From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexandra Battery
is a
coastal artillery
battery
in the
British Overseas Territory
of
Gibraltar
.
[1]
It was constructed at the neck of the
South Mole
(originally the New Mole) to
enfilade
the coastal
fortifications of Gibraltar
. The battery stood on the site of several previous fortifications; it was built over the
New Mole Battery
, which was itself constructed on the site of an old Spanish fort in front of the
Tuerto Tower
.
[2]
The battery owed its construction to the recommendations of an 1868 report by Colonel (later General)
William Jervois
. He proposed that a new battery should be constructed on the site to house a
RML 12.5 inches (320 mm) 38 ton gun
? at the time, the heaviest
rifled muzzle-loading
gun in the
British Army
's inventory ? in a
casemate
protected by an
iron shield
. It was named after
Alexandra of Denmark
, the wife of Edward, Prince of Wales (later King
Edward VII
). He laid the foundation stone in 1876 and the battery was finished two years later, but it was already out of date by 1902, and by 1906 it had been converted into accommodation casemates. The slide and the mounting were subsequently scrapped but the 12.5 inch gun was moved to near
Engineer Battery
and finally relocated to
Harding's Battery
in 2013. In 1940, a
QF 2-pounder Pom-pom gun
was installed on the top of the casemates to protect the South Mole and a
Bofors 40 mm gun
was installed in 1941 to provide
anti-aircraft defence
.
[2]
The battery still exists and is reportedly in a relatively good condition.
[1]
References
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edit
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