Battery Eubank

Battery Eubank (1942-1945) - Battery Eubank was a temporary, World War II 8 inch coastal railroad gun battery emplaced on Manhattan Beach Military Reservation, a sub-post of Fort MacArthur, in Los Angeles County, California. Battery support construction started in February 1942, was completed in August 1942 and oficially transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 20 May 1943 at a cost of $ 46,907.34. Probably named for Captain Perry Eubank, the detachment commander. Deactivated in 1944. MKVI M3 8" Railway Gun in Firing Position 8" MKVI M3A2 Navy Railway Gun on Army Carriage, 1938 8" MKVI M3A2 Railroad Gun at Fort Miles Delaware Manhattan Beach Military Reservation Locale on 18th Street World War II (1941-1945) Part of the Harbor Defense of Los Angeles. Originally built as a World War II temporary coastal gun battery with two 8" MKVI-M3 Naval guns mounted on M1A1 Army railroad carriages. This was a mobile railroad battery with two fixed emplacements located on a rail spur track. Two powder and two projectile storage structures were built adjacent to the siding. Two fake rollaway farmhouses were used to conceal the railroad gun cars when not firing. A detachment (two gun sections) of Battery E, 52nd U.S. Coast Artillery, from Fort Hancock (2) and manned Battery Eubank from December 1941 until the spring of 1944. The detachment was commanded by Captain Perry Eubank with a complement of four officers and 114 enlisted personnel. Battery E was re-designated Battery A, 285th Coast Artillery (Ry) in May 1943 and the personnel were shipped out to Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky in the spring of 1944. Battery Eubank was a part of the Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles plan until 1944. The guns and carriages were transferred to the Sierra Ordnance Depot on 22 Apr 1944 and processed for salvage at the end of the war. Battery Eubanks Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes ? 8" Rifle 368.9" Mark VI M3 A2 127 Naval Gun Factory Railroad, M1A1, # ?, Baldwin 1942-1945 See note 1 ? 8" Rifle 368.9" Mark VI M3 A2 237 Naval Gun Factory Railroad, M1A1, # ?, Baldwin 1942-1945 See note 1 Source: RCW Form 1,8 Nov 1943, CDSG, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 116 Note 1: CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Battery Eubanks Plan Current Status No period guns or mounts in place. Site is overbuilt with houses. Location: Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles County, California Maps & Images Lat: 33.89083 Long: -118.40750 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 187' Sources: Monett, Cole & Cleland, Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles in World War II, 1945, reprint by Fort MacArthur Military Press, 1992, 44 pages, text and maps, page 7 U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles, (LA-AN-WDC-44), 31 Aug 1944, CDSG, page 3 Links: Wikipedia - 8 inch Mk. VI railway gun CDSG Visited: 7 Jan 2013