for supply of sanitary water was under construction. [7]

On 31 December 1915, German submarines appeared off the Rock of Gibraltar. The 9.2-inch gun at Levant Battery was one of the participants in the attack on the enemy vessels. The records of that day indicate: "Result of action. One target disappeared, and a large explosion took place at another." In the course of practice firing on 23 March 1934, a shell exploded in the barrel, which was replaced on 20 April 1934. [4]

Previous emplacement

In the eighteenth century, another battery on Gibraltar was referred to as the Levant Battery. [8] Woolwich Warren, later known as the Royal Arsenal, was established in the seventeenth century in Woolwich, southeast London. [9] In 1798, its repository of military items included a model of Gibraltar, constructed of rock from that site, on a scale of 25 feet per inch. Gibraltar was described at that time as having its highest point at Levant Battery, represented on the model, 1375 feet above sea level. As construction on the existing Levant Battery did not begin until 1901 and its location does not represent the highest on the rock, a different Levant Battery was present on Gibraltar at the turn of the nineteenth century. [8] This was located near the north front. [10]

Recent history

The gun and mount from the Levant Battery in Gibraltar is at Metalrok Limited in Gibraltar. The gun still has its Mark V mount and has been there for about forty years resting on its original trailer. Gun Barrel of Levant.jpg
The gun and mount from the Levant Battery in Gibraltar is at Metalrok Limited in Gibraltar. The gun still has its Mark V mount and has been there for about forty years resting on its original trailer.

Gibraltar's surviving 9.2-inch guns were described in After The Battle magazine: [11]

... the crowning glory of the defenses of the Rock are the 9.2-inch guns. Five batteries still remain on the Rock: Levant, Spur, Breakneck, O'Hara's and Lord Airey's Batteries. Of these, only Levant Battery can easily be visited, the others being situated on military property behind locked gates. All of them are single-gun batteries each with a 9.2-inch gun, a type of weapon that was once one of the most important weapons in the British coastal artillery armoury.

For years, Levant Battery was an excluded area, where unauthorised entry by the public was considered a criminal offence. [12] While Breakneck Battery is still closed to the public, the other four batteries are now accessible. In the 1970s, Levant Battery was decommissioned. Later, the 9.2-inch gun was removed. [4] In 1981, the gun at Spur Battery was dismantled and transferred to the Imperial War Museum Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England in the military operation referred to as Project Vitello. [13] In 2010, O'Hara's Battery and Lord Airey's Battery were opened to the public. [14]

In February 2011, a group, later renamed "Save the Levant Battery 9.2 Gun," was founded to increase awareness of the battery's gun and to garner support for its recovery and restoration to either its original site or Harding's Battery, which was exposed and restored in 2010-2011 during the refurbishment of Europa Point. [15] [16] The 9.2-inch gun from Levant Battery now rests in the Metalroc scrap yard on Devil's Tower Road. [4] [17]

Related Research Articles

Levant (wind)

The levant is an easterly wind that blows in the western Mediterranean Sea and southern France, an example of mountain-gap wind. In Roussillon it is called "llevant" and in Corsica "levante". In the western Mediterranean, particularly when the wind blows through the Strait of Gibraltar, it is called the Viento de Levante or the Levanter. It is also known as the Solano.

Princess Carolines Battery

Princess Caroline's Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, at the junction of Willis's Road and Queen's Road. The nearby Princess Anne's Battery is often mistakenly referred to as Princess Caroline's Battery. The latter was built in 1732 and named after Princess Caroline, the daughter of King George II. Princess Caroline's Battery was updated in 1905, and a 6 inch Mark VII gun was mounted above the magazine. Later, the battery was decommissioned and the gun removed. The underground magazine is now home to the Military Heritage Centre, which includes the Memorial Chamber.

Princess Annes Battery

Princess Anne'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, above Princess Caroline's Battery. It was named after Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, the eldest daughter of George II. However, its name is often confused with those of other batteries in the area. In 1732, guns were first mounted on the battery, which also saw action during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. Princess Anne's Battery was updated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with the latter modernisation entailing the installation of four QF 5.25 inch guns with both anti-aircraft and coastal defence capabilities. The battery was manned into the early 1980s, after which it was decommissioned. The guns were refurbished in the early twenty-first century, and represent the world's only intact battery of 5.25 inch anti-aircraft guns. Princess Anne's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

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.

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

Princess Royal'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, just southeast of Princess Anne's Battery. Formerly known as Willis' Battery, and later, Queen Anne's Battery or Queen's Battery, it was renamed in the late 18th century after Charlotte, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of George III. The battery was active from the early 18th century until at least the mid-20th century. However, it has been decommissioned and guns are no longer present. Princess Royal's Battery is listed with the Gibraltar Heritage Trust.

OHaras Tower Watchtower in Gibraltar

O'Hara's Tower was a watchtower in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was located at the highest point of the Rock of Gibraltar, at what is now O'Hara's Battery, near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.

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.

Middle Hill Battery Artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar

Middle Hill Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Middle Hill, at the northeastern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, just south of Green's Lodge Battery and Rock Gun Battery. The emplacement dates to 1727, when a single gun was mounted. By the turn of the twentieth century, six 10-inch rifled muzzle-loading guns were present at Middle Hill Battery. Other buildings documented at that time as part of the battery complex included the Nursery Hut and the Middle Hill Group, the latter a cluster of buildings which perched on the cliff edge. An anti-aircraft Bofors gun had been installed at the battery by the Second World War. After the war, the area transitioned to use as a Ministry of Defence aerial farm. In 2005, the battery and surrounding area were transferred to the Government of Gibraltar. The site is now managed by the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society.

Lord Aireys Shelter Subterranean military shelter in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar

Lord Airey's Shelter is a subterranean military shelter in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located near the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, adjacent to Lord Airey's Battery. It was named after the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Richard Airey. The tunnel system for the shelter was chosen as the site for the highly classified, Second World War military operation known as Operation Tracer.

Rooke Battery

Rooke Battery is a now derelict artillery battery on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

Signal Hill Battery, Gibraltar

Signal Hill Battery or Signal Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The battery was mounted high on the rock. Little remains today as the Gibraltar Cable Car top station was built on the site of the old battery.

Spy Glass Battery

Spy Glass Battery or Spyglass Battery was originally a high angle artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The battery is mounted high on the rock to give extra range and protection. The battery was still in use during the Second World War as a listening post and site for a Bofors Gun.

West Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is situated on the escarpment of Windmill Hill in the south of the territory.

Upper Battery is a former artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was located on the Upper Ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar at a site south of Signal Hill Battery and faced east over the Mediterranean. It mounted two 32-pdrs. in 1861. On the other side of the hill, three 24-pdrs. were mounted at Lower Battery. The two batteries were used for signalling and drill purposes.

Fortifications of Gibraltar Defensive military constructions at the Rock of Gibraltar

The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly been contested between European and North African powers and has endured fourteen sieges since it was first settled in the 11th century. The peninsula's occupants – Moors, Spanish, and British – have built successive layers of fortifications and defences including walls, bastions, casemates, gun batteries, magazines, tunnels and galleries. At their peak in 1865, the fortifications housed around 681 guns mounted in 110 batteries and positions, guarding all land and sea approaches to Gibraltar. The fortifications continued to be in military use until as late as the 1970s and by the time tunnelling ceased in the late 1960s, over 34 miles (55 km) of galleries had been dug in an area of only 2.6 square miles (6.7 km2).

The Windmill Hill Batteries are a series of artillery batteries situated on Windmill Hill, Gibraltar near the south of the peninsula. They are part of the fortifications of Gibraltar. The batteries were originally established by Lt General Edward Cornwallis during his governorship of Gibraltar between 1762–77, built on the site of the old windmills after which the hill was named. The singular Windmill Hill Battery refers to one particular battery almost equidistant between Genista Battery and Europa Advance Battery.

Mount Misery Battery was an artillery battery situated on the Upper Ridge of the Rock of Gibraltar. It was situated at Mount Misery, one of the peaks of the Rock. In 1901 its name was changed to Breakneck Battery at the suggestion of Major-General Sir John Slade of the Royal Artillery. Slade was to go on command British troops in Egypt from 1903 to 1905. Following his suggestion in 1899 that it would be a suitable position to accommodate a long-range coastal defence gun, a 9.2-inch breech-loading Mark X gun on a Mark V mounting was installed in 1906.

Mediterranean Steps

Mediterranean Steps is a path and nature trail in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. One of the footpaths of Gibraltar, the path is located entirely within the Upper Rock Nature Reserve and was built by the British military but is now used by civilians as a pedestrian route linking Martin's Path to Lord Airey's Battery near the summit of Rock of Gibraltar. The path offers views over the Strait of Gibraltar, Windmill Hill, Europa Point, the Great Sand Dune, Gibraltar's east side beaches, the Mediterranean Sea and the Spanish Costa del Sol.

References

  1. ↑ "List of Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories". fco.gov.uk. Foreign and Commonwealth Office . Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  2. ↑ Roach, John (13 September 2006). "Neandertals' Last Stand Was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society . Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Map of Levant Battery". maps.google.com. Google Maps. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Levant Battery". discovergibraltar.com. DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Gun Batteries, then Levant Battery). Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. 1 2 "174 Battery". 50missile.com. 50 Missile Regiment Royal Artillery. Archived from the original on 10 August 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Fa, Darren; Finlayson, Clive; Hook, Adam (2006). The Fortifications of Gibraltar 1068-1945 . p.  58. ISBN   1846030161.
  7. ↑ Report for the year (Great Britain. Army Medical Services). Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1907. pp.  75–77. Retrieved 2 November 2012. Levant Battery, Windmill Hill.
  8. 1 2 Nichols, John (1798). The Gentleman's Magazine. Vol. 84. E. Cave. p. 648. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Chapter 3 - The Royal Arsenal" (PDF). english-heritage.org.uk. English Heritage . Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  10. ↑ John Drinkwater Bethune (1786). A history of the late siege of Gibraltar (2 ed.). pp. 328–329. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  11. ↑ After the Battle . Battle of Britain International Limited (129). 2006.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ "Criminal Offences - Restricted Areas Notice" (PDF). gibraltarlaws.gov.gi. Government of Gibraltar . Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  13. ↑ "Gibraltar Gun". cabinetwarrooms.org.uk. Imperial War Museums. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  14. ↑ "O'Hara's Battery becomes visitor attraction". Gibraltar news from Panorama. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  15. ↑ "Save the Levant Battery 9.2 Gun". facebook.com. Facebook . Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  16. ↑ Oliva, F (21 October 2011). "Caruana Opens £4.4M Refurbishment of Europa Point Leisure Zone". Gibraltar Chronicle . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  17. ↑ "Paul Davies - The Gibraltar Heritage Trust". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
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