The need to provide protection for the city of Cagliari and its important military installations entailed the design and installation of an adequate defensive system beginning in the second half of the 1930s. First to be built were the three anti-ship batteries at Capo Sant’Elia, Capo Pula and Torre Mortorio, constituting the so-called “Front to Sea” (F.A.M.). Flanking this first group were three antiaircraft emplacements, which, placed in close proximity to the antiaircraft works, had the task of providing them with protection and, eventually, assisting them in the firing action. Identified by assigning an alpha numeric code, these were Battery C. (Cagliari) 146 at Pula, Battery C. 135 at Capo Sant’Elia and Battery C.165 at Capitana.
The structures of Battery C. 135 are clearly visible on Capo Sant’Elia, arranged on the plateau located between the lighthouse and Fort Sant’Ignazio.
In fact, the 6 pitches arranged in a semicircle, dug into the rock and provided with a concrete base with pins to anchor the cannons, can still be identified today. Set back from the emplacements is the low three-room building that housed the Shooting Station, equipped with the San Giorgio rangefinder stereo, the “Gamma ” model “G” automatic control unit and the “Bragadin ” type manual control unit. The rooms still retain the elegant Venetian-style floor that adorned the official square. The main armament consisted of six 102/35 dual-task guns. Close defense was provided by 2 Oerlikon 20 mm machine guns and 2 Colt 1915 6.5 mm machine guns. In 1939 the installation came under the control of the newly formed 4th MILMART Legion, with a staff of 5 Officers, 6 NCOs and 88 militiamen. In June 1944 it was transferred to the Royal Army under the new name of Battery 285, remaining operational until the end of the conflict.
