Hawkins Battery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hawkins Battery |
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Two 9.2-inch Breech Loading High Angle fire guns were mounted in the battery after 1910.
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 Hawkins Battery
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| Coordinates | 50°20′36″N 4°11′43″W / 50.3433°N 4.1954°W, |
| Site information | |
| Owner | Privately owned |
| Open to the public |
No |
| Condition | Complete |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1888-1892 |
| Materials | Masonry Concrete |
Hawkins Battery is an old coastal artillery battery built a long time ago. Its main job was to protect the important Royal Naval Dockyard at Devonport. This dockyard was a key place where navy ships were built and repaired.
Contents
What is Hawkins Battery?
Hawkins Battery is a type of military building. It was designed to hold large guns that could fire at enemy ships from the coast. These guns were placed in special spots called "gun positions." The battery also had places for soldiers to live and work.
Building the Battery
Construction of Hawkins Battery began in 1888 and finished in 1892. It was built using strong materials like masonry (stone or brickwork) and concrete. This made it very tough and able to withstand attacks.
Original Guns and Their Purpose
When it was first built, Hawkins Battery had four large guns. These were called 9-inch Rifled Muzzle Loading (RML) guns. Imagine a huge cannon where you loaded the cannonball from the front!
These guns were special because they could fire in a "high angle" way. This meant the cannonball would go very high into the air before falling down onto enemy ships. This "plunging fire" was good for hitting the less protected decks (the top parts) of warships.
How the Battery Was Protected
The battery was built with strong defenses to keep it safe.
Walls and Ditches
Thick concrete walls surrounded the battery. There were also ditches around the outside. These ditches made it harder for enemies to get close.
Caponiers and Magazines
Inside the battery, there were small, strong buildings called "caponiers." These were like mini-forts or pill boxes. They were placed to fire along the ditches, making it very dangerous for anyone trying to sneak in.
Underneath the ground, there were "magazines." These were safe, underground rooms where ammunition (the cannonballs and gunpowder) was stored. This kept the dangerous materials protected from enemy fire.
Living Quarters
Hawkins Battery also had rooms for the people who worked there. There was accommodation for a caretaker, who looked after the battery. There were also shelters for the gun detachments, who were the soldiers operating the guns during wartime.
Upgrades and Later Use
Over the years, Hawkins Battery was updated to keep up with new military technology.
Newer Guns
After 1910, the battery was changed to hold two newer, more powerful guns. These were 9.2-inch Breech Loading (BL) high angle fire guns. "Breech Loading" means the ammunition was loaded from the back of the gun, which was much faster. These guns stayed in place until 1922.
Second World War and Beyond
Hawkins Battery was used for military purposes again during the Second World War. However, it was sold by the War Office (the government department in charge of the army) in 1959.
Hawkins Battery Today
Today, Hawkins Battery is still complete. It has been turned into a camping and holiday park. This means visitors can now stay in a place that was once a vital part of Britain's coastal defenses!
