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Malta - Fort Rinella, Kalkara
We researched Fort Rinella, Kalkara, on the Mediterranean Coast east of Grand Harbour Entrance during our visit to Malta in 2011
Fort Rinella's renowned 100-ton gun
Entrance charges apply.
Fort Rinella is a Victorian fortification on the island of Malta. It is also referred to as the Rinella Battery in some maps and publications
Fort Rinella, Kalkara is the home of the renowned 100-ton gun.
Fort Rinella in Kalkara,was built in 1878. The fort is not only a unique remnant of Malta’s recent British colonial past, but it was also the world’s first mechanical fort which enabled its small garrison to fire a monstrous 100-ton gun every six minutes out to sea - with a range of about 4 miles!
From Wiki entry: "The fort is modest in size as it was designed to operate and protect the single large gun, with its associated gun crew, magazines, bunkers, support machinery and the detachment of troops stationed within the fort to defend the installation.
The fort was designed to engage enemy warships at ranges up to 7,000 yards. The low profile of the fort and the deeply buried machinery rooms and magazines were intended to enable it to survive counterfire from capital warships.
The fort has no secondary armament; its fortifications, simply ditches, caponiers, a counter-scarp gallery and firing points, were intended mostly for small arms fire and grenades.
The massive gun is far too heavy to be laid by hand, and the fort therefore contained a steam powered hydraulic system that traversed, elevated and depressed the gun, operated a pair of hydraulic powered loading and washing systems, and powered the shell lifts that moved the 2,000 pound shells and 450 pound blackpowder charges from the magazines into the loading chambers."
The fort is managed by the Malta Heritage Trust - Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna.
The Malta Heritage Trust also operate:
The Lascaris War Rooms, Valletta.
Malta at War Museum, Vittoriosa (Birgu).
The Malta Noon-day Gun spectacle has been sponsored by the Malta Tourism Authority in conjunction with The Malta Heritage Trust.
www.WirtArtna.org
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