Europa Point, the southern end of Gibraltar, has long been a site of fortifications. Among those structures is Harding's Battery, named for Sir George Harding, who built it on the remains of the 7th Europa Battery in 1859. Initially, it housed two 18-pounder guns, but in 1863, they were replaced with 32-pounders. In 1868, a Rifled Muzzle Loading gun was added to the arsenal, which could fire 800-pound projectiles (the source material does not specify the nationality of this gun). However, by World War II, it was removed. In 2010, the area underwent a makeover, unearthing Harding's Battery from under a mound of sand and converting the magazine below into a visitor center with displays providing information on local history. In 2013, a 12.5-inch 48-ton RML gun (which is actually the same as one installed on the battery in the 1870s) was installed on a replica carriage at Harding's Battery.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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