West Battery | |
---|---|
Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar | |
Gibraltar | |
Coordinates | 36°06′49″N5°20′49″W / 36.1136°N 5.347°W |
Type | Artillery battery |
Site information | |
Owner | Ministry of Defence |
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.
The battery stands on the site of two emplacements originally constructed under General Edward Cornwallis between 1762 and 1777. It takes its name from its position facing south-west. In the late 19th century it became (along with Buffadero Battery and Jews' Cemetery Battery) one of three batteries on or below Windmill Hill to be equipped with BL 9.2 inch gun Mk V guns, two of which were installed in 1886. These were upgraded to BL 9.2 inch gun Mk X guns in 1901, mounted on Mark V barbettes. They faced out towards the Mediterranean to cover naval traffic through the Straits of Gibraltar. [1]
The 9.2-inch guns remained in service until 1950. They were subsequently replaced by three 5.25-inch dual-purpose guns for coastal and anti-aircraft defence. Although the guns have since been removed, the emplacements and the structure of the battery are still clearly visible. [1]
The BL 6-inch gun Mark VII was a British naval gun dating from 1899, which was mounted on a heavy traveling carriage in 1915 for British Army service to become one of the main heavy field guns in the First World War, and also served as one of the main coast defence guns throughout the British Empire until the 1950s.
The Steele Point Battery is a small fort, located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the eastern Sydney suburb of Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia.
The Henry Head Battery is an artillery battery located on the northern side of the entrance to Botany Bay at Henry Head, La Perouse, New South Wales, Australia.
Illowra Battery is a former Australian Army coastal-artillery battery located at Hill 60, Port Kembla, New South Wales in Australia, built and in service during World War II. It was also otherwise known as Hill 60 Battery.
The BL 9.2-inch Mk IX and Mk X guns were British breech loading 9.2-inch (234 mm) guns of 46.7 calibre, in service from 1899 to the 1950s as naval and coast defence guns. They had possibly the longest, most varied and successful service history of any British heavy ordnance.
The BL 9.2-inch Mk I–VII guns were a family of early British heavy breechloading naval and coast defence guns in service from 1881 to the end of World War I. They were originally designed to use the old gunpowder propellants.
Fort Nepean is a former defensive facility occupying part of Point Nepean, Victoria, Australia. It was part of a network of fortifications, commanded from Fort Queenscliff, protecting the narrow entrance to Port Phillip. It is now part of Point Nepean National Park and a local tourist attraction.
The Signal Hill Battery was constructed in 1892–3 at Watsons Bay and is adjacent to the Signal Hill Lighthouse on Old South Head Road.
Devil's Gap Battery is a coastal battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar near the westernmost limits of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve.
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 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.
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 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 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.
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.
Buffadero Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Windmill Hill.
Rooke Battery is a now derelict artillery battery on the west side of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.
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.
Victoria Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It was built in the 1840s on top of the earlier Princess of Wales Batteries following a report by Major-General Sir John Thomas Jones on Gibraltar's defences. The battery was located on the west side of Gibraltar and was one of a number of "retired" batteries in the territory, constructed to improve the coastal defences between Europa Point and the town.
St Anthony Battery is a former 19th century gun battery at St Anthony Head, Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall, England. It was built in 1895-97 and served during both World Wars. Following its decommissioning in 1956, the battery was acquired by the National Trust.