Battery 234 (1944-1947) - Battery 234 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Pickens, Florida. Battery construction started 16 Jan 1943, was completed 1 Jul 1943 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use on 5 Jun 1944 at a cost of $ 212,482.42. Never armed. Deactivated in 1947.
Battery 234 Gun #1.
Battery 234 Gun #2.
Battery 234 Front View with Both Guns and the Fire Control Tower in View
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery for two 6" rapid fire guns mounted on M4 carriages placed on either side of an earth-covered reinforced concrete support structure. A steel and concrete fire control tower was constructed behind the battery. The gun tubes were never delivered and the battery was never armed.
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.
Source: RCW Form 1, Jun 1944, 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, 212 Note 1: Carriages transferred from Watertown Nov 1943. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA
Battery 234 Plan.
Current Status
Fort Pickens, Battery 234 Fire control Tower with cab on the ground.
Two guns were installed in 1976 from Fort John Custis as display pieces. In the 2021 visit, the cab of the fire control tower is now on the ground.
