This is a drone flight over the gun emplacements at East Point in Darwin (Northern Territory, Australia). These coastal batteries (2 x 9.2 inch Mk X and 2 x 6 inch Mark XI guns) were used as a defensive measure against a possible Japanese invasion in World War II, but nowadays are preserved as a nature park, museum, and a venue for music and theatre performances.
The museum is located in the former fire-control bunker and shows some nice features and lots of old army cars and material. There are two large casemates for a 9.2 inch gun. Around the site are several ammunition bunkers, generator rooms, personnel bunkers and emplacements for 6 inch guns. The battery looks more like the regular batteries that we can see all over Europe, except for the light construction of the bunkers.
The main threat came early in the war from German raiders and threat of Japanese raids or invasion, and hence all available ordnance was pressed into service, including some obsolete guns and field guns adapted for coast defence.
- The 9.2 inch Mk X was British breech loading 9.2 inch guns of 46.7 calibre, in service from 1899 to the 1950s as naval and coast defence guns. It had possibly the longest, most varied and successful service history of any British heavy ordnance.
- The 6 inch Gun Mark XI was a British 50 calibres high-velocity naval gun which was mounted as primary armament on cruisers and secondary armament on pre-dreadnought battleships from 1906 onwards.
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