UNOFFICIAL GUIDE · Facts reviewed August 23, 2026 · Game-build data extracted August 17, 2026 (build 24750322) · Example values are per-run and marked as examples
CAMPAIGN MISSION DOSSIER · UNOFFICIAL
IRON NEST Rock of Gibraltar Walkthrough: HMS Rockingham
IRON NEST Mission 8, Rock of Gibraltar, needs one required kill: HMS Rockingham, an armored heavy cruiser whose batteries block aerial reconnaissance.
Quick Answer
IRON NEST Mission 8, Rock of Gibraltar, needs one required kill: HMS Rockingham, an armored heavy cruiser whose batteries block aerial reconnaissance. Fire AP only after the firing window opens. Optionally intercept the moving ship, RMS Lusitania, once it is reported.
Fire AP only after the firing window opens.
Optionally intercept the moving ship, RMS Lusitania, once it is reported.
Evidence: IN-GAME TEXT mechanics · REPORTED guide steps and observations — see how the labels work.
How to read the evidence labels
Every claim on this page carries a label that says how it was verified:
How to read the evidence labels
Label
What it proves
OFFICIAL
Confirmed by the developer, an official platform, or an official announcement.
IN-GAME TEXT
Read directly from build 24750322 text, or transcribed from in-mission communications where the build was not shown.
OBSERVED
Visible in public footage of the mission.
REPORTED
Described by a guide or community source; the full chain was not visible on screen.
Labels are not interchangeable: a transcription can match the extracted text word for word, but it stays a transcription and does not become an official source.
Mission facts card
Mission facts card
Field
Value
Mission name
Rock of Gibraltar (Campaign mission 8)
Required target
HMS Rockingham, armored heavy cruiser
Optional target
RMS Lusitania, civilian ocean liner
Ammunition
AP required for the cruiser
Medal
Four commendations on offer; conditions on the medals page
Version
Build 24750322 = 1.0 (1622) = Patch #5
Evidence: IN-GAME TEXT build extraction (build 24750322) · OFFICIAL patch record · REPORTED third-party transcriptions.
A cruiser lies at anchor in Gibraltar harbour, her crew asleep and the night otherwise quiet. High Command has ordered her destruction on time.
Rock of Gibraltar walkthrough, step by step
The mission's first half has to be solved without reconnaissance. The cruiser's anti-aircraft batteries disable normal map imagery, so the briefing hands you a chain of reference points instead. Solve the chain before the firing window, load one AP shell, and fire only when the order permits.
Before the firing window — solve the reference chain
Read the full Rockingham order. It sets three rules: do not fire before the timer, AP is required, and reconnaissance imagery is unavailable until the cruiser falls.
Mark Iron Nest and both spotters. Everything else in this mission is built from those three points.
Locate The Mole from the two spotter bearings.
Locate Dockmaster's House from The Mole and a spotter bearing.
Locate HMS Rockingham from Dockmaster's House and the second spotter.
Requisition a Forward Observer only if the final intersection is ambiguous. The reference chain is the primary solution; the observer is a confirmation tool, not the first step.
Draw the final firing line from Iron Nest to Rockingham. Do not fire along a spotter bearing.
After the firing window — one AP shot
Load one AP shell and the calculated charges.
Fire only after the firing window. The restriction is a not-before condition, not a deadline.
Wait for HMS Rockingham successfully destroyed. That completes the primary objective, lifts the reconnaissance blackout, and lets you stand down.
The chain must be solved in order. A small error on The Mole moves every point that depends on it, so recheck one stage at a time instead of redrawing everything from Iron Nest.
Optional vessel: intercepting RMS Lusitania
After Rockingham falls, command may report a civilian ocean liner crossing the strait and authorize interception at your discretion. The optional route is a moving-target exercise: the vessel steams a course of 12° at 9.7 knots, and the mission itself prints the conversion you need:
9.7 knots travels
9.7 knots travels
In
0.10 km
20 seconds
1.00 km
3 minutes 20 seconds
3.00 km
10 minutes
The reusable method is:
Wait for the vessel's actual position report — course, speed, and a timestamp. The first notice is not enough to shoot at.
Draw the course from the vessel's reported position, not from Iron Nest. The course line shows where the ship is going, not where your gun should point.
Choose a future interception point far enough ahead to mark the course, measure the real range, and load the gun.
Measure the artillery range from Iron Nest to that future point. The distance the ship travels is not the range your calculator needs.
Subtract shell flight time from the vessel's arrival time: launch time = reported time + travel time − flight time.
This lead calculation is a worked method from an experienced run rather than a game-confirmed rule; values from any one run do not carry to another. AP worked for the optional vessel in that run, but the optional order does not state an ammunition requirement, so treat AP there as a successful choice, not a mandate.
Medal conditions at a glance
Rock of Gibraltar offers four commendations, and the medals page owns the full thresholds:
Measured Fire Star — keep allied casualties at or below the tier threshold.
No Quarter Cross — eliminate enough enemy units in the sector.
Unaided Fire Distinction — destroy targets while requisitioning no aerial reconnaissance.
Austere Service Medal — complete the mission spending no more than the tier's requisition points.
Unaided Fire Distinction's condition expression is ReconUsed <= 0 plus a kill count. A widely repeated community claim adds a "first-shot hit" requirement; the medal definition contains no such condition. One open question remains: the gold tier of this mission's variant asks for more kills than the mission can field if civilians are the only countable targets, so this page does not promise that gold is reachable. See the medals page by-mission section for the full table and any later findings.
Stuck points and troubleshooting
I cannot see HMS Rockingham on the map
That is the mission working as designed. Reconnaissance imagery, including shell impact photography, is disabled while the cruiser's batteries stand. Solve the reference chain instead — The Mole, then Dockmaster's House, then the cruiser.
If you are stuck on another mission instead, the missions hub covers the full mission list and general help.
I fired early and wasted the AP shell
The order is a not-before condition. Being ready at the window matters more than firing at the first second; the cruiser is not going anywhere.
I keep mistaking The Mole for the target
The Mole is only the first reference point. Nothing that lives earlier in the chain is what you fire at; the cruiser is the final intersection.
My Dockmaster's House marker looks wrong
Do not pick a point just because it sits on the coastline. Use the reported distance and bearing, zoom in, and make the circle and line meet cleanly. A slightly off Dockmaster still produces a believable-looking but wrong Rockingham.
My shot at the optional vessel missed
The vessel keeps moving after its position report, so shooting at the reported position cannot connect. Measure the intercept from Iron Nest to a future point along the 12° course, and remember that the ship's travel distance is not the artillery range. Shell flight time matters twice: the ship and the shell must reach the same point at the same time.
The mission feels like a time or RNG wall
The 11:08 window and the moving ship are the two skill checks. Community reports complain about the difficulty of the medal requirements and the moving-target shot more often than about anything else; there is no known shortcut, and fixed solutions from another run will not work in yours.
Targets and ammunition
Targets and ammunition
Target
Type
Notes
HMS Rockingham
Armored heavy cruiser (5★)
Required target; AP required; disables reconnaissance until destroyed
RMS Lusitania
Civilian ocean liner (3★)
Optional; moving target; AP used successfully but not mandated
Civilians (harbor and city)
Unarmed
Destroyable for requisition; count toward kill medals
Spotters and reference points
Allied
Do not shoot; killing allies harms Measured Fire Star
The ammunition rule is one-way: the cruiser demands AP, and nothing in the mission demands HE. The optional vessel's order simply does not specify a shell, so match the target and your medal goals rather than assuming a rule. For the full ammunition reference, see all shell types.
Version and patch notes
This guide is anchored to build 24750322, which maps to Version 1.0 (1622), Patch #5. Patch #4 (Version 1.0 (1618)) fixed the last two Rock of Gibraltar medals, which is why older community threads about those medals may describe a broken state. Demo-build comparisons are not used here because the demo extraction cannot support entity-level comparison.
FAQ
Why can't I see HMS Rockingham on the map?
The cruiser's anti-aircraft batteries disable aerial reconnaissance and shell impact photography until it is destroyed. You locate it through the briefing's reference chain instead: The Mole, then Dockmaster's House, then the cruiser.
When can I fire at HMS Rockingham?
Only after the firing window opens; the order forbids fire before the timer. Two independent playthroughs observed that window at 11:08, but the value comes from those runs rather than from a fixed build constant.
How do I find HMS Rockingham without aerial reconnaissance?
Solve the chain: mark Iron Nest and both spotters, intersect the two spotter bearings to find The Mole, use The Mole and a spotter bearing to find Dockmaster's House, then use Dockmaster's House and the second spotter to fix the cruiser. If the last intersection is still ambiguous, a Forward Observer can confirm it.
What ammunition does the cruiser need?
Armor-piercing. The order states it explicitly, and the cruiser is the mission's only armored entity. The optional vessel's order states no ammunition requirement, so AP is not mandatory there.
How do I hit the optional moving vessel?
Wait for the position report, draw the 12° course from the vessel's position, pick a future interception point, measure the range from Iron Nest to that point, and subtract shell flight time from the vessel's arrival time. The lead formula is a worked method; your own run produces its own numbers.
What medal does Rock of Gibraltar offer?
Four commendations: Measured Fire Star, No Quarter Cross, Unaided Fire Distinction, and Austere Service Medal. Full thresholds live on the medals page; Unaided Fire Distinction is the one with an open gold-tier question.
Did Patch #4 fix the Rock of Gibraltar medals?
Yes. Patch #4 (Version 1.0 (1618)) fixed the last two Rock of Gibraltar medals, per the official patch record. This guide's facts are verified against the later build 24750322.
Sources and version notes
Reviewed August 23, 2026. Evidence types and dates are stated beside each claim above.
Official: official Steam achievement names and patch announcements, verified against the missions register in August 2026 — Patch #4 (Version 1.0 (1618)) fixed the last two Rock of Gibraltar medals.
In-game text: briefing, comm messages, entity registry, shell values and medal definitions extracted from the 1.0 game build (build 24750322) via the shared game-data extraction (August 2026); matching mission communications transcribed by a third-party mission database (retrieved August 23, 2026; build not stated).
Observed footage: one release-era player run (August 11, 2026), used as a transcription and cross-check; no build number displayed.
Reported: dated community questions in the official Discord (August 2026) and one fan walkthrough (updated August 8, 2026).