Fort Miles

Fort Miles (1940-1948) Originally established in 1940 as the Cape Henlopen Military Reservation(MR) and built out as a Coastal Defense Fort during World War II. Named for Lt. Gen. Nelson Appleton Miles on 3 Jun 1941. Coastal Batteries declared surplus 5 May 1948.

Fort Miles 8" Railway Gun Firing

Fort Miles Gun Battery

Fort Miles History

Part of Harbor Defenses of the Delaware. Positioned at the mouth of the Delaware River, Fort Miles provided long range, heavy caliber protection from enemy capital warships as well as rapid fire protection from fast moving subs and torpedo boats. It also provided mine field protection, along with searchlight and anti-aircraft installations throughout World War II.

World War II

Fort Miles was originally planned to have two casemated 16" gun batteries, Batttery 118 and Battery 119. Battery 119 was canceled and replaced in 1942 by Battery 519 and armed with two 12" guns from Battery Haslet, Fort Saulsbury.

Three standard 200 series batteries, each with two 6" rapid fire guns, were built, Battery 221, Battery 222 and Battery 223, as well as three Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat batteries, Battery AMTB 5A, Battery AMTB 5B and Battery AMTB 7. Battery 223 and Battery AMTB 7 were located on Cape May Military Reservation, a subpost of Fort Miles just across the river entrance at Cape May, New Jersey. The two AMTB batteries on Fort Miles proper replaced an older 3" battery and provided a more reliable, higher rate of fire capability.

Battery 519 12" Gun Display

8" Railway Gun Display

In 1942, with the large caliber batteries under construction, 8" railway guns were brought in as temporary protection for the river entrance. Two sets of four emplacements were built for the 8" railway guns. These emplacements were large U shaped sand revetments with railroad tracks built through the rear. The 16" guns and the eight 8" railway guns gave Fort Miles tremendous firepower and made it a very powerful coastal fort. In 1944, as the permanent batteries came on line, the railway batteries were removed.

To support the large caliber batteries at Fort Miles it was necessary to construct a series of sixteen concrete fire control towers along the coast. This was necessary because the range of the 16" guns was far greater than the line of sight required for targeting from the gun batteries. Even with the towers, the line of sight restricted the seaward range of Battery 118 to about 14 miles even though the actual range of the guns was about 25 miles. By stringing the towers along the coast the north-south range of the guns was extended for the full 25 miles. Many of these circular concrete towers still exist and one has been restored and is open to the public.

Fire Control Tower on Fort Miles

U-858 Capture

At peak strength, Fort Miles had over 2200 personnel assigned from many different units. To support these personnel several periods of base construction were required, the first in 1940 and another in 1942. Many temporary barracks and other facilities were constructed during during these periods and some of these remain today.

As World War II came to an end in Europe, Fort Miles played a role the surrender of the German U-Boat U-858. The U-858 appeared off the Delaware coast on 14 May 1945 and U.S. naval forces took her official surrender at sea. The U-858 was instructed to dock at Fort Miles and the German crew disembarked there.

In 1948 the coastal batteries of Fort Miles were declared surplus and in 1951 portions of the fort were turned over to the U.S. Navy. In 1961 part of the reservation became Fort Miles Army Recreation Area. Defense Department transfered 564 acres to the State of Delaware for Cape Henlopen State Park in 1964. By 1996 the State Park had acquired almost all of the reservation.

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Fort Miles World War II Battery (edit list)

Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery 118 Battery Smith (3)	2	16"	Casemated Barbette (CBC)	1941-1942-1943-1948	$ 1,326,000	Navy Guns
Battery 119	2	16"	Casemated Barbette (CBC)	Not Built	$ ?
Battery 519	2	12"	Casemated Barbette (CBC)	1942-1943-1944-1948	$ 857,000	Guns from Battery Haslet, Fort Saulsbury
Battery 20 Battery Railway A	4	8"	Railway	1942-1942-1944-1944	$ 47,000	Navy Guns
Battery 21 Battery Railway B	4	8"	Railway	1942-1942-1944-1944	$ 50,000	Navy Guns
Battery 221 Battery Herring	2	6"	Shielded Barbette (SBC)	1942-1943-1944-1948	$ 181,300
Battery 222 Battery Hunter (1)	2	6"	Shielded Barbette (SBC)	1942-1943-1943-1947	$ 150,200
Battery 22	4	155mm	Mobile	1941-1942-1944-1944	$ 21,480
Battery AMTB 5A - Fort Miles	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 11,000	Mostly Buried
Battery AMTB 5B - Fort Miles	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 11,000	1 Block covered by parking lot
Battery 5	4	3"	Barbette	1942-1942-1943-1946	$ 1,400
Source: CDSG

Fort Miles Plan

Current Status

Cape Henlopen State Park, some period guns and some mounts are on display. Two 8" Railway guns are on display and perhaps one is even mounted on a railway car by the time you read this. A 12" gun tube is displayed at Battery 519 and there are several 3" and 155mm guns on display.

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Location: Lewes, Delaware. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7857278 Long: -75.0953561 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: '

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 130-131
• Grayson, William C., Delaware's Ghost Towers: The Coast Artillery's Forgotten Last Stand During the Darkest Days of World War II, Second Edition, Infinity Publishing Company, West Conshohocken, PA, 2008, ISBN 0-7414-4906-4
• American Forts Network
• North American Forts
• Fort Miles.org
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

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Fort Miles Picture Gallery

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  6" Gun Display