Forbes' Batteries
| Forbes' Batteries | |
|---|---|
| Part of Fortifications of Gibraltar | |
| Gibraltar | |
Upper Forbes Battery | |
"The Northern Defences" of Gibraltar including A Castle Communication, B Castle Batteries, C Princes Gallery, D Bombproof Barracks, E Forbes' Battery. Also Hanover Battery, a nearby Magazine, Kings, Princes and Queen's Lines and galleries. | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Artillery batteries |
| Owner | Government of Gibraltar |
| Location | |
Forbes' Batteries Location in Gibraltar | |
| Coordinates | 36°08′49″N 5°20′48″W / 36.147081°N 5.346779°W |
Forbes' Batteries are a pair of artillery batteries in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The batteries are casemated.[1]
Description
The Forbes' Batteries are on the eastern end of the Northern Defences. These batteries had five guns arranged on two levels.[2] There is a famous quarry behind the batteries which shares the same name.[3]
This complex group of fortifications is located at the end of Princes Lines and was named after Lt. George Forbes RN, ADC to Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, third Earl of Granard (1685-1765) who took part as a midshipman in the attack of 1704 and who fought on shore in the siege of 1727.[4]
In 1727 the battery mounted two 6-pdr guns. In 1761 the British constructed Upper and Lower Forbes' Batteries.[4]
Upper Forbes' Battery has two fine magazines, one brick and one stone, built against the cliff wall. Above the two batteries is Forbes' Lookout. During the Second World War a 40-mm Mark 3 gun on a mobile mounting was placed in Upper Forbes Battery in 1942 and remained there until December 1944. A Second World War iron cupola cantilevered out from the rock face housed a searchlight.[4]
References
- ^ Ehlen, Judy; Harmon, Russell S. (2001). The Environmental Legacy of Military Operations. Geological Society of America. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-8137-4114-7. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ "1859 Map of the Fortifications of Gibraltar". UK National Archives MPH 1/23. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ Wilder, Hawthorne Harris (31 October 2007). Man's Prehistoric Past. Wildside Press LLC. p. 415. ISBN 978-1-4344-9439-9. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Crone, Jim. "Forbes Battery - index to fortifications". Discover Gibraltar. Archived from the original on 5 September 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
