Battery Foote

Battery Foote (1921-1948) - Battery Foote was a reinforced concrete, World War I 12 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Levett, Cushing's Island, Cumberland County, Maine. The battery was named in G.O. 129, 1 Dec 1919, after Colonel Stephen M. Foote (Cullum 3030), Coast Artillery Corps, who died 30 Oct 1919. Battery construction started circa 1918, was reported complete 17 Dec 1920 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 26 Jan 1921 at a cost of $ 236,700.00. Deactivated in 1948. Battery Foote Casemate #1 Battery Foote Casemate #2 Battery Foote Aerial View before Casemating World War I (1917-1918) Part of the Harbor Defense of Portland, Maine. Originally built as a World War I concrete coastal gun battery with two 12" M1895MI-A4 guns mounted on M1917-A2 Barbette carriages. This was a single story battery with the guns located on open concrete gun pads on the same level as the common magazine and support structure between them. The common magazine and support structure was an earth covered reinforced concrete building that contained shell rooms, powder rooms, a power plant, plotting rooms and personnel facilities. Shells were moved from the magazine to the gun loading platform by shot carts. No shell or powder hoists were provided or needed. The two guns were mounted on circular concrete pads with sunken gun pits. The guns and gun crews were completely in the open with no protection from incoming fire or from aircraft. The M1917 carriage and the sunken gun pit allowed a gun elevation of 35 degrees, giving the gun a range of over 16 miles. Battery Foote Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes ? 12" Rifle 442.56" M1895MI A4 3 Watervliet Barbette, M1917-A2, #12, Robert Poole 1921-1948 See note 1 ? 12" Rifle 442.56" M1895MI A4 70 Watervliet Barbette, M1917-A2, #13, Robert Poole 1921-1948 See note 2 Source: CDSG, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 154-155 Note 1: Gun transferred from Watervliet 19 Jul 1917, carriage transferred from Robert Poole 12 Jul 1918. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Note 2: Gun transferred from Watervliet 26 Aug 1917, carriage transferred from Robert Poole 23 Jul 1918. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Battery Foote Plan Before Casemates Old Magazine Entrances on left, New Corridor on Right Latrine in the Original Magazine Structure BC Station Entrance from Below Switchboard Room Old BC Station, New Station Built On Top. World War II (1941-1945) Battery Hoskins in Fort Crockett had a very Similar Plan to Battery Foote after Casemating Battery Foote was a part of the Harbor Defenses of Portland plan throughout World War II. The harbor defense modernization program called for casemating Battery Foote to protect it from incoming fire and aircraft attack. Most of the original common magazine and control structure was retained and the long roadway behind that structure was turned into a long concrete corridor leading to the two new casemates. The new area in back of new corridor added power and air conditioning equipment rooms along with a new central entrance. The new concrete casemates were constructed over the old open air pads at each end of the new corridor so as to completely enclose the route from the magazines to the guns. All of this, with the exception of the exposed part of the casemate, was covered with earth. The casemating was completed in 1944. In 1948 the battery was declared surplus and scrapped. New Corridor Connecting the Casemates New Power Generator Room Rear Entrance to Casemate #1 Rear Entrance to Casemate #2 Current Status No period guns or mounts in place. Location: Fort Levett, Cushing's Island, Cumberland County, Maine Maps & Images Lat: 43.643075 Long: -70.195212 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....' Sources: U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Portland, Maine, (HDPB-AN-45), 11 Apr 1945, CDSG Links: CDSG Visited: 29 Jun 2012