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Secret Base Inside The Rock Of Gibraltar?

O

original_fLeebLe

Gone But Not Forgotten
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Many years ago while working on military contract work I spoke to many different people who told me about a secret base in the rock of Gibraltar. They spoke of a runway in the rock with a hidden door on the cliff face in a Thunderbirds style. Supposedly harriers operated out of it. Since finishing this work and not meeting military personnel anymore, I have not heard it mentioned. I have trawled the internet and not found anything on it. If it is true or not I would expect to find some writings about it somewhere. I know I did not imagine a conversation as many different people told me about it all from different military bases up and down the country. If you know anything about this story of this supposed base, please let us know as I am sure many people would of heard this story. :confused:
 
Yes, the janitor at my old school gave us a talk on it years ago (Primary 7? ~1995) when we were learning about the Falklands War. He was a helicopter technician during the war, but somehow the topic strayed (much to our delight!) to military secrets he wasn't allowed to tell us. Apparently the rock is pretty much hollow, with various entrances around the town and in cliffs/caves at the sides. There is a full military complex inside the rock, including space for servicing aircraft. Don't know much more about it, but I've heard it mentioned by various other people (servicemen at cadet camps, family members, friends...)
 
Yup. The Rock is like a sponge. I'm amazed it stays up, really. You could get lost in there forever if you weren't careful.
I have some quite cool photos of myself and the guys in the tunnels. Very dark, oddly enough.

:Edited for fear of getting visitors in red hats:
 
fleeble said:
They spoke of a runway in the rock with a hidden door on the cliff face in a Thunderbirds style. Supposedly harriers operated out of it.
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Do you know what the purpose of this runway was supposed to be. Harriers aren't particularly quiet, so one of them taking off wouldn't be very covert, and I can't see the facility staying secret for long.:confused:
 
Runways are generally used so aircraft can take off :rofl:

All the best secrets are well known :wow:
 
Well, some of the tunnels are big enough, but there's a perfectly good airfield right next to the rock with a runway big enough for a 737...they could use the tunnels as a bombproof hangar.
I do know of some 'secret' stuff in there, but I'm not about to post it here. :p
 
fleeble said:
Runways are generally used so aircraft can take off :rofl:
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Hey, it could have been for some sort of military fashion show. ;)

Seriously though, why have a runway tucked away inside, when its existance will be pretty obvious the first time that it's used?:confused:
 
Just relaying what I have been told in the past to see if anybody can enlighten me. A lot of squadies boasted and exagerated of it, but the reason I didn't take it as pure fiction was the fact of the amount of people who spoke about it. ;)
 
Come on Inverurie... spill the beans!

Just to tickle yor tastebuds though....

http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2001/04/maroney.htm

"............Gibraltar's main draw has always been its location, at the mouth of the Mediterranean. During World War II, Gibraltar was an important British air and naval base, used by the Allies for anti-submarine campaigns and during the invasion of North Africa. Its small airstrip, which sits along the border with Spain, is still pressed into service. The base is currently a stopover for British troops headed for the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone.

A bunker lies buried somewhere deep inside the Rock. In addition, the British military has dug thirty miles of tunnels, which are used for training infantry in specialized maneuvers. Rumor has it that the British have nuclear weapons stored in this subterranean warren; no one on the outside knows for certain whether this is true.

The British also consider the peninsula important for intelligence reasons. Near the southern tip of Gibraltar sits a massive radar dish, pointing toward Morocco. The dish monitors the Strait of Gibraltar, through which a significant amount of the world's sea traffic passes..................."
 
That article was written about the time I was there...Funky! :D
 
Thirty-four miles of tunnels under Gibraltar. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a secret military base.

The tunnels accommodated what amounted to an underground city. The entire 16,000-strong garrison could be housed there along with enough food to last them for 16 months. Within the tunnels there were also an underground telephone exchange, a power generating station, a water distillation plant, a hospital, a bakery, ammunition magazines and a vehicle maintenance workshop. They also housed one of Gibraltar's most secret places – Stay Behind Cave, built for Operation Tracer, a plan to maintain a secret observation post manned by six men within the Rock if it had fallen to a German invasion. It was not rediscovered until as recently as 1997.​
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If there isn't one, we need to make one happen! Also, Tracy Island.
 
Yithian said:
Thirty-four miles of tunnels under Gibraltar. I'd be surprised if there wasn't a secret military base.

The tunnels accommodated what amounted to an underground city. The entire 16,000-strong garrison could be housed there along with enough food to last them for 16 months. Within the tunnels there were also an underground telephone exchange, a power generating station, a water distillation plant, a hospital, a bakery, ammunition magazines and a vehicle maintenance workshop. They also housed one of Gibraltar's most secret places – Stay Behind Cave, built for Operation Tracer, a plan to maintain a secret observation post manned by six men within the Rock if it had fallen to a German invasion. It was not rediscovered until as recently as 1997.​
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My Dad spent three years of WW2 digging some of the tunnels (Royal Engineers). I have a couple of bits of Gibraltar he brought home with him somewhere.
 
Frideswide said:
Do they glow mysteriously at certain times??????
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No. Sadly. There's a snapped off bit of stalactite (or stalagmite) and a couple of unimpressive looking small chunks of rock. I don't recall seeing them in years but I expect they are still around somewhere.
 
AaaaHA! so they hide themselves! (I am determined there be something otherworldly about them) :)
 
Should've said: as a member of Sub Brit, I'm sure the magazine had published excellent plans & cutaways of The Rock. Must check.
 
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