Battery 229 (1944-1946) - Battery 229 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Wool (1), Virginia. Battery construction started 31 Mar 1943, was completed 31 Jan 1944 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 7 Apr 1944 at a cost of $ 262,330.45. Deactivated in 1946.
Fort Wool (1) Battery 229 Support Structure & Magazine
Fort Wool (1), Battery 229, B.C. & C.R.F. Station and Tower
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery with emplacements for two 6" rapid fire guns mounted on M-4 Shielded Barbette Carriages (SBC) placed on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete support structure. This battery was built into the structure of the old Endicott PeriodBattery Gates. The shields and carriages were mounted but the guns were never provided and the battery was never armed. A B.C. and C.R.F. station was built on a steel tower behind the battery and accepted for service 27 Oct 1942 at a cost of 18,139.88.
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.
Source: RCW Form 1, 29 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 105-105, 208 Note 1: Carriages transferred from Phila Ord Dist 4 Sep 1943. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA
