| Napier of Magdala Battery | |
|---|---|
100-Ton Gun | |
| Part ofFortifications of Gibraltar | |
| Rosia Bay,Gibraltar | |
 The 100-ton gun at Napier of Magdala Battery | |
 Rear view of the 100-ton gun | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Coastal battery |
| Owner | Government of Gibraltar |
| Controlled by | Gibraltar |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Good |
| Location | |
  Napier of Magdala Battery Location of Napier of Magdala Battery. | |
| Coordinates | 36°07′22″N5°21′15″W / 36.1227°N 5.3541°W /36.1227; -5.3541 |
| Site history | |
| Built by | British Government |
| Events | Calpe Conference (2002) |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Royal Gibraltar Regiment |
Napier of Magdala Battery is a formercoastal artillerybattery on the south-western cliffs of theBritish Overseas Territory ofGibraltar, overlooking theBay of Gibraltar. It also overlooksRosia Bay from the north, as doesParson's Lodge Battery from the south.[1] It contains one of two survivingArmstrong 100-ton guns.
In 1883 theBritish Government installed a single100-ton gun: a 450 mmrifled muzzle-loading (RML) gun made byArmstrong Whitworth, at the battery by Rosia Bay that they namedNapier of Magdala Battery afterField MarshalRobert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, who had served asGovernor of Gibraltar from 1876 to 1883.[2]
Earlier, in 1879, they had mounted another such gun in Gibraltar atVictoria Battery. These two batteries, together with two inMalta (Cambridge Battery andFort Rinella), were a response to theItalians having, in 1873, built thebattleshipDuilio, which was to receive fourArmstrong Guns of the same design. The British authorised the construction of Victoria and Napier of Magdala batteries in December 1878; they completed Victoria in 1879 and Napier of Magadala in 1883, at a total cost of£35,707. Because the British viewed the two batteries as part of the one large fortress that was theRock of Gibraltar, the batteries lacked all-round protection and any of the close-in defences such as the dry moats withcaponiers orcounterscarp galleries that the British installed at Cambridge Battery and Fort Rinella, both of which were free-standing pentagonal forts.
The gun that is now at Napier of Magdala Battery originally armed 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".
DuringWorld War II, theBritish Army stationed a battery of four3.7" and two Boforsquick-firinganti-aircraft guns at the site. In 1945 they almost fired upon anIberia AirlinesJunkers Ju 88 that had wandered into Gibraltar's airspace while on a flight fromMálaga toTetouan.[3]
The "Rockbuster" was last fired in 2002 (with a very small signaling charge) to mark the 2002Calpe Conference between Gibraltar and Malta.
In 2010 Gibraltar and Maltajointly issued a four-stamp set of stamps featuring the two countries' 100-ton guns. Two stamps show the gun at Napier of Magdala Battery, and two the gun at Fort Rinella. One of each pair is a view from 1882, and the other is a view from 2010. The stamps from Gibraltar bear a denomination of 75pence, while those from Malta bear a denomination of 0.75 euros.
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