Coastal artillery battery in Gibraltar housing a surviving 100-ton gun.
Napier of Magdala Battery is a coastal artillery battery on Gibraltar’s south‑western cliffs, overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar and Rosia Bay. Built by the British Government, it houses one of two surviving Armstrong 100‑ton guns, nicknamed “The Rockbuster,” and is owned by the Government of Gibraltar and open to the public.
Napier of Magdala Battery is a former coastal artillery battery on the south‑western cliffs of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, overlooking the Bay of Gibraltar and Rosia Bay. Built by the British Government as part of the fortifications of Gibraltar, it is controlled by Gibraltar, owned by the Government of Gibraltar, and in good condition. It is open to the public and garrisoned by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. In 1883 the British Government installed a single 100‑ton gun, a 450 mm rifled muzzle‑loading gun made by Armstrong Whitworth, at this position near Rosia Bay. The battery was named Napier of Magdala after Field Marshal Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, who served as Governor of Gibraltar from 1876 to 1883. The gun now at Napier of Magdala Battery originally armed Victoria Battery but was moved after the original gun there split during firing practice. The gun acquired the nickname “The Rockbuster.” During World War II the British Army stationed a battery of four 3.7‑inch quick‑firing anti‑aircraft guns and two Bofors quick‑firing anti‑aircraft guns at the site. The Rockbuster was last fired in 2002, using a very small signalling charge, to mark the 2002 Calpe Conference between Gibraltar and Malta.
