Alexandra Battery is a coastal artillery battery in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. It was constructed at the neck of the South Mole (originally the New Mole) to enfilade the coastal

fortifications of Gibraltar The Gibraltar peninsula, located at the far southern end of Iberia, has great strategic importance as a result of its position by the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. It has repeatedly been contested bet ...

. The battery stood on the site of several previous fortifications; it was built over the

New Mole Battery New Mole Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Description The New Mole Battery is used by the Gibraltar Fire Brigade ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gi ...

, which was itself constructed on the site of an old Spanish fort in front of the Tuerto Tower. The battery owed its construction to the recommendations of an 1868 report by Colonel (later General) William Jervois. He proposed that a new battery should be constructed on the site to house a RML 38 ton gun – at the time, the heaviest

rifled muzzle-loading A muzzle-loading rifle is a muzzle-loaded small arm or artillery piece that has a rifled barrel rather than a smoothbore. The term "rifled muzzle loader" typically is used to describe a type of artillery piece, although it is technically accurate fo ...

gun in the British Army's inventory – in a

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which artillery, guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to Ancient history, antiquity, th ...

protected by an iron shield. It was named after Alexandra of Denmark, the wife of Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). He laid the foundation stone in 1876 and the battery was finished two years later, but it was already out of date by 1902, and by 1906 it had been converted into accommodation casemates. The slide and the mounting were subsequently scrapped but the 12.5 inch gun was moved to near

Engineer Battery Engineer Battery was an artillery battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Description Engineer Battery was at the southern end of the Line Wall Curtain which starts at the North Bastion. The battery was at the end of what was the ...

and finally relocated to Harding's Battery in 2013. In 1940, a QF 2-pounder Pom-pom gun was installed on the top of the casemates to protect the South Mole and a Bofors 40 mm gun was installed in 1941 to provide anti-aircraft defence. The battery still exists and is reportedly in a relatively good condition.

References

Batteries in Gibraltar {{Gibraltar-struct-stub