O'Hara's Battery, Gibraltar

Rising at Gibraltar’s highest elevation-about 421 metres above sea level-O’Hara’s Battery takes its name from Governor General Charles O’Hara. The site’s origins date to the late 18th century, when it was home to O’Hara’s Tower, a lookout structure later nicknamed “O’Hara’s Folly” for its limited strategic value. After sustaining a lightning strike and proving militarily ineffective, the tower was demolished in 1888. In its place, a new battery was completed around 1890, equipped at first with a 6-inch breech-loading gun.

By 1901, the battery was upgraded with a formidable 9.2‑inch Mark X breech-loading gun, boasting a theoretical range of nearly 16 miles-enough to reach the shores of North Africa. During the 1930s, a steel shield was added to protect the gun from splinters and small-arms fire. O’Hara’s Battery remained operational through World War II, with its final firing taking place as part of training exercises in 1976.

Once a restricted military outpost, O’Hara’s Battery was refurbished in 2009, and officially reopened to the public in May 2010, now under the supervision of the Gibraltar Tourist Board. Visitors today can explore not just the impressive gun itself, but also the engine room, underground tunnels, magazines, and informative exhibits-including interpretive panels and, in some cases, film or interactive displays-bringing to life the ingenuity behind its hydraulic systems and historical context.