Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May

Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May (1943-1946) - Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May was a reinforced concrete World War II AMTB rapid fire 90mm gun battery on Cape May Military Reservation, Cape May County, New Jersey. Battery construction started 1 Jan 1943, was completed 15 Jun 1943 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 21 Dec 1943 at a cost of $ 15,300.00. Deactivated in 1946. Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May History Part of the Harbor Defense of the Delaware. The AMTB battery at Cape May consisted of two 90mm guns mounted on 90mm M3 fixed gun mounts and two 90mm guns mounted on 90mm M1A1 mobile gun mounts. Concrete pads for both of the fixed guns and timber firing platforms for the mobile mounts were placed near the beach at Cape May Military Reservation. The battery had a dual mission of defense against fast enemy motor torpedo boats and enemy aircraft. The effective range of the guns was about 8,000 yards. Each weapon required a crew of 15, 9 men in the gun squad and 6 men in the ammunition squad. Four igloo magazines constructed of corrugated sheet metal were placed inback of the gun emplacements along with two 30' towers for fire control. AMTB Front View AMTB Interior View AMTB Side View AMTB Back View The above photos were taken at Fort Monroe, Battery Parrott From FM 4-91: "This weapon consists of the 90-mm gun M1 and top carriage M1A1 on the 90-mm gun mount M3. The mount M3 is of the turret type, the shielding being constructed of boiler plates. This boiler plate shield provide fragmentation protection only. No shielding is provided at the rear due to the requirements for service of the piece. A sighting port in the shielding in front permits sighting in direction by the gun pointer." References: FM 4-91 - 90-MM Gun, Fixed Mount Service of the Piece FM 4-126 - Antiaircraft Artillery, Service of the Piece, 90-mm Antiaircraft Gun TM 9-373 - 90-mm Gun M1 and 90-mm Gun Mount T3 (M3) Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 6917 GM Pedestal Mount, M3, #13-104, Fisher 1943-1946 2 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 5673 Wheland Mobile Mount, M1A1, #2716, York 1943-1946 3 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 1439 Wheland Pedestal Mount, M3, #13-28, Fisher 1943-1946 4 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 5843 Watervliet Mobile Mount, M1A1, #2713, York 1943-1946 Source: RCW Form 1, 1 Jan 1945, 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 80-81, 208 Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May Plan Current Status At Cape May Point State Park. No period guns or mounts in place. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Cape May Point State Park, Cape May County, New Jersey. Map point not accurate. Maps & Images Lat: 38.9318393 Long: -74.9543953 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 21.5' Sources: U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of The Delaware, (HDDEL-AN-45), 1 Jul 1945, CDSG Links: Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library Visited: 17 Aug 2010 Battery AMTB 7 - Cape May Picture Gallery Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!