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Rock Gun Battery

Artillery battery in Gibraltar

Field	Value
name	Rock Gun Battery
partof	Fortifications of Gibraltar
location	Upper Rock Nature Reserve, Gibraltar
image	[[File:Rock gun view leslie cole.jpg	240px]]
caption	A WW2 watercolour of the defence positions around Rock Gun by Leslie Cole
map_type	Gibraltar
map_size	300
map_caption	Location of Rock Gun Battery in Gibraltar
type	Artillery battery
coordinates
built	October 1779
ownership	Ministry of Defence
open_to_public	No
battles	Great Siege of Gibraltar
image2	[[File:Green's Lodge and Middle Hill Nature Trails.png	300 px]]
caption2	Green's Lodge Nature Trail (A-B-C), Green's Lodge Battery (D), Middle Hill Nature Trail (E), Middle Hill Battery (F-G)

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.

Early history

Rock Gun Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. The artillery battery is located 411.5 m up the North Face of the Rock of Gibraltar, at the northern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, above Green's Lodge Battery.

In October 1779, during the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779–1783), the military operations at the recently constructed Green's Lodge Battery were so successful that the British decided to establish a battery even higher on the North Face, at the summit.

A plaque records the Black Watch's involvement

The emplacement was rebuilt during the Second World War by the Black Watch, and a platform for anti-aircraft guns was constructed at the edge of the North Face.

Recent history

The Rock Gun Battery and Middle Hill Battery were excluded areas for decades, where entry by the public without authorisation was a criminal offence. However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) radio farm at Middle Hill was closed in the early twenty-first century, and Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel responsible for rigging were no longer based at RAF Gibraltar. Middle Hill is now under the day-to-day supervision of the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society (GONHS). The organisation is responsible for maintenance of the trails in the area. However, the summit of the Rock, the site of Rock Gun Battery, continues to be under Ministry of Defence authority. It is one of the postings available for the Royal Air Force Aerial Erector School (AES).

References

"List of Crown Dependencies & Overseas Territories". [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]].
Roach, John. (10 October 2006). "Neandertals' Last Stand was in Gibraltar, Study Suggests". National Geographic News.
"A guide to The Upper Rock Nature Reserved". [[Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society]].
"Map of Rock Gun Battery". Google Maps.
(2009). "Discover Pocket Guide to Gibraltar". Discover Pocket Guide(s) Gibraltar Ltd.
"Ex-RAF Aerial Erectors Association". Ex-RAF Aerial Erectors Association.
"Restricted Areas Notice". [[Government of Gibraltar]].
"Middle Hill - Nature Trail (E)". DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Gun Batteries, Green's Lodge Battery, then E - Middle Hill Nature Trail).
"Gibraltar Nature News". [[Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society]].
"Green's Lodge Battery - Nature Trail (A, B, C)". DiscoverGibraltar.com (Click Gun Batteries, then Green's Lodge Battery).
"Aerial Erector School (AES) - Gibraltar". [[Royal Air Force]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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