Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA) will be holding an open day at Fort Rinella in Kalkara on Sunday, during which the monstrous 100-tonne cannon will be fired. Some of the activities that will be organised on the day include guided tours in Maltese and English; firing of period artillery, musketry drills, bayonet practice, military signalling and lively re-enactments that demonstrate how the fort would have been defended in case of enemy attack. There will be two major re-enactment displays at 11am and 2.30pm during which the fort will be brought back to life, and the gun will be fired at 3.30pm.
Fort Rinella was built by the British in 1878 as part of a set of four equally-designed coastal batteries in Gibraltar and Malta. Each fort was armed with a single 100-ton gun. This huge gun was originally designed by the eminent Victorian English engineer and inventor Sir William George Armstrong of Newcastle for the Italian navy. A new class of battleships was then being built in Italy which was to be armed with the world’s largest cannon.
As a result, Britain, which at that time relied on the use of the Mediterranean as a quick route to India, opted to arm its two main stations in the region with the same type of armament. Hence, two coastal batteries were built in Malta – Forts Rinella and Cambridge – and another two in Gibraltar. The 100-ton gun fired a one-ton shell up to a distance of eight miles (almost 13 kms), piercing 21-inches of wrought iron armour within that distance. To propel its shells, it used a quarter of a ton of gunpowder, worth the daily salary of 2,700 soldiers for a day!
The gun has gone down in history not only as the world’s largest muzzle-loading cannon ever built, but also as the first to be powered mechanically. Given its gargantuan size, Sir William George Armstrong was compelled to employ a steam-driven hydraulic set-up for this gun which allowed it to traverse, elevate and load. Using this system, the gun could be loaded, aimed and fired in just six minutes!
Since 1991, Fort Rinella has been undergoing active restoration and management by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna. The historic fort is open to the public on a daily basis with guided tours being held on the hour, in addition to a historical re-enactment display at 2.30pm.
A specially-reduced entrance fee for the day will be charged at Lm3 per adult (instead of Lm5) inclusive of re-enactment displays. Children up to 16 years of age will be admitted free of charge. Entrance for FWA members will be free of charge on presentation of a valid membership card.
For further information, contact the FWA head office on tel.: 2180-0992, or visit the FWA website: www.
wirtartna.org.