14) 155mm Guns at Fort Tilden
Updated: November 28, 2004
155mm M1918 Gun and Carriage
(Source: The 1938 ROTC Manual of Coast Artillery)
Mobile 155mm guns were used at many coast artillery posts for training. These guns could be towed into position and rapidly emplaced. A recoil pit needed to be dug to prevent the breech of the gun from striking the ground during recoil. Spade holes were also dug to keep the carriage from moving to the rear when the gun was fired. A maximum powder charge of 25.25 pounds could fire the 95 pound projectile up to 17,716 yards (about 10 miles). The gun was fired using a percussion primer inserted into a firing mechanism in the breech. A crew of 15 enlisted men manned each gun.
What's left today?
No remains of these mobile batteries exist today at Fort Tilden. There are a few remains of wooden reinforced earthen mounds, located between Battery Harris and the shoreline, just seaward of the current fresh water pond. These may be the only surviving remains of this gun emplacement at Fort Tilden.
155mm Gun Crew at Fort Tilden - 1941
The Gun Pointer is looking through the quadrant sight and aims the gun in azimuth, while the Elevation Setter wearing the headset receives and sets the elevation data received from the plotting room. The elevation will determine the range of the gun. Notice that the Elevation Setter has his gas mask handy in the sack marked "US".
155mm Gun Sight Details
(Source: The 1938 ROTC Manual of Coast Artillery)