Battery 231

Battery 231 (1943-1947) - Battery 231 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Taylor (2), Florida. Battery construction started in 1943, was completed about 1944 but was never armed. Transferred to the Navy in 1947. World War II Part of the Harbor Defense of Key West. Originally planned as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 6" T2-M1 rapid fire guns mounted on M4 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete support structure. The battery was completed and the M4 carriages mounted but the gun tubes were never received. The Battery was transferred to the Navy in 1947. 6" Gun at Fort Columbia Originally at Fort McAndrew, Battery 281, Argentia, NL, Canada These 6" World War II coastal gun batteries were designed to replace obsolete Endicott Period Batteries. Of the 87 planned only 45 were completed and many of those were not completed until late in the war (1944-1945). The 6" guns fired a 105 pound armor-piercing projectile with a range of over 15 miles at a rate of up to 5 rounds per minute. The gun crews were protected by a thick shield around the gun. Only six of these guns remain in the world, two at Fort Columbia in Battery 246, two at Fort Pickens in Battery 234, and two at Fort McAndrew in Battery 282 in Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. 6" Gun Crew Battery 231 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 6" Rifle 302.9" T2-M1 ? ? Shielded Barbette (SBC), M4, #59, Watertown 1943-NA See note 1 2 6" Rifle 302.9" T2-M1 ? ? Shielded Barbette (SBC), M4, #60, Watertown 1943-NA See note 1 Source: RCW Form 1, none found, Coast Defense Study Group, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 104-105, 211 Note 1: Carriages were transferred from Watertown Oct-Nov 1943. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Current Status Currently in use by the Truman Annex of the Naval Air Station, Key West. No period guns or mounts in place. Location: Truman Annex, NAS Key West, Florida Maps & Images Lat: 24.5456398 Long: -81.803931 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: about 4' Blog Posts: Fort Zachary Taylor at Key West Florida Sources: Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library Links: Visited: Area 2 Jan 2010