Levant Battery
This now derelict battery stands above the southern plateau and was part of the Windmill Hill batteries. It is a prominent feature seen by walkers on the Mediterranean Steps path from where the photograph below was taken.

Named because it was sited below the Levanter cloud, thus having a clear field of view when the higher batteries on the ridge were obscured. Designed as a single gun battery, it was begun in April 190 I and by August 1903 it mounted one 9.2 inch BL Mk. X gun on a Mk V mounting. In the photograph below the battery is located in the lower circle, approximately 100 metres above can be seen observation posts known as Fire Control South (middle circle), the top circle indicates the position of Spur 9.2 inch Gun Battery. Fire Control South would have provided range and target information for these batteries and others on the upper ridge during occasions when the top of the Rock was covered by the famous Levanter cloud.

Click here for 360 panorama at Fire Control South

The photographs above and below were taken after the gun was decommissioned in the late 1970's, the gun was later removed for scrap.

The photograph below show the current condition of the battery.

When the armament was approved in 1901 there was provision for two guns, the present one to bear on Mediterranean waters and a Mark X with a range of 14,000 yards to bear on land batteries in Spain.

On 31 December 1915 Levant Battery took part in Gibraltar's only general action during the First World War when German submarines were sighted off the Rock. Firing began at 10.30 pm and ended at midnight. Other 9.2 inch guns fired rounds as well. The War Diary of the Gibraltar General Staff recorded, 'Result of action. One target disappeared, and a large explosion took place at another'.

On 23 March 1934, during practice fIring, a shell burst in the bore and a new barrel was installed on 20 April 1934.
The magazine and various rooms are in poor condition with signs of vandalism and decay

The upper and lower sections of the shell hoist can be seen in the two photographs above and below.

The photograph to the left shows the wooden benches and partition where the gun crew would change clothes and footwear before entering the magazine.

Gun Technical Data:
CALIBRE AND MK OF GUN
WEIGHT OF GUN AND MOUNTING

WEIGHT OF SHELL
WEIGHT OF CHARGE
WEIGHT OF BARREL
RANGE OF GUN
DISTANCE ACROSS STRAITS
DISTANCE ACROSS BAY

MUZZLE VELOCITY
RATE OF FIRE

 9.2 ins MK 10
204 TONS

380 LBS
109 LBS
28 TONS
29,600 YDS
25,500 YDS
9000 YDS

2,700 FT/SECOND
2 TO 3 ROUNDS PER MINUTE