Guns for Malta
I must congratulate all the officers and other ranks involved in organising another successful AFM Open Day. Once again the event was well organised and very informative. It is a pity that not many people turned up compared to previous years, perhaps...
I must congratulate all the officers and other ranks involved in organising another successful AFM Open Day. Once again the event was well organised and very informative. It is a pity that not many people turned up compared to previous years, perhaps the reason being, as some AFM officers lamented, the very limited publicity given to this event.
However, what once again drew my attention were the four 3.7" heavy anti-aircraft guns that were donated to the "people of Malta" by Stanley Fraser way back in the early 1990s. These guns were entrusted to the AFM and they adorn the large Luqa Barracks parade ground pointing aimlessly towards the blue sky.
This is a pity because very few people get a chance to see and appreciate them. These four guns should be relocated to one of the extant HAA guns batteries (positions). I would dare to suggest that the best possible site could be the restored Óagar Qim position (XHB10). This in turn could be incorporated in the wider confines of the Hagar Qim heritage park. If this is not feasible then I am sure that another position can be found out of the approximately 27 sites that were operational during WWII. I have no reason to doubt that Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna (FWA) would be prepared to take up this proposal provided that it can manage to secure the financial support from a large corporate entity such as one of the major banks.
Apart from serving as another interesting tourist attraction, a site like this would make a befitting living monument to all those gunners, many of them Maltese, who manned the guns in defence of our nation.