Battery AMTB 5B - Fort Miles

Battery AMTB 5B - Fort Miles (1943-1946) - Battery AMTB 5B - Fort Miles was a reinforced concrete World War II AMTB rapid fire 90mm gun battery on Fort Miles, Sussex County, Delaware. 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 $11,000.00. Deactivated in 1946. History Part of the Harbor Defense of the Delaware. The AMTB 5B battery at Fort Miles consisted of two M1 90mm guns mounted on 90mm M3 fixed gun mounts and two M1 90mm guns mounted on 90mm M1A1 mobile gun mounts. Concrete pads for both of the fixed guns and timber platforms for the two mobile guns were laid at the point of Cape Henlopen. 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. 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 5B - Fort Miles Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 3051 Watervliet Mobile Mount, M1A1, #1769, Worthington 1943-1946 2 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 6930 Chevrolet Pedestal Mount, T3-M3, #13-118, Fisher 1943-1946 1 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 3262 Watervliet Mobile Mount, M1A1, #1894, Worthington 1943-1946 2 90mm Rifle 186.15" M1 6955 Chevrolet Pedestal Mount, T3-M3, #13-114, Fisher 1943-1946 Source: RCW Form 1, 1 May 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 80-81, 208 Battery AMTB 5B - Fort Miles Plan Current Status Some remains visible. No period gun or mounts in place. Location: Fort Miles, Sussex County, Delaware. Map point is approximate. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7936722 Long: -75.0896966 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 26.3' 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: 3 Aug 2010