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Tuesday 26 February 2019

I have been to ... Cartagena Military Museum: Coastal Defence Guns

As Cartagena is one of Spain's main naval bases (and has been for many years) it is not surprising that the local military museum contains examples of coastal defence artillery.

150/43 Mod.1903 150mm Coastal Defence Gun
This was designed by Captains Munáiz and Arguelles, and remained in service until 1965.


15.24mm ‘Vickers’ 152mm/6-inch Coastal Defence Gun
These guns were supplied to the Spanish by Vickers along with eighteen larger calibre guns (the 38.1/45 Mod.1926 381mm/15-inch Coastal Defence Gun) in the 1920s and early 1930s.




The museum also has a number of rangefinders on show.


The 38.1/45 Mod.1926 381mm/15-inch Coastal Defence Guns supplied by Vickers to Spain were originally located at:
  • Cartagena: 4 Guns (Batteries at Castillitos and Cenizas, each with 2 guns; the guns still in situ)
  • Ferrol and Coruña: 8 guns (Batteries at Cape Prior, Monte San Pedro, Campelo Alta, and Lobateiras, each with 2 guns; the guns at Monte San Pedro are still in situ, the rest having been scrapped [Cape Prior], removed [Lobateiras], or moved [Campelo Alta, whose guns were moved to Paloma Alta in 1941])
  • Menorca: 6 guns (Batteries at Favarix, Mahon and Llucalary, each with 2 guns. The guns at Mahon and Llucalary are still in situ, the guns at Favarix having been moved to Paloma Alta in 1944)
This gun is not the same as the BL 15-inch Mk I Naval Gun used by the Royal Navy, whose barrel was an L/42 and not an L/45 one.

1 comment:

  1. Geordie an Exiled FoG,

    They are small compared to the German Naval Gun I saw at Batterie Vara, Kristiansand in southern Norway.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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