Fort St Leonardo
The Fort Leonardo (including Fort San Leonardo, Leonardo Fort or Fort San Anard) is a fortification on Malta . It was built in 1875 at the time of British rule over the islands. It is located on the northeast coast of the island approximately 4.6 km southeast of Fort St Elmo and 6.6 km north of Delimara Point. Fort St Leonardo is an almost completely preserved example of the coastal fortifications from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
prehistory
Immediately after the British took over the islands in 1800, the fortifications built by the Order of St. John were used almost unchanged. In accordance with the military theoretical ideas of the time, the Royal Navy operating in the Mediterranean was seen as the most reliable protection against an invasion of the islands. The situation changed, however, with the merging of the fleets of Sardinia , the Bourbons, Sicily and the Papal States on November 17, 1860 and the establishment of the Regia Marina Italiana on March 17, 1861. The beginning of the armament of the Italian fleet was seen by the British as a threat to them felt dominant role in the Mediterranean. In 1873 the Regia Marina laid the battleships Caio Duilio and Enrico Dandolo on Kiel. Equipped with four 450 mm cannons each and heavily armored, they were 15 knots faster than the British ships of that era. At the same time, artillery was revolutionized with the introduction of cannon firing shells.
The emerging development made it clear that the fortifications on Malta had to be strengthened. After securing the entrances to the ports with the Rinella and Cambridge Batteries and strengthening the fortifications in the Grand Harbor area , securing the relatively flat north coast, which is therefore well suited for landings, had top priority. A number of forts were built here between 1872 and 1878. Fort San Leonardo is part of this line of fortifications and formed its right flank. At a distance of about 2.5 km in a north-westerly direction was the next point on the line, Fort San Rocco .
Colonel William Jervois suggested in his memorandum of June 23, 1866 that a battery be built at this point. The system was one of four batteries to be created to defend the entrances to the Grand Harbor . Each of these batteries should be equipped with two RML 23 ton guns . In 1872 plans included the construction of a hexagonal fort. The facility was known as Fort Tombrell . In the same year the defense committee changed the name to Fort St. Leonardo . It was planned to equip three RML 11inch 25 ton guns . In 1879, the scaffolding of a fourth cannon of this type was planned on the right flank of the fort, since according to the original plans there was a blind spot.
construction
The facility was completed in 1878. The fort itself has an approximately triangular floor plan, the legs of the triangle are approx. 170 m long. The entire fort is surrounded by a 6–7 m wide moat. There were two trench strokes in the trench itself . The walls were originally made of rubble and were later reinforced with concrete. In the sea-side, around 213 m long wall, there were fixed firing positions for a total of six cannons of the coastal artillery. While this wall was extremely strong, the other sides were made thinner. The entrance to the fort was on its south side. Within the outer fort, in the southwest corner, there is another inner fort, which was called the Keep . The keep was higher than the rest of the complex and was separated from it by a ditch protected by two caponiers. A long flesche was placed in front of the keep on the land side , on which field guns could be set up to protect the land side of the fort. The access was on the west side of the facility. It was made over a drawbridge and was protected by a ravelin .
First, four RML 11 inch guns were placed in the fort . These cannons were still muzzle-loaders, but the barrel already had trains. This enabled the firing range and accuracy to be significantly increased compared to the smooth-barreled cannons previously used. Since the cannons were loaded from the front, they could only be placed open, over the parapet of the surrounding ramparts. As a result, the operation of the cannon and the gun itself were hardly protected against enemy fire. The gun emplacements were arranged asymmetrically in the left area of the fort. This armament was supplemented by four RML 64 pounder 64 cwt guns on disappearing carts , three RML 40 pounder guns on disappearing carts known as Counterweight Carriage , two field cannons on the bottle, four light mortars and four SBBL 32 pounders in the capons and trench strokes.
The coastal fortifications in the northeastern part of the island were strengthened in 1882 by Żonqor Battery and in 1889 by the Delle Grazie Battery .
From the 1880s onwards, muzzle-loading cannons were replaced by breech-loading guns in British coastal fortifications. In July 1884 it was planned to convert Fort St Leonardo to two BL 6 inch guns . However, these plans were not implemented.
The keep had turned out to be the biggest disadvantage of the system. It was higher than the facility and was exposed to enemy fire. Nicholson and Goodenough estimated in 1888 that arming the Keep was virtually impossible. Since the access was only via a spiral staircase, the armament should have been installed permanently. Another disadvantage was the vertically bricked bonnets in the gun emplacements. This is a raised part of the parapet that was supposed to protect the guns and their operators in the positions. In St Leonardo the bonnets were about eight feet higher than the parapet and were a conspicuous target from the sea. In addition, when hit, there was a risk that parts of the bonnets would split off and the gun crews also endangered.
Two additional cannons of the type BL 9.2 inch gun Mk IX were installed in Fort San Leonardo in November 1898 . They should serve to ward off attacks from larger surface units. With a projectile weight of 170 kg (380 pounds) a range of 26,700 m could be achieved. These cannons found their place in the right part of the fort. In 1906 the conversion to the BL 9.2 inch gun Mk X was considered because the mountings of the Mk IX were inadequate. The left gun should be moved further east.
Gatehouse
Ditch on the sea side, in the ditch the trench marks, on the left the parapet reinforced with concrete
RML 11 inch gun
BL 9.2 inch with protective shield, as it was also installed in Fort St Leonardo
BL 4 inch Mk VII gun on field tripod, as it was stored in the fort during the Second World War, according to Quentin Hughes
mk2.jpg)
Use in World War II
During the Second World War, the 23rd battery of the 4th Heavy Regiment of the Royal Artillery , according to other information, the 10th Heavy Battery with two BL 9.2 inch gun Mk X guns was stationed in the fort. Together with the 6 "BL Mk VII cannon, this was the most widespread type of gun used by the British coastal artillery between 1900 and 1950. With the two BL 9.2 inch it succeeded in the night of May 16-17, 1942 in cooperation with other coastal batteries Fend off attack by Italian speedboats , which sank one boat and damaged another.
Several machine-gun bunkers were built between the fort and the coast . These MG bunkers have a square floor plan and have two floors inside. The reinforced concrete ceiling was 381 mm thick, the side walls made of the same material 254 mm. Access was through a steel door on the ground floor. The main armament, usually two water-cooled Vickers machine guns , fired through diagonally opposite slots on the first floor. Both floors were also provided with loopholes, which, like the slots for the machine gun, could be closed with sheet steel panels. The fire was directed by an observer who found his place in a slotted turret on the roof of the building. The crew consisted of this observer and one gunner and one loader for each machine gun. These bunkers could develop enormous firepower against dismounted enemies, but were ineffective against armored vehicles. They were unprotected against direct hits from heavy artillery. Protection against the use of warfare agents could only be ensured by the gas masks of the crew. The crew of these towers was able to repel weak enemies and stop stronger enemy forces, but required the support of the coastal artillery.
Use after the Second World War
Due to the changed geostrategic situation of Malta and the further development of armament and equipment, Fort St Leonardo, like the other coastal fortifications of Malta, quickly lost value and was abandoned. There is currently a farm in the fort. Most of the fort has been preserved in its original state. The 11-inch guns originally used are currently on display at Fort Mosta .
See also
literature
- Quentin Hughes : Malta. A guide to the fortifications. Said International, 1993. ISBN 99909-43-07-9 .
- Charles Stephenson: The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945. Osprey Publishing Limited, 2004, ISBN 1-84176-836-7 .
- Denis Castillo: The Maltese Cross, a Strategic History of Malta.
Web links
- Palmerston Forts Society ( October 8, 2009 memento on the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 35 ° 52 ′ 40 ″ N , 14 ° 33 ′ 35 ″ E