Historic east–west Gibraltar tunnel, now secure data storage facility.
Admiralty Tunnel is a 1,000‑metre tunnel inside the Rock of Gibraltar, the only one running east–west. Built to move stone from eastern quarries to build a new navy base, it later housed an Allied operations centre where Dwight Eisenhower planned Operation Torch. Today it contains a secure data facility.
Admiralty Tunnel is a tunnel inside the Rock of Gibraltar, owned by the Government of Gibraltar and operated by Continent 8. It is the only tunnel that runs from the east to the west of the Rock and is around 1,000 metres long, cut in a straight line without bends. The tunnel was created to bring stone from quarries on the east side of Gibraltar to Gibraltar Harbour on the west side, helping to construct a new navy base that began in 1893. A one‑metre narrow‑gauge railway inside the tunnel carried the stone. During the Second World War the tunnel was enlarged, and an approximately 3,000‑square‑metre area about halfway along became an Allied Command Headquarters communications and operations centre. Protected by metres of rock, it contained the board room where Dwight Eisenhower planned the Allied invasion of North Africa, Operation Torch. Eisenhower not only commanded the operation but became the first non‑British commander of Gibraltar in 200 years. The complex had its own fresh‑air, electricity, lighting and external communication systems. Today that 3,000‑square‑metre space is a very secure data storage facility, previously run by Vault Technology Services and now by Continent 8. It is divided into 80 rooms and is not open to the public, though the straight tunnel can be viewed from end to end, with access at the west from Queensway.
