Battery 225' (1943-1948) - Battery 225 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Story, Virginia. Named Battery Cramer in G.O. 63, 14 Nov 1942, after Lt. Colonel Raymond V. Cramer, CAC. Battery construction started on 8 Oct 1941, was completed 15 May 1942 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 23 Nov 1943 at a cost of $ 175,832.00. Deactivated in 1948.
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 6" M1903-A2 rapid fire guns mounted on T2-M2 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete support structure.
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, 29 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 104-105, 210 Note 1: CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA
