Battery 240 (1942-1948) - A World War II era 6" gun battery built in 1942-43 as a reinforced concrete coastal artillery battery on Point Vicente Military Reservation, a sub post of Fort MacArthur, in Los Angeles County, California. The Battery was turned over for service in 1943 at a cost of $219,000. Renamed Battery Barnes in G.O. 1, January 1948, after Colonel Harry C. Barnes, U.S. Army, CAC. Battery decommissioned late in 1948.
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 6" M1903A2 rapid fire guns mounted on M1 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete magazine and support structure. Power was supplied by internal generators and commercial power. The guns were proof fired 25 Oct 1943.
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.
Berhow, Mark A. and Gustafson, David, The Guardian at Angels Gate Fort MacArthur Defender of Los Angeles, CDSG ePress electronic edition, 2011, 99 pages, Large pdf
USACE, FUDS - Archives Search Report Findings - Point Vicente Seacoast Defense Sites, USACE Project Number J09CA055802, April 1996, USACE St. Louis District, 301 Pages, Large pdf
