Battery 242

Battery 242 (1944-1948) - A World War II era gun battery completed in 1944 as a reinforced concrete coastal artillery battery on the Bolsa Chica Military Reservation of Fort MacArthur. The battery was located on a bluff above Sunset Beach in Orange County, California. Construction began 17 Apr 1943 and was completed sometime in 1944. Named Battery Harry J. Harrison in G.O. #51, 10 Jun 1946, after Major Harry J. Harrison (Cullum 10246), Coast Artillery Corps, who served at Fort MacArthur and who was killed in Europe in 1944. Decommissioned in 1948. Northern Edge of the Battery 242 Site Housing Near the Site of Battery 242 View from the Battery 242 Site History Part of the Harbor Defenses of Los Angeles. Battery 242 was a battery of two, 6", T2-M1 rapid fire Barbette mounted guns on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete support structure. Guns and carriages installed and proof fired in 1944. Decommissioned and the armament scrapped in 1948. 6" Gun at Fort Columbia Originally at Fort McAndrew, Battery 281, Argentia, NL, Canada 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. 6" Gun Crew Battery 242 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 6" Rifle 309.9" T2-M1 28 Watervliet Barbette, M4, #11, Wellman 1944-1948 2 6" Rifle 309.9" T2-M1 29 Watervliet Barbette, M4, #12, Wellman 1944-1948 Source: Coast Defense Study Group Notes: Serial numbers may not be in the correct gun positions Battery 242 Plan Current Status Battery concrete structure destroyed in 1993 to make way for a housing development. The original site is covered by homes and roads. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: In a residential community adjacent to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Orange County, California. Map point is approximate. Maps & Images Lat: 33.710195 Long: -118.050319 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 50' Sources: Berhow, Mark, A Brief History of the Bolsa Chica Military Resewation 1941-1948 (pdf), The Coast Defense Study Group Journal, February 1995, page 60-63 Links: Fort MacArthur Museum - Battery 242 CDSG Visited: 2 Jan 2013, area 1 Feb 2009