Napier of Magdala Battery

Napier of Magdala Battery
100-Ton Gun
Rosia Bay, Gibraltar
The 100-ton gun at Napier of Magdala Battery
Location of Napier of Magdala Battery.
Type	Coastal battery
Coordinates	36°07′22″N 5°21′15″W / 36.122688°N 5.354076°W / 36.122688; -5.354076Coordinates: 36°07′22″N 5°21′15″W / 36.122688°N 5.354076°W / 36.122688; -5.354076
Built by	British Government
Current condition	Good
Current owner	Government of Gibraltar
Open to the public	Yes
Controlled by	Gibraltar
Garrison	Royal Gibraltar Regiment
Events	Calpe Conference (2002)
Rear view of the 100-ton gun

Napier of Magdala Battery is a coastal battery on the south-western cliffs of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar near Rosia Bay.

History

A replica of the 100-ton gun's 17.72 inch projectile.

In 1883 the British Government installed a single RML 17.72 inch gun at the battery by Rosia Bay that they named Napier of Magdala Battery after Field Marshal Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, who had served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1876 to 1883.

Earlier, in 1879, they had mounted another such gun in Gibraltar at Victoria Battery. These two batteries, together with two similar ones in Malta at Cambridge Battery and Fort Rinella, were a response to the Italians having, in 1873, built the battleship Duilio, which was to receive four 100-ton Armstrong Guns of the same design.

The gun at Napier of Magdala Battery was originally sited at Victoria Battery but the British moved it to Napier when the original gun there split during firing practice. The gun at Napier Battery received the nickname, "The Rockbuster".

During World War II, the British Army stationed a battery of four 3.7" anti-aircraft guns at the site. These never fired a shot in anger, though in 1945 they almost fired upon a Junkers Ju 88 operated by Iberia Airlines that had wandered into Gibraltar's airspace while on a flight from Malaga to Tetouan.^[1]

The gun was last fired in 2002 (with a very small signaling charge) to mark the 2002 Calpe Conference between Gibraltar and Malta.

References

1. ^ Paco Galliano (2003). History of Galliano's Bank (1855 - 1987): The Smallest Bank in the World. Gibraltar: Gibraltar Books. pp. 76. 

External links

• Gibraltar.gov's site on the Napier of Magdala Battery