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Following World War II, coast defense guns and the Coast Artillery Corps were considered obsolete, and Fort Story's guns were scrapped by 1949. [3] Fort Story was declared a permanent installation on December 5, 1961. As a result of a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure recommendation, Fort Story operations were transferred to the United States Navy.
Shortly after the base was established construction began on Battery 122, later named Battery Winslow. This was for two casemated 16-inch (406 mm) ex-Navy guns, eventually creating a crossfire with two similar batteries at Fort Story. Battery 123, another 16-inch battery, was proposed but never built.
Although the new 16-inch weapons were produced and deployed, this occurred in very limited quantities. Only seven M1919 guns and four M1920 howitzers were deployed by 1923. All four of the M1920 howitzers were deployed at Fort Story, Virginia, in the Harbor Defenses of Chesapeake Bay. [7]
In 1922, the Washington Naval Treaty caused the U.S. Navy to cancel the South Dakota-class battleships and the Lexington-class battlecruiser, surplusing 16-inch/50 caliber Mark II and Mark III barrels. About 70 guns were completed before the treaty went into effect, and the Navy wished to retain most of them for use in future battleships.
The 14-inch turret guns of Fort Drum and the 12-inch mortars of Battery Way and Battery Geary were probably the most effective coast defense weapons in the Battle of Corregidor, but all but two of the mortars were knocked out before the Japanese landed on the island. The US and Filipino forces surrendered on 6 May 1942, after destroying their ...
In 1922, the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty caused the US Navy to cancel the South Dakota-class battleships and the Lexington-class battlecruisers, surplusing 16-inch/50 caliber Mark II and Mark III barrels. Initially, 20 guns were transferred to the Army, which built a new version of the M1919 mount for the naval guns.
The regimental HQ and HQ Battery (HHB), 2nd Battalion HHB, and Batteries D and F were initially at Fort Monroe, with the remainder at Fort Story. [2] The regiment's commander in 1940 was Colonel Alonzo E. Wood. [2] On 19 December 1940 the regimental HHB moved to Fort Story, with Battery H moving to Fort Monroe. [2] [4]
In 1922 Fort Monroe's importance in defending Chesapeake Bay was somewhat reduced with the establishment of a battery of four 16-inch (406 mm) howitzers at Fort Story on Cape Henry, at the entrance to the bay. With the improved weapon location and a range advantage over Fort Monroe's 12-inch guns of 24,500 yards (22,400 m) versus 18,400 yards ...