The 9.2-inch Mark X breech-loading gun (pictured above) on display at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford Aerodrome in England originated at Spur Battery in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. By 1914, more than one hundred of the guns had been installed at emplacements in strategic areas across the British Empire. However, by 1981, Gibraltar's 9.2-inch guns were the only remnants of a weapon that had at one time been mounted on numerous artillery batteries. [Two more 9.2 inch Mk X guns survive at Oliver's Battery, on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. As of 2012, one has been restored, the other is still awaiting restoration.Rottnest Island#Military history] The Imperial War Museum's decision to preserve one of the weapons was based on its symbolism of Britain's links to Gibraltar since the turn of the eighteenth century, as well as its former status as the United Kingdom's most important gun for coastal defence.
