Fort Tilden: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:57, 3 November 2010

Fort Tilden (1917-1974) - A late Endicott Period Coastal Fort originally established 19 Feb 1917 as Camp Rockaway Beach, later named Fort Tilden after Samuel J. Tilden, governor of New York State and Presidential candidate in 1876. Decommissioned in 1974 and transfered to the National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA).

World War I

Part of the Harbor Defense of Southern New York.

Camp Rockaway Beach was established on 19 Feb 1917 by a cadre of 4 Army officers and 130 enlisted men on Rockaway Beach, but the site was not actually purchased from New York State until 1 May 1917. Construction on the post began that year under the supervision of U.S. Army Engineers and concentrated on the building of the coastal gun batteries themselves. The post itself was built out rapidly but in the temporary style of most WWI facilities, few permanent structures were included.

Three coastal batteries were started in 1917, two 6" pedestal mounted batteries and one 12" mortar battery located at NAS Rockaway. The mortar battery proved to be too close to structures at NAS Rockaway and would have caused damage whenever fired. The mortars were relocated to railway carriages in 1919 so they could be moved further out on the peninsula for firing. Four separate rail sidings were constructed at the west end of the post to accommodate the railroad mortar carriages. The four sidings were apparently removed when the railroad tracks were rerouted for the construction of Battery Harris (2) in 1921.

**Fort Tilden World War I Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery Harris (2)	2	16"	Long Range Barbette	1921-1923-1924-1948	$ 136,035	Casemated during WWII
Battery Unnamed	4	12"	Mortar	1917-1919	$ ?	At NAS Rockaway
Battery Kessler	2	6"	Pedestal	1917-1923-1923-1947	$ ?	Buried, guns from Battery Burk, Fort Hamilton (1)
Battery Fergusson	2	6"	Pedestal	1917-1917-1917-1942	$ ?	Guns from Battery Kinney, Fort Slocum (2)
Source: CDSG

Post World War I

Construction on Battery Harris (2) began in March 1921 using Army M1919MII, 16" guns. The original configuration for Battery Harris (2) was two open 360 degree gun emplacements with three separate magazines located along a rail line. These two emplacement were casemated in 1939 to provide better protection and to restrict the firing angles to seaward targets. The casemates and an additional magazine were completed and turned over for service in 1942.

In 1937 the WPA did extensive construction and remodeling of many of the temporary World War I buildings. In 1940 additional construction built out the post in preparation for World War II.

World War II

**Fort Tilden World War II Battery** (edit list)
Battery Click on Battery links below	No.	Caliber	Type Mount	Service Years	Battery Cost	Notes
Battery 220	2	6"	Pedestal	1941-1943-1944-1946	$ 229,507	Not Armed
Battery AMTB 18 - Norton Point	4	3"	Fixed Pedestal	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ ?	Norton Point Guns & carriages from Fort Wadsworth, Battery Catlin
Battery AMTB 19 - Norton Point	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ ?	Norton Point
Battery AMTB 20 - Rockaway Point	2	3"	Fixed Pedestal	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 5,950	Rockaway Point Guns & carriages from Fort Wadsworth, Battery Catlin
Battery AMTB 21 - Rockaway Point	2 2	90mm 90mm	Fixed Pedestal Mobile	1943-1943-1943-1946	$ 12,891	Rockaway Point
Source: CDSG

Post World War II

From 1954 until it closed in 1974 Fort Tilden housed a NIKE missile site (NY-49).

Current Status

Now a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area (GNRA) administered by the National Park Service. No period guns or carriages in place.

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Location: Fort Tilden, Rockaway Peninsula, Queens, New York City

Maps & Images

Lat: 40.563889 Long: -73.891111

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 585
The History of Fort Tilden
Nike History
Wikipedia - Fort Tilden
NorthAmericanForts.com
Coast Defense Study Group, CDSG Press, CDSG Digital Library

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Fort Tilden Picture Gallery

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 == Post World War I ==
-Construction on [[Battery Harris]] began in March 1921 using Army M1919MII, 16" guns. The original configuration for [[Battery Harris]] was two open 360 degree gun emplacements with three separate magazines located along a rail line. These two emplacement were casemated in 1939 to provide better protection and to restrict the firing angles to seaward targets. The casemates and an additional magazine were completed and turned over for service in 1942.
+Construction on [[Battery Harris (2)]] began in March 1921 using Army M1919MII, 16" guns. The original configuration for [[Battery Harris (2)]] was two open 360 degree gun emplacements with three separate magazines located along a rail line. These two emplacement were casemated in 1939 to provide better protection and to restrict the firing angles to seaward targets. The casemates and an additional magazine were completed and turned over for service in 1942.
 In 1937 the WPA did extensive construction and remodeling of many of the temporary [[World War I]] buildings. In 1940 additional construction built out the post in preparation for [[World War II]].