A Bibliography
of Engineers erected new batteries, and Congress provided for an increase in the armed forces. As
more and more men embarked for Europe and the enemy threat to American shores abated, personnel
and funds for coast defense declined."
Major changes occurred after the war. The Coast Artillery Corps accelerated its conversion to less
costly mobile artillery, drawn by rail or tractor. Also, the War Department began mounting large guns
on fixed defense, high-angle, barbette carriages that allowed 360-degree rotation. The Corps of
Engineers scattered these uncovered guns, usually in batteries of two, over a coastal site to keep
enemy ships and aircraft from finding and destroying them. Such protective dispersion was their only
As World War II approached, Congress provided larger appropriations for fortification construction.
Fixed positions once again became the primary defense, relegating mobile artillery to a secondary
role. Except for a few variations in design and gun sizes and experimentation with turrets, the Corps
of Engineers began erecting a standard two-gun concrete battery. Between the guns, the battery
encased the magazine and power plant and sometimes the plotting room and quarters under a
reinforced concrete shield covered by many feet of earth. The big guns,
and
were in
casemates with only part of their tubes protruding. Mounted outside the battery, the smaller
guns had an armored shield. At various distances from the batteries were base-end
stations-bservation towers-where personnel could watch enemy movements, assess the effect of
artillery fire, and furnish coordinates to the plotting
A 12-inch gun casement from World War II, Fort Crockett, Galveston, Texas.
Photograph by Dale E. Floyd
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