Garden Battery
The Garden Battery is a fortification in Malta . It was built in 1890/91 during the British rule over the islands. It is located on the northeast coast on the headland called Dragut's Point north of the entrance to Marsamxett Harbor between Fort Tigne and the Cambridge Battery .
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 faster than the British ships of that era at a maximum of 15 knots. 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. At the time, Malta was the most important British naval base in the Mediterranean after the Suez Canal . Securing the access to the ports with the Rinella and Cambridge Batteries and strengthening the fortifications in the Grand Harbor area initially had the highest priority.
Although the 450 mm cannon stationed in the Cambridge Battery was the largest artillery weapon of its time, it very soon no longer met the increased requirements. The increasing armor of warships required a higher penetration power, the advent of smaller and faster shiptypes a higher cadence . The effective combat range was also insufficient. Therefore the fortifications of Malta had to be expanded. Since the Cambridge Battery was tailored precisely to the 450 mm cannon and Fort Tigne was a building from the time of the Johanniter, which could only be expanded to a limited extent, the only option on the Tigne peninsula was the construction of a new battery between these two fortifications.
In 1885 the construction of a battery was first proposed at this point. The battery should be equipped with one BL 13.5 inch gun , two BL 10 inch gun and two BL 6 inch gun . However, the plans were not implemented.
construction
Construction of the battery began in April 1889. It was completed on December 14, 1894. The cost was £ 7,806. The Garden Battery was built from reinforced concrete , the surrounding walls are said to have extended from Fort Tigne to the Cambridge Battery. At least one connection to the Cambridge Battery could be proven on old maps. Three firing positions were set up immediately behind the sea-side wall of the battery. Two firing positions for a 6-inch cannon each were approx. 120 m apart, and the firing position for a 9.2-inch cannon was set up in the middle. Two trenches, one in the enemy direction directly in front of the gun emplacements and one immediately behind them, protected the battery and connected the existing trenches of the Cambridge battery and Fort Tigne . The arrangement of these trenches was unfavorable, as they were not protected by flanking fire and an opponent who had penetrated the trenches could penetrate the trench systems of the neighboring fortresses.
After construction, a BL 9.2 inch gun was used in the battery . It was the most modern rear-loading design at the time, with a range of 26,700 m. The gun was intended for combat against larger sea targets. The armament was supplemented by two BL 6 inch guns . With a range of approx. 9,100 m, they were intended for the fight against smaller and faster sea targets. All guns were mounted on an articulated mount, which enabled reloading under armor protection. In July 1906 it was proposed to convert the battery to two BL 9.2 inch guns, but these plans were never implemented. The armament was dismantled as early as 1907 when the armament in Fort Tigne was switched from older muzzle-loaders to two modern 9.2 inch BL.
Use in World War II
From 1937 an anti-aircraft unit for the air defense of Marsamxett Harbor was stationed in the battery. This is the 5th battery of the 2nd heavy flak regiment (HAA Rgt - Heavy Anti Aircraft Regiment) of the Royal Malta Artillery . It was equipped with four heavy anti-aircraft guns 3 "20cwt. This weapon was developed in 1914 and was the standard armament of the heavy British anti-aircraft batteries during the First World War. At the beginning of the Second World War, around 500 of these weapons were still available and were used. With a cadence of 16-18 rounds per minute could be fought against targets up to an altitude of about 5,000 m. In 1943 the weapons were dismantled and a shifting mechanism was installed in the battery.
Use after the Second World War
After the end of the Second World War, the battery was demilitarized and handed over to civilian use. Since awareness of the island's military legacy from the British period did not develop until the turn of the millennium, the battery, like most military systems from this period, was used inappropriately and in some cases was deeply encroached on the existing structure. Most of the battery structures were destroyed, only the gun emplacements and parts of the sea-side wall were preserved. The character of the peninsula was profoundly changed by the development.
The existing development plan provides for the preservation of Fort Tigne and the Garden Battery and their integration into the new development.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Quentin Hughes: Malta: a guide to the fortification, p. 42 online
- ↑ a b Captain JM Wismayer: British Fortifications in Sliema (1814-1943). In: Kunsill Lokali Tas-Sliema: Lehen il-Kunsill Tieghek, 2007
- ^ A b c Malta Environment and Planning Authority: Fort Cambridge Area Development Brief, 2005
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
- Captain JM Wismayer: British Fortifications in Sliema (1814-1943). In: Kunsill Lokali Tas-Sliema: Lehen il-Kunsill Tieghek, 2007
- Malta Environment and Planning Authority: Fort Cambridge Area Development Brief, 2005