Thursday 2 June 2022

1795 Fort Wynyard Bunkers and the disappearing Gun

 

1795 Fort Wynyard Bunkers and the disappearing Gun

On June 11, 1795, a squadron of British warships anchored in False Bay. In reaction the commander of the Cape forces ordered that a new battery, Kijk-in-de-pot Battery, be built on a hillock overlooking what is now Granger Bay.

Kijk-in-de-pot referenced the blubber pots of the whaling station in Granger Bay directly below the battery.

On 13 September of the same year the Dutch forces at the Cape capitulated.

 In 1827 the British decided to dismantle the Kijk-in-de-pot Battery, but after the outbreak it was rearmed on April 12, 1861.

The Kijk-in-de-pot battery was improved in 1862 and renamed after Lieutenant-General Robert Henry Wynyard. It remained operational until August 15, 1945.

On 14 May 1976 Fort Wynyard was proclaimed as a national monument.

In 1992 the fort became the headquarters of the Cape Garrison Artillery. 

Most of the 1880 guns around the world – similar to this one – had all been demolished. “The 22000kg gun has a hydraulic mechanism which raised the barrel to the top of the pit, which was covered by a shield, only the top part of the gun would stick out to fire and would go back in and gunners would reload it which would take about a minute. The gun could swivel as it has wheels,”

Comment: Easy educational adventure walking Tour with a touch of Military History suitable for all. Operating when the Military feels like it. Maximum 25 participants.



















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