The Levant Battery is a 9.2-inch artillery battery situated in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the southern end of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, on Windmill Hill, beneath the observation post Fire Control South. Construction of the battery commenced in 1901 and was completed by 1903. It was named after the Levanter cloud, due to its position below it, providing an unobstructed view. The original plan for the battery was to host two weapons, but it was designed for only one.
By 1907, a supply of drinking water for the Levant Battery had been provided. The 9.2-inch gun was subsequently decommissioned in the 1970s and is now situated in a scrapyard. A community group formed with the purpose of recovering and restoring the gun. Woolwich Warren built a model of Gibraltar in 1798, which included a representation of the Levant Battery. Gibraltar's surviving 9.2-inch guns are a notable feature of its defenses, with five batteries remaining on the rock: Levant, Spur, Breakneck, O’Hara’s, and Lord Airey’s Batteries. Levant Battery is the only one that can easily be visited.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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