Palmerston Fort - Drake's Island

The 1859 Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom recommended a huge programme of new fortifications to defend Plymouth. On Drake's Island, the existing battery at the centre of the island was to be replaced by five 12-inch muzzle loading guns in open emplacements. A new battery was to be built on the southwestern end, of twenty one 9-inch guns in an arc of stone casemates with iron shields. The work was not complete in 1880. Six 12-pounder quick firing guns were added in 1897 and three 6-inch guns became the main armament in 1901; the original muzzle loaders were dumped under a pile of earth. Finally. in 1942, a modern twin 6-pounder gun was installed.