Disappearing Gun.

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The disappearing gun was ''fired'' at North Head today. It wasn't really, a charge was fired to film as part of a documentary.

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https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-n...nds-north-shore

This is underground at the guns, my boys are now grown up and have left home.



You can see some smaller guns in the background in the article, here are my boys climbing on one of them.



North Head defended the entry to Waitemata Harbour, the last defense. There were other disapearing guns at Fort Takapuna, these defended Rangitoto Channel. North Head was opened to the public in 1996, Fort Takapuna earlier this century. The first time I saw Fort Takapuna was at a motorcycle gathering. The fort is set below ground level, the guns disappearing into the fort to reload.



Rangitoto Channel. Rangitoto Island in the background.




Some other firing stations. Obviously I was taking a picture of the bike, not of the background.

 
It looks like pretty sophisticated technology for being late 1800's IMO.

What war would have been going on in New Zealand back then?
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
What war would have been going on in New Zealand back then?


NOTHING !!!

But don't worry Australia has similar stuff, guarding the harbour just incase the Russian Tsar sails to the other side of the world to steal our desert and New Zealand's rain to make errrrr... Mud !!

Where would the free world be if that happened !
 
There are a few of those guns at Fort Pickens, Pensacola fl,,,great tours there...If you camp at Fort Pickens and are a senior, you can stay for about 14 bucks a day,,yep....
 
Awesome photos. Out here in Washington state we have some very similar forts. They too fired a type of disappearing gun.
Ft. Worden, Ft. Flagler, and Ft. Casey. The were set up in a triangle to create a barrage of fire.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
It looks like pretty sophisticated technology for being late 1800's IMO.

What war would have been going on in New Zealand back then?


If you wait for the war before you build your defences, you have already lost the war.
 
Singapore was considered well defended with its gun emplacements covering the harbor. The Japanese invaded from the rear. The guns were useless. France's Maginot line was "impregnable" Unless German troops marched through Belgium, twice. Neat pics, Silk
 
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The volcanic cones of Auckland were fortified long before Europeans came here. Most of them were occupied by Maori tribes, and they defended them. North Head, being at the entrance to the harbour is an obvious choice.

There is more than one way into the Waitemata Harbour, Rangitoto Channel has been covered, Motutapu Island almost touches Rangitoto, Motutapu to Waiheke Island is the Rakino Channel, this was covered by guns and a mine field in WWII. They could also go right around Waiheke Island and come in from the south. There was a large gun emplacement at the south end of Waiheke Island, called Stony Batter to cover this approach. When I lived there we used to go down to Stony Batter, no guns, but the tunnels and gun emplacements are still there.
 
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