Upper Battery (Victoria)

 museum, military, place with historical importance, fortification, artillery battery

 Upload a photo

After passing through the grey concrete walls and massive steel gates of Upper Battery, visitors arrive at the Guardhouse. Built in 1895, the interior has been restored to what a typical British guardhouse of the time might have looked like. Interior exhibits show lifestyles, period uniform and weapons. An audio station sets the tone and evokes memories of the British Empire at its height.

The "Disappearing Gun" system was developed in the late 1800's as the last word in coastal defense against enemy ships. The gun was protected behind a concrete emplacement sunk into the ground. When a target had been spotted and all the necessary calculations made, the gun barrel would rise up, fire, and immediately sink back down to safety. It would have been almost impossible for a ship to drop a shell at a high enough angle to hit the gun position.

The 6-inch caliber gun here in Upper Battery was one of three in total at Fort Rodd Hill. It could fire a 100 lb. shell almost 7 miles. The barrel alone weighs 5 tons. It was a very accurate weapons system, but the "Disappearing" feature meant that the rate of fire was slowed. A well-trained gun team of 12 men might manage to fire one shot every two minutes.

The gun barrel on display is the original from this emplacement, first test fired in October of 1897. Unfortunately, the disappearing carriage it was mounted on no longer exists; the current mounting displays the gun as if it were in its firing position on the carriage.

www.fortroddhill.com/fort_rodd_hill.htm