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Spanish Cannon
Display location: Museum rocket garden
This Spanish cannon from an old fort on Grand Turk island was presented to the Air Force Missile Test Center (AFMTC), an early forerunner of the 45th Space Wing, by Peter Bleakley, Commissioner of Grand Turk. Grand Turk was one of the island chain of tracking and telemetry stations on the Atlantic Missile Range and the cannon was among several objects on display to represent the relationship between the missile range and the downrange island stations. It weighs about 2,200 pounds and is believed to be about 300 years old.
The cannon was eventually placed in front of the AFMTC Headquarters building on Patrick Air Force Base about April 1953. It was moved to the Air Force Space and Missile Museum on 25 May 1967 and placed on display near the Pad 26B gantry.