Battery 241 (1942-1956) - A World War II era 6" gun battery built in 1943 as a reinforced concrete coastal artillery battery on Fort MacArthur's Upper Reservation, Los Angeles County, California. Construction started on 4 May 1943. The Battery was turned over for service later in 1943 at a cost of $219,000 but the guns were not mounted until after the war. The Battery was Decommissioned in 1956.
Battery 241 Gun Emplacement #1 Entrance
Battery 241 Gun Emplacement #2 Entrance from above
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 6" T2-M1 rapid fire guns mounted on M4 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth-covered reinforced concrete magazine and support structure. Internal generators and commercial power supplied power. The battery was completed in 1943 but the guns were not mounted until after the war. The battery was decommissioned in 1956.
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: Coast Defense Study Group Note: Carriage serial number may not be in the correct gun position
Battery 241 Plan
Current Status
No period guns or carriages in place. No public access to the interior of the Battery. Generator sets and electrical switchboards are mostly intact. Interior rooms are in good condition and the battery has electrical power and lighting.
