About Those Unused 16-Inch Battleship Cannons-- Part 2:

As these barrels  also saw wartime service in World War II and the Korean War, organizations that might want to preserve them were approached.

These barrels were placed at St. Julien's Creek in the 1980s as replacements when the four Iowa-class battleships were brought back into active service.

Now, in 2022, we have good news. Seven of the barrels now have found a new home despite the challenge of raising the money to do so.  The remaining barrel hopefully will be preserved soon.

Here are relocations since 2011:

**  A USS Missouri barrel to Cape Henlopen State Park (location of the former Battery Smith at Fort Miles) in Delaware to be part of the Fort Miles Museum

**  Another USS Missouri gun to the U.S. Fish  and Wildlife Refuge at Cape Charles, Virginia, (location of the former Battery  Winslow at Fort John Custis) to be placed in the battery's casemate.

--GreGen

About Those Unused 16-Inch Battleship Cannons-- Part 1

From the December 2022 U.S. Naval Institute  "Homes for the big guns:  Preserving U.S. Navy Heritage" by Terrance McGovern.

In June 2011, the Coast Defense Study group (CDSG) was asked to find homes for  eight historic 16-inch Mark 7 barrels located at St. Julien's Creek Naval Annex in Chesapeake, Virginia, or the barrels would be auctioned off  through the internet with the requirement that they be cut into six-foot sections.

At the time, the Navy was purging all the Iowa-class materials in its inventories.  They had already liquidated another 14 similar 16-inch barrels in storage at Hawthorne, Nevada.

The CDSG was able to convince the Navy to allow more time to find homes for the barrels who would pay for the cost of relocating each of the  68-foot long objects weighing in at about 119 tons.

As these barrels were similar to the ones that were once located in World War II coast defense sites, the owners of those sites were first approached.

--GreGen

Fort Kamehameha-- Part 2: The Batteries

The batteries:

SELFRIDGE--  Constructed 1907-1913.  Two 12-inch guns on disappearing carriages.

JACKSON--  Constructed 1913.  Two 6-inch guns on disappearing carriages.

HASBROUCK--   Constructed 1909-1915.    Eight 12-inch coastal mortars

CHANDLER--  Two 3-inch guns

BARRI--  Two 4.7-inch guns.

ADAIR--  Two 6-inch Armstrong guns.  On Ford Island

BOYD--  Two 6-inch Armstrong guns on Ford island.

CLOSSON--  Had massive 20-foot thick concrete reinforced walls behind 3- feet of earth.  The earlier guns had becme obsolete and these replaced them.   Two 12-inch guns.  Anti-aircraft guns.

--GreGen

Battery Osgood-Farley at Fort MacArthur, California-- Part 1: 14-Inch Guns

From the Fort MacArthur Museum site.

Battery Osgood-Farley was built 1916-1919 and was a two-gun emplacement.  Each gun operated as a separate tactical battery which is why the battery had two names.

The ordnance were 14-inch disappearing guns.  They were called disappearing because they could be lowered out of line of fire to load and then raised to fire.  Each was capable of firing a 1560 pound projectile up to 14 miles.  The guns never fired in war, but did fire for practice, but rarely with a full charge because of damage to surround civilian windows (and subsequent complaints).

During its time as a battery, Battery Osgood fired 116 times and Battery Farley 120.

These guns were considered obsolete by the 1920s and replaced by new ordnance in the mid-1940s.

During World War II, the batteries were partly used for a radio station and fire control switchboard.

--GreGen

California's Fort MacArthur-- Part 2: U.S. Coastal Defense 1900s

One component of Fort MacArthur is Battery Osgood-Farley which is considered one of the best preserved examples of U.S. Coastal Defense emplacements remaining.  Another such emplacement at the fort is Battery John Bartow and Saxton.

The Fort MacArthur Military Museum is at the site of Battery Osgood-Farley.

The museum opened in 1985.

--GreGen

Fort Screvin, Tybee Island, Georgia

Yesterday, we drove out to the Tybee Island Light Station and saw the concrete of Fort Screvin, which was built during the Spanish-American War and manned during both world wars.

--GreGen

Hessian Sandbags

From Wikipedia. //// Two posts ago I mentioned the Hessian sandbag pillbox discovered in Britain. They looked like regular sandbags to me, only the article said they were filled with concrete when placed, instead of the usual sand that I would expect. Why would the British name something after something German? Plus, the article did not capitalize the h in hessian. I's never heard of them called Hessian sandbags either, just sandbags. More research was needed. //// Hessian or burlap refers to woven fabric usually made from the skin of the jute plant or sisal fibers. It is also sometimes referred to as gunny cloth. Traditionally, it is a coarse fabric. //// The name hessian is initially attributed to the German military uniforms worn by soldiers from the German state of Hesse who were called Hessians. (Definitely an American Revolution connection.) //// Most often, sandbags are used in emergencies during flooding. //// --GreGen

Relics Uncovered By Storms in Britain

From March 14, 2014, Journal (UK) "Second World War relic uncovered by storms on Northumberland coast" by Michael Brown. //// Recent storms washed away part of the mud and sand cliffs at Lynemouth Beach near Ashington. (I guess Britain is having its winter weather woes as well. A photo is with the article.) What was revealed was a type of defensive pillbox, but a little different from most which were built of concrete of brick. If one was needed fast to defend against expected German attack, like this one, they used hessian sandbags filled with concrete which made it look like a sandbag pillbox. //// A similar one appeared three months ago on Bamburgh Beach when a tidal surge damaged homes and uncovered it. //// The Threat of German Invasion Was a Very Real Thing to Brits. I Wonder How Many Coast defenses Still remain in the Country? --GreGen