Two 10 in. 18 ton rifled muzzle loaders

Ref: HLMP2/028

The RML 10-inch guns Mk I – Mk II were large rifled muzzle-loading guns designed for British battleships and monitors in the 1860s to 1880s. They were also used for fixed coastal defences around the United Kingdom and around the British Empire until the early years of the 20^th Century. A number of these guns were mounted in Gibraltar of which nine remain. The current position of these guns are as follows:

Grand Parade – two guns on slide.

King’s Bastion – two guns behind Gibraltar Shields.

Orange bastion – two guns behind Gibraltar Shields.

Parson’s Lodge – one gun on slide.

South Port Gates – one gun on slide.

Prince Ferdinand’s Battery – Imbedded against Charles V Wall (a RML 9-inch gun Mk I is imbedded on opposite side)

10-inch RML Grand Parade (right).

10-inch RML Grand Parade (left).

In his annual report for 1866/67 the Director of Ordnance reported that four 12-inch and twenty 9-inch RML guns had been approved for Gibraltar and that of the 676 pieces of ordnance mounted 35 were 7-inch RBL guns. There was a reserve of about one fourth of the mounted ordnance. Sixteen of the 9-inch were received in Gibraltar in late 1867, as recorded in the 1867/68 report by which time the number of guns mounted had been reduced to 653. These guns were provided in implementation of Jervois’s plan in the late 1860s although the number and calibre was changed from the original plan with 12.5-inch guns allocated in place of the 11-inch and a number of 10-inch added instead. Eventually there were 7-inch, 8-inch, 9-inch, 10-inch and 12.5-inchh RML guns emplaced for the defence of the fortress.

RML 10-inch 18 ton gun diagrams.

In 1892, it was decided to remove 10-inch RML's from Orange Bastion, Parson's Lodge and Engineer Battery the opportunity was taken to replace some 9-inch guns with the heavier 10-inch. Calpe was one of the batteries selected and three 10-inch RMLs replaced the 9-inch guns there. They would remain there until the 24^th December 1903, when the War Office authorised the replacement of the 10-inch at Calpe by three 6-inch BL Hark IV/VI guns on Vavasseur central pivot mountings instead. However, these plans were never executed and the obsolete 10-inch guns were dismounted by January 1906 and never replaced.

In 1898, as 10-inch RML's became available from other obsolete batteries two were mounted in Farrington’s Battery. These guns were removed from the Armament list in January 1906. One of the barrels was abandoned for many years in the sunken approach way to princess Lines in Moorish Castle Estate. In the mid 1990’s the Royal Engineers removed the barrel and transported it to Parson’s Lodge.

Four 10-inch RML's were mounted at King’s Bastion. The authority for the 10-inch guns is found in WOL Gib/2/2524 dated 10^th December 1869 and WOL Gib/5/325 dated 29^th April 1874. Work commenced in December 1870 and was completed on the 19^th May 1877. Two of the four guns remain at King’s Bastion with the other two removed and placed in Orange Bastion in 2008 as a consequence of the refurbishment of the King’s Bastion leisure Centre complex.

In August 1895, work began on the construction of a deep pit for six 10-inch RML High Angle guns, in two rows of three guns each at Middle Hill Battery, later to be known as Spy Glass Battery. The six guns were installed by March 1900 and mounted on Mark IV carriages. From their concealed positions firing at angles from 26 to 70 degrees they could achieve a range of from 2775 to 9225 yards and the idea was to bring plunging fire down on to the decks of enemy vessels but more specifically to fire upon heavy vessels already disabled by the fire of other guns or which were anchored or moving slowly. The Position Finders were at Catalan I, for the east water and at Genoese I for the west. For fire to the landward side the battery had two Observing Stations, one on Commercial Mole for the l e f t observer and one at Green's Lodge for the right observer. The battery had an all-round arc of fire. The guns were almost obsolete before they were mounted and were removed in December 1907.

Three 10-inch RHL guns in open shielded emplacements were mounted at Parson’s Lodge with masonry work and iron shields being erected as from December 1872. The guns were placed in position around nine months later and removed between 1889 and 1892.

In the 1870’s South Bastion was reconstructed to take on three 10-inch RML guns in iron shielded casemates. These guns were subsequently removed in 1900.

Plan of South Bastion 1890.

In 1843, Victoria Battery built on top of part of the earlier Prince of Wales Battery became one of the retired batteries suggested in Major-General Sir John Thomas Jones report of 1848 and mounted fifteen 32-pdr. guns in 1850, seven of which were replaced in 1863 by 68-pdrs.

In December 1872, two 9-inch guns were mounted at Victoria Battery in the Alameda but these were later replaced by two 10-inch guns when these became available. A plan of 1885 shows two open shielded emplacements for 10-inch RML's to the south and to the north seven open emplacements with racers for traversing carriages. The battery nicknamed "Snake in the Grass Battery" due to its irregular undulating shape, measured about 200 yards (180 m) long stretching from what is today the entrances of Picton, Red Sands, Ross and Governor’s Meadow House. The 10-inch gun emplacements were located at the far-right of this battery where Ross and Governor’s Meadow House are located today. These guns were removed in 1900.

Victoria Battery by J.M. Carter, 1846.

Victoria Battery circa 1900. The 2 10-inch gun emplacements can be seen in the centre of the image. To the left is the gun emplacement for the 100-ton gun, also part of Victoria Battery. To the right is prince of Wales Battery which mounted two more 10-inch guns.

Prince of Wales Battery.

The two 10-inch RML’s on slides overlooking the present Grand Parade car park were placed there as a monument in the late 1920’s or early 1930’s. These guns were probably those removed from Victoria Battery a few hundred metres to the South of their present position. A postcard produced by the French photographer Lucien Roisin Besnar dating to around the 1930’s shows the two 10-inch guns already in situ. The steps and guns would be a popular venue for group photographs for a number of army units in Gibraltar during WWII.

The 10-inch gun mounted on the right was cast in 1870 and can be identified by the number RGF 50, the gun on the left was cast in 1873 and bears the number RGF 273.