Battery 298

Battery 298 (1943-1950) - Battery 298 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Learnard, Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska. Battery construction started 20 Aug 1942, was completed 30 Nov 1943 and transferred to the Coastal Artillery for use 30 Nov 1943. Deactivated circa 1950. World War II Part of the Harbor Defense of Dutch Harbor. Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 6" M1903A2 rapid fire guns mounted on M-1 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete magazine and support structure. Power was supplied by internal generators and commercial power. The battery was authorized by letter on 17 Feb 1943 and the site was approved on 6 Jul 1943. The armament was allocated by the War Department on 12 Apr 1943. The Battery 298 site was a part of a larger 2,542-acre site that included Battery AMTB - Eider Point Spit and the remainder of Fort Learnard. Battery 298 was locally identified as Battery 4, at Location #10. The location was procured for government use on 30 Apr 1942. The cantonment area for the Battery 298 personnel was at Location #10c. 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 298 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 6" Rifle 302.9" M1903 A2 14 Watervliet Barbette, M-1, #5, Watertown 1943-1950 See note 1 2 6" Rifle 302.9" M1903 A2 10 Watervliet Barbette, M-1, #4, Watertown 1943-1950 See note 1 Source: RCW Form 1,8 Nov 1944, CDSG, 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 Note 1: CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA File:Fort Learnard Battery 298 Plan.jpg Battery 298 Plan