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Rare look inside secret ‘last bastion’ maze of bomb-proof tunnels built to defend Brit outpost from Nazi invasion 

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AS NAZI bombs rained down on enemy nations, officials in Britain’s strategic territory of Gibraltar knew they had to act fast.

What transpired was an incredible labyrinth of secret bomb-proof tunnels dug inside The Rock to safely house soldiers and equipment.

The Great North Road tunnel is closed to the public and still maintained by the Ministry of DefenceCredit: The Sun
The Sun’s Katie Davis toured the tunnels in GibraltarCredit: The Sun
Unused submarine nets from the war sit inside the tunnels stillCredit: The Sun
A British soldier keeps guard with a pistol-machine gun at the entrance of a tunnel in around 1940Credit: Getty – Contributor

It became an almost hidden city – with everything 16,000 troops needed to survive concealed inside including a hospital ward, a bakery, frozen food store and munitions.

The Sun was given exclusive access inside these fascinating tunnels to offer a rare glimpse into history.

But this network remains active to this day – used by the military for underground warfare training and to house data servers for online gambling, financial services, and e-commerce companies.

Secured inside Gibraltar‘s infamous Rock, the tunnels have been kept intact should they ever be needed again by the Ministry of Defence – with a strict ban on the public entering them.

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We were given an eye-opening tour inside and it painted an indisputable picture of the area’s strategic importance to the UK.

Christened the Great North Road as homage to the road of the same name that traverses the north to south of England, the main mile-long tunnel runs right through The Rock.

Its separate passages named after British districts and cities, including Maida Vale, Peterborough, Doncaster, and Durham.

This allowed soldiers to know where they were inside as they carried out high-pressure work with little light.

Dug out in 1940, the network was designed to be able to move Gibraltar’s population inside should the Germans launch a plotted ground offensive of the territory, codenamed Operation Felix.

Thanks to its location, Gibraltar was of huge strategic value during World War Two – allowing the British to control access to the Meditterrean Sea.

So well positioned and equipped, Dwight Eisenhower – then acting as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe – decided to use Gibraltar as his headquarters, with an office created deep inside.

From the critical command centre, the former US president successfully planned and directed Operation Torch – the Allied invasion of French North Africa in 1942.

With such an expansive area covered, the tunnels required its own power supply – with the now abandoned Calpe Hole Generating Station which sent electricity to all the areas.

The tunnels serve as a lasting marvel of the quick-thinking deployed during World War Two – and it’s a wonder such huge equipment was taken so deep within.

Various rooms and smaller tunnels leading off Great North Road housed a hospital ward and even a kitchen complete with ovens.

Submarine nets were also stored within, which still sit in the tunnels today unused.

And the Devils Gap Battery, built in 1902, still faces out towards the Spanish coast to guard against enemy warships trying to pass through.

These tunnels remain guarded by the Ministry of Defence – and are used by troops in Gibraltar and afar to train for underground warfare.

Great North Road as homage to the road of the same name that traverses the north to south of EnglandCredit: The Sun
A huge water pipe carries water to residential properties from an underground reservoirCredit: The Sun
Dwight Eisenhower used the tunnels for his office during WW2Credit: The Sun
Holes made for ventilation were used as embrasures for gunsCredit: Getty – Contributor
The tunnels are inside Gibraltar’s famed Rock

A huge water pipe stills run along length still provide water to residents from underground reservoirs.

Meanwhile, the security of the Rock is leveraged by companies to host data infrastructure – including online gambling outlets used by millions in Britain.

Arnold Rogers, of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, said: “We leave a lot of the chambers available open with nothing in so that we can do our tunnel warfare here in Gibraltar, which we do with other forces that come over as well.

“There’s a lot of space inside the tunnels that’s unused, so they can be used for things like server rooms.

“As you see from the tunnels, there are main water pipes and fiber lines and everything for the government to run from one end of the Rock to the other.

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“It’s easy for them to put that inide the tunnels, easy access, and they don’t have to dig up a lot of streets.

“The tunnels are still very active today and used in the modern Gibraltar.”

The Sun toured Gibraltar’s tunnel network inside the Rock that was dug out during WW2Credit: The Sun
Some areas of the tunnels are unused while others house data serversCredit: The Sun
Just a few lights keep the shadow of dark off passagewaysCredit: The Sun
These areas of the tunnels are closed of to the publicCredit: The Sun

Gibraltar factfile

GIBRALTAR is a British Overseas Territory located at the bottom of Spain on the narrow gap between Europe and Africa.

Known as the Gib or the Rock, it is a small 2.5-mile-squared area with a population of just 30,000 – but it has huge strategic importance.

This is because from this spot a navy can potentially control shipping in and out of the Mediterranean – much of it coming from Asia having travelled through the Suez canal. 

The UK, a key member of Nato, has a naval and military base there for this reason.

Spain originally began controlling Gibraltar in 1501.

But the Rock then came under British control during the War of Spanish Succession in 1704.

Then in 1779 Spain tried but failed to win it back in what was known as the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

The rock was declared a colony in 1830.

The people of Gibraltar voted in 1967 to be a dependency of the United Kingdom.

This effectively guarantees the unique community independence from Spain but allows support from a major Western country.

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