Breakneck Battery is an

artillery battery In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit or multiple systems of artillery, mortar systems, rocket artillery, multiple rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, etc., so grouped to f ...

in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. It is located on

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

property at the

Upper Rock Nature Reserve The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected area, protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the territory's land area. ...

, 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 The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

. By the late twentieth century, the 9.2-inch guns in Gibraltar,

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

(also known affectionately as "the Rock", and the former site of a Royal Naval Dockyard, and once considered "the Gibraltar of the West"), 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 The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

Early history

Breakneck Battery is in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. The artillery battery is located at the Upper Ridge of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, on Ministry of Defence property. It is positioned north of Lord Airey's Battery on a site once known as Mount Misery, which was renamed in 1901. The name "Breakneck" was inspired by the nearby Breakneck Stairs which descend part way down the sheer cliff on which the battery stands, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The decision to mount 9.2-inch breech-loading guns on the emplacements in Gibraltar can be traced back to the explosion of one of the 38-ton, muzzle-loading guns on . After that explosion on 2 January 1879, a Committee on Ordnance was founded to analyze the United Kingdom's artillery and the direction that it would take. The committee was directed to address "the question of breech-loading guns and such other questions as may be brought before it." Following research and deliberations, the committee settled on rifled breech-loading guns, an improvement over the customary rifled muzzle-loading weapons. Although the 9.2-inch breech-loading weapon was initially employed as a naval gun, it eventually was used for coastal defence as well. It was effective in dealing with hostile

warships A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as ...

and their associated long-range attacks. The 9.2-inch gun retained its importance in British coastal defence for more than half a century. The mounting of 9.2-inch guns on Gibraltar's batteries commenced in the 1890s. By 1914, Gibraltar boasted a total of fourteen of the 9.2-inch weapons on twelve batteries. Breakneck Battery had a 9.2 inch Mark X breech-loading gun installed on a Mark V mounting. The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

photograph obtained of the battery ''(pictured at right)'' by Lieutenant G W Dallison in 1942 is now part of the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

Second World War Official Collection of photographs. A shell store and bombproof shelter for the crew are located beneath the gun position, excavated from the solid rock. The gun itself originally had a steel shield in front of it to protect the crew from counter-battery fire but during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

this was extended to form a steel enclosure open at the back, to provide some protection from shrapnel and bomb splinters.Hughes & Migos, p. 194

Recent history

Gibraltar's surviving 9.2-inch guns were described in a 1981 issue of ''

After The Battle ''After the Battle'' was a military history magazine published quarterly in the United Kingdom by Battle of Britain International Limited between 1973 and 2022. History and profile ''After the Battle'' was first published in 1973, and appear ...

'' magazine: Breakneck Battery is one of three surviving 9.2-inch gun emplacements at the Upper Ridge of the Rock, the others being

O'Hara's 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 Bat ...

and Lord Airey's Battery. Of the three Upper Ridge emplacements, O'Hara's Battery is in the best condition. Breakneck was the first of the batteries to be decommissioned, in 1953. The two other batteries mentioned,

Levant Battery Levant Battery is an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located on Windmill Hill, Gibraltar, Windmill Hill, at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, below observation ...

and Spur Battery, both had their guns removed in the late twentieth century. The former was decommissioned in the 1970s and had its gun removed; the barrel now rests in a scrap yard. Other than three Mk. X variants still surviving in the "Gibraltar of the West",

(two at

St. David's Battery St. David's Battery is a disused fixed battery on St. David's Island, Bermuda maintained until 1953 by the Bermuda Garrison of the British Army. It was built and manned by the Royal Garrison Artillery and the Royal Engineers, and their part-tim ...

; one at Fort Victoria), by 1981, the year that the gun at the latter emplacement, Spur Battery, was dismantled for transfer to England in

Project Vitello Project Vitello was a military operation that transferred the BL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX–X, 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun at Spur Battery in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar to the Imperial War Museum Du ...

, Gibraltar's 9.2-inch guns represented three of the 25 remaining examples of a weapon that had at one time been mounted at strategic locations across the British Empire and its allies. For years, the Upper Ridge batteries were an excluded area in Gibraltar, where entry by the public was considered a criminal offence. While Breakneck Battery is still closed to the public, O'Hara's Battery and Lord Airey's Battery were opened in May 2010. Members of the 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS), also known as The Highlanders, arrived in Gibraltar in early April 2012 to cover the responsibilities of the

Royal Gibraltar Regiment The Royal Gibraltar Regiment is part of British Forces Gibraltar for the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, which historically, along with Bermuda, Halifax, Nova Scotia (prior to the 1867 Confederation of Canada), and Malta, had been d ...

, which was in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In addition to training and guard duties, the soldiers participated in community projects, including refurbishing of the

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

gun at Breakneck Battery. Upon the return of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, the Highlanders left for their base in

Sennelager Sennelager () is a village in Germany that forms part of the City of Paderborn. It is notable for its association with the military since the 19th century. Location Sennelager lies around 5 km north of Paderborn city centre in the west of t ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

References

External links

Google map of Breakneck Battery

Photograph of Lord Airey's Battery, with Breakneck Battery in background

{{Fortifications of Gibraltar Artillery battery fortifications in Gibraltar Coastal artillery