Fort Travis WWII Radar Site

 (1943-1946) - A World War II U.S. Army Radar Site established in 1943. Used to provide fire control information to large caliber (6" and above) coastal gun batteries in the Harbor Defense of the Galveston against enemy warships. Located on Fort Travis near Galveston, Galveston County, Texas. Closed in 1946.

History


Constructed and transferred for use on 20 Dec 1943 on Fort Travis. Construction costs to date of transfer were $18,302.02. The physical plant consisted of a transmitter building, two powerhouses each with a 1000 gallon fuel tank, a 100' steel tower and an antenna housing disguised as a water tank atop the tower. The three buildings and the tower were prefabricated steel units furnished by the Signal Corps. The buildings and the tower were placed on concrete pads and footings installed by the Corps of Engineers who erected all of the structures. Access to the antenna on top of the tower was by a small hoist operated by an electric motor.

The radar equipment was installed by the Signal Corps. It required 16.3kW of 120/240 AC, 1 phase, 60 cycle power furnished by post power backed up by the two on-site generators. The two 25 kW generators were furnished and installed by the Signal Corps.



Site Operation
The Radar track data was provided by telephone to support Battery 236 as the primary battery and to secondary batteries including Battery 235 and Battery Hoskins. Battery 236 was a 6" gun battery located in the center of the Fort Travis reservation.

The SCR-296-A Radar equipment was declared obsolete by AG letter on 17 Jan 1946. The Tower and radar equipment were to be disposed of while the buildings were to be retained.

Closure
Closed circa 1946.

Current Status
The remains of the Radar building foundation, both power building foundations and the four antenna footings can be seen on Google maps of the northwest corner of the Fort Travis reservation.

See Also:
 * Fort Travis (2)
 * Battery 236
 * US Radar Sets
 * SCR-296-A Radar Set
 * Gulf Coast WWII Radar Sites

Sources:

Links:
 * RCW-Corrected to 15 Aug 1944, CDSG.