Battery 201

Battery 201 (1944-1946) - Battery 201 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Cape Elizabeth Military Reservation, Cumberland County, Maine. Battery construction was essentially completed in 1944 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for conditional use without being armed. Deactivated in 1946. Battery 201 Center Entrance Battery 201 Emplacement #2 Entrance with Gas Proof Doors Battery 201 Gun Emplacement #1 Battery 201 Gun Emplacement #2 World War II Part of the Harbor Defense of Portland, Maine. Originally built as an World War II concrete coastal gun battery for two 6" rapid fire guns mounted on M4 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. 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 201 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes ? 6" Rifle ?" Unknown ? Unknown Shielded Barbette (SBC), M4, #63, Watertown 1944-1946 See note 1 ? 6" Rifle ?" Unknown ? Unknown Shielded Barbette (SBC), M4, #64, Watertown 1944-1946 See note 1 Source: CDSG, Berhow, Mark A. ed, American Seacoast Defenses: A Reference Guide, 2nd Edition, CDSG Press, McLean, VA, 2004, ISBN 0-9748167-0-1, pages 104-105 Note 1: Exact assignment of the M4 carriages to specific emplacements could not be determined. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Current Status Part of Two Lights State Park, Cumberland County, Maine. No period guns or mounts in place. {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Two Lights State Park, Cumberland County, Maine. Maps & Images Lat: 43.55955 Long: -70.204901 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 52' (gun platform) Recent Blog Posts Cape Elizabeth Military Reservation, Maine Sources: U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project of Portland, Maine, (HDPB-AN-45), 11 Apr 1945, CDSG Links: Maine Memory - Transfer Drawings CDSG Visited: 15 Jun 2012 Battery 201 Picture Gallery Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!