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Coaling Island

Areas of GibraltarGibraltar geography stubs
Car park and Quay in Gibraltar
Car park and Quay in Gibraltar

Coaling Island is an area of reclaimed land in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located at the centre of the western end of Gibraltar Harbour as one of its industrial zones. It also serves to harbour Cormorant Camber which berths small boats. The Royal Gibraltar Yacht Club was located there after the Ministry of Defence Boat Squadron freed up the site.During World War II there was a fire at Coaling Island. A Spaniard, José Martín Muñoz, who was working in Gibraltar created an explosion and fire at a fuel tank on 30 June 1943. Because of this he was under scrutiny and in August he was arrested as he attempted to place a bomb inside Ragged Staff Magazine. Muñoz was later hanged by Albert Pierrepoint. In 2012, a Mediterranean monk seal was spotted on the jetty of the private boat owners club at Coaling Island.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Coaling Island (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Coaling Island
Coaling Island Road, Gibraltar

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 36.1375 ° E -5.3576 °
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Coaling Island Road
GX11 1AA Gibraltar
Gibraltar
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Car park and Quay in Gibraltar
Car park and Quay in Gibraltar
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Great Siege of Gibraltar
Great Siege of Gibraltar

The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution. It was the largest battle in the war by number of combatants.On 16 June 1779, Spain entered the war on the side of France and as co-belligerents of the revolutionary United Colonies—the British base at Gibraltar was Spain's primary war aim. The vulnerable Gibraltar garrison under George Augustus Eliott was blockaded from June 1779 to February 1783, initially by the Spanish alone, led by Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor. The blockade proved to be a failure because two relief convoys entered unmolested—the first under Admiral George Rodney in 1780 and the second under Admiral George Darby in 1781—despite the presence of the Spanish fleets. The same year, a major assault was planned by the Spanish, but the Gibraltar garrison sortied in November and destroyed much of the forward batteries. After the Spanish consistently failed to either defeat the garrison or prevent the arrival of relief efforts, the besiegers were reinforced by French forces under de Crillon, who took over command in early 1782. After a lull in the siege, during which the Franco-Spanish besiegers gathered more guns, ships and troops, a "Grand Assault" was launched on 13 September 1782. This involved huge numbers—60,000 men, 49 ships of the line and 10 specially designed, newly invented floating batteries—against the 5,000 defenders. The assault proved to be a disastrous and humiliating failure, resulting in heavy losses for the Bourbon attackers. This was the largest action fought during the war in terms of numbers. The final sign of defeat for the allies came when a crucial British relief convoy under Admiral Richard Howe slipped through the blockading fleet and arrived at the garrison in October 1782. The siege was finally lifted on 7 February 1783 and resulted in a decisive victory for the British. The siege was a factor in ending the American Revolutionary War—the Peace of Paris negotiations were reliant on news from the siege, particularly at its climax.At three years, seven months and twelve days, it is the longest siege endured by the British Armed Forces.