St . David ' s Battery , Bermuda St . David ' s Battery , also known as the " Examination Battery " , was a fixed battery of rifled breech - loader ( RBL ) artillery guns , built and manned by the Royal Garrison Artillery and the Royal Engineers , and their part - time reserves , the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers , part of the Bermuda Garrison of the British Army . One of the last of a large number of fort s and fortified gun batteries built primarily during the course of the 19th Century to protect the British colony of Bermuda , and its Royal Naval Dockyard , the battery was completed in 1910 . Whereas the batteries and forts built prior to this , all of which housed coastal artillery , were originally designed to be equipped with canon , or rifled muzzle - loading guns ( although some were later redesigned to house RBL guns ) , St . David ' s Battery was the first designed specifically for rifled breech loaders . The battery is equipped with two 9 . 2 inch Mk . X , and two BL 6 inch Mk VII guns , on Central Pivot Mk II mount , all with 360 degrees of traverse , and all built by Vickers . The battery is sited on top of Great Head ( the larger of the two heads that together make up St . David ' s Head ) , at the East end of the Island of St . David ' s , itself at the East end of the archipelago of Bermuda . Bermuda sits just inside the southern perimeter of a circular barrier reef ( the rim of the caldera of a submarine volcano ) . The reef parallels the South Shore at a distance of less than a quarter of a mile . To the North , it extends up to 18 miles from shore . There are no usable harbours on the South Shore , but large sheltered ones accessible from the lagoon within the reef to the North . This lagoon , however , can only be accessed by large vessels via a channel through the reefs which brings them near to the Eastern coast of St . David ' s Island . Passing St . David ' s , vessels can either enter into St . George ' s Harbour , or continue Northward , rounding the East end of St . George ' s Island , following through another channel that leads to the West , into the waters of the lagoon , from where they can reach the Great Sound , Hamilton Harbour , the Royal Naval Dockyard , and Murray ' s Anchorage . Following US independence , the Royal Navy had built up a large naval base in Bermuda , including the dockyard , an Admiralty House , and various subsidiary facilities . This became the headquarters of the North America and West Indies Squadron , and the primary Royal Naval base in the Western Atlantic ( although a base in Brazil served South Atlantic waters ) . Protecting this base was the primary reason for the British Army ' s large garrison in Bermuda , with its numerous forts and batteries . Of all of these , St . David ' s Head occupied the most decisive position , watching over the bottle - neck through which any force large enough to conceivably seize the archipelago would have to travel ( although smaller vessels might pick through the reefs to land raiding parties or saboteur s elsewhere ) . During both world wars , an officer of the Royal Naval Examination Service was delivered to ships arriving off Bermuda , along with the pilot who would steer the vessel through the reef . The ships were stopped under the watchful eyes of the gunners at St . David ' s Head . In that position , the naval officer had the task of examining the vessel and its documents before it was allowed to proceed inwards to the lagoon , or any of the harbours . It was for this reason that the battery was also known as the Examination Battery . Initially , the battery was manned by full - time gunners of the Royal Garrison Artillery , supported by a part - time reserve , the Bermuda Militia Artillery . Following the First World War , the regular gunners were steadily reduced , until the BMA took over complete responsibility for maintaining and operating the colony ' s coastal artillery ( although search lights at the battery , used for night - time firing , were operated by the Bermuda Volunteer Engineers ) . In 1936 , on the occasion of the death of King George V , the St . David ' s Battery was involved in what could have been a severe international incident . The BMA had been instructed to fire a memorial salute from one of the two 4 . 7 " guns at Saint David ' s Battery . This salute was to consist of seventy blank rounds , one for each year of the King ' s life , fired at one minute intervals . Because of the difficulty of storing ammunition in Bermuda ' s humid climate , there proved to be only twenty - three rounds of blank ammunition in stock , and the remainder used were all headed ammunition . As the firing was to commence at 8am ( on the 21st January ) , and it was thought unlikely any vessels would be in the danger area , it was decided to proceed with the salute , ensuring the guns were elevated for maximum range ( 8 , 000 yards ) , out to sea . The firing began at 08 : 00 , and was over seventy minutes later . What the BMA gunners were unaware of , however , was that a Colombian Navy destroyer , the Antioquia , was at the receiving end of their barrage . The British - built destroyer was under the command of a retired Royal Naval officer ( part of the British Naval Mission to Colombia ) , and was arriving at Bermuda to undergo repairs at the HM Dockyard . Although the ship ' s crew members were alarmed to find themselves on the receiving end of an artillery barrage , the ship fortunately was not hit . By the Second World War , St . David ' s Battery was the only one left in service , although only the two 6 inch guns remained in active use . Although another battery , with two 6 inch guns , was built at Warwick Camp , it remained the primary coastal artillery battery until the arrival of US Army artillery batteries in 1942 . The guns were emplaced so that they were difficult , at any great distance , to discern from the slope which fell gently to the top of the cliffs before them . Other than the guns , the only other parts of the battery in direct sight from enemy vessels were two small buildings housing a search light and a range finder , although these would have been difficult to spy ( at least , as long as the search light was not operating ) . Beneath the guns were extensive magazines , which fed ammunition up to the firing parties by conveyor belt - like lifts . The magazines below the 6 inch guns were placed completely below ground , as a slope ( surfaced to form a water catchment ) rises to the back of the gun positions . The magazines of the 9 inch guns , however , opened to a courtyard to the rear . A short distance behind the battery was a barracks and a small parade ground . In 1953 , the last Imperial Defence Plan was issued , under which the local units were tasked . The decision had been taken to close the dockyard , other than a small supply base ( HMS Malabar ) ; a process which stretched from 1951 to 1958 . As a result , the last regular soldiers were withdrawn , and the last coastal artillery , the two 6 inch guns of St . David ' s Battery , removed from use . The BMA retasked as an infantry unit , although it remained nominally part of the Royal Artillery . Today , St . David ' s Battery is intact , but derelict . The two 9 inch and the two 6 inch guns remain emplaced , but have been allowed to suffer considerable corrosion damage . The two 6 inch guns , which had originally been emplaced without any kind of gun shield , had been retrofitted later with Barbette armour . These were box - shaped shields , providing protection from the front , the sides , and above . Intact in the early 1990s , these barbettes had subsequently suffered such damage that they were removed . The area is currently public parkland ( Great Head Park ) , and the Park Service has made some repairs , and painted the guns to protect them from further corrosion . The breech blocks of the two 9 . 2 inch guns have been replaced with newly manufactured ones . The barracks and other buildings to the rear of the battery are currently used by a kindergarten school and for private accommodation . A number of apartment buildings have been built around them , and on the hillside dropping down to the North of the battery . Although the magazines are locked , the guns of the battery can be visited by the general public without restriction or cost .