Rock Gun 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 the North Face 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 ...

at the northern end of 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. ...

, 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 The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

, 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 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 ...

. During the mid-twentieth century, the

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 ...

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 His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four ...

. 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 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 up 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 is positioned on Ministry of Defence property, at the terminus of Rock Gun Road, on Middle Hill, at the northern summit of the Rock. 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. The chosen site at Middle Hill was leveled and work was begun on a road to access the highest point of the North Face. However, the endeavour required some time, and the enthusiastic artillery gunners became impatient, not wanting to wait for completion of the new road. On their own initiative, they utilised a

block and tackle A block and tackle or only tackle is a system of two or more pulleys with a rope or cable threaded between them, used to provide tension and lift heavy loads. The pulleys are assembled to form blocks and then blocks are paired so that one is ...

system to drag a 24-pounder up the face of the Rock. After several days and much effort, they were successful. The platform for the gun was completed on 12 October 1779 and the gun was mounted on a traversing carriage. Firing from the battery began the following day. The emplacement was named Rock Gun Battery. From that elevated vantage point, the gunners were able to observe the operations of the enemy and fire upon the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

camp.

The emplacement was rebuilt during the Second World War by the

Black Watch The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

, and a platform for

anti-aircraft guns Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-bas ...

was constructed at the edge of the North Face. In the mid-twentieth century, the site shifted to one of radio transmission. In 1958, the Rock Gun radar and Middle Hill aerial transmitter site were refurbished and rebuilt. The work was undertaken by the GRISLY Squadron, more formally the Ground Radio Installation Squadron, of the

Radio Engineering Broadcast engineering or radio engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering ...

Unit of

RAF Henlow Royal Air Force Henlow or more simply RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aerospace Medicine and the Joint Arms Control Implementation ...

. Rock Gun Battery was the site of 90-foot wooden towers with VHF and

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

aerials.

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 The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) personnel responsible for rigging were no longer based at

RAF Gibraltar Royal Air Force Gibraltar or more simply RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF and aircraft o ...

. The fences in the Middle Hill area still bear the Ministry of Defence signs that warn passersby to stay out of the site. After the Ministry of Defence vacated the aerial farm on Middle Hill in April 2005, much of the area was transferred to the Government of Gibraltar. However, the transition was not smooth. While most of the MOD equipment was removed, maintenance of the site stopped and the area was subject to vandalism. More than a year and a half passed before the government took an active role in management of the site. Middle Hill still features numerous concrete platforms, on which MOD radio masts were positioned before 2005. 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

External links

{{commons category, Rock Gun Battery
Google map of Rock Gun Battery
Artillery battery fortifications in Gibraltar Coastal artillery