Battery 122

Battery 122 (1943-1948) - Battery 122 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 16 inch coastal gun battery on Fort John Custis, Nothampton County, Virginia. Battery construction started 18 Aug 1941, was completed 30 Jun 1943 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 12 Nov 1943 at a cost of $ 1,554,866.00. Named Battery Winslow in G.O. 46, 17 Sep 1942, after Brigadier General Eben Eveleth Winslow, U.S. Army, designer and superintendent of construction of fortifications at Honolulu and the Panama Canal. Deactivated in 1948. Fort John Custis Battery 122 (Winslow) Gun Emplacement #1 Fort John Custis Battery 122 (Winslow) Gun Emplacement #2 Fort John Custis Battery 122 (Winslow) BC Station Fort John Custis Battery 122 (Winslow) Interior World War II (1941-1945) Part of the Harbor Defense of Chesapeake Bay. Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 16" MarkII-M1 guns mounted on M4 shielded Barbette carriages. This was a single story gun battery with the two 16" gun emplacements 500' apart connected by an earth covered reinforced concrete magazine and support structure. Shells and powder were moved directly from the magazine to the gun loading platform. Electrical power was generated from a power plant within the structure. The guns were traversed and elevated by electric motors. Battery 122 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 16" Rifle 816" MarkII-M1 108 U.S. Navy Barbette, M4, #25, Watertown 1943-1948 See note 1 2 16" Rifle 816" MarkII-M1 69 Bethlehem Barbette, M4, #26, Watertown 1943-1948 See note 1 Source: RCW Form 1, 1 Jul 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 176-177, 209 Note 1: Guns transferred from Watervliet August 1942, carriages transferred from Watervliet Nov-Dec 1942. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Battery 122 Plan Current Status No period guns or mounts in place. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Fort John Custis, Northampton County, Virginia Maps & Images Lat: 37.130917 Long: -75.961633 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 24.67' Sources: U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Chesapeake Bay, (HDCB-AP-45), 1 Nov 1945, CDSG Links: CDSG Visited: 26 Jul 2010