Battery 118

Battery 118 (1943-1948) - Battery 118 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 16 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Miles, Delaware. Named Battery Smith (3) for MG William R. Smith, US Army. Battery construction started on 24 March 1941, was completed on 31 Oct 1942 and transferred to the Coastal Artillery for use on 21 Dec 1943 at a cost of $ 1,326,000.00. Deactivated in 1948.

Fort Miles, Battery Smith Gun Emplacement #2 Bricked Up Front Casemate

Fort Miles Battery Smith Gun Emplacement #2 Rear Entrance Converted to Base Theater

World War II

Part of the Harbor Defense of the Delaware.

Originally built as casemated World War II concrete coastal gun battery with two 16" MarkII-M1 guns mounted on M4 Barbette carriages.

Battery 118 Armament (edit list)

Empl No	Caliber Type	Barrel Length	Model		Serial No	Manufacturer	Carriage	Service Dates	Notes
1	16" Rifle	816"	MarkII-M1		110	Watervliet	Barbette, M4, #24, Watertown	1943-1948	See note 1
2	16" Rifle	816"	MarkII-M1		44	Midvale	Barbette, M4, #23, Watertown	1943-1948	See note 2
Source: RCW Form 1, 1 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 176-177, 208 Note 1: Gun transferred from Watervliet 13 Jun 1942, carriage transferred from Watertown 19 Sep 1942 Note 2: Gun transferred from Watervliet 14 Jun 1942, carriage transferred from Watertown 18 Aug 1942

Battery 118 Plan

Current Status

No period guns or mounts in place. Currently used by the maintenance department of Cape Henlopen State Park and for museum artifact storage. Emplacement #2 was modified as the base theater including bricking up the front of the casemate.

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Location: Cape Henlopen State Park, Fort Miles, Delaware Maps & Images Lat: 38.7705723 Long: -75.08614 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 24.667'

Recent Blog Posts:

• Fort Miles in Delaware

Sources:

• U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of The Delaware, (HDDEL-AN-45), 1 Jul 1945, CDSG

Links:

• Fort Miles Website - Battery
• Fort Miles Website - Plotting Room
• Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

Visited: 3 Aug 2010

Battery 118 Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!

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  Fort Miles, Battery Smith Gun Emplacement #1 Rear Entrance
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  Fort Miles, Battery Smith Center Rear Entrance