Battery 236 (1945-1946) - Battery 236 was a reinforced concrete, World War II 6 inch coastal gun battery on Fort Travis (2), Texas. Battery construction started 19 Oct 1942, was completed 5 Jul 1945 and transferred to the Coast Artillery for use 9 Aug 1945 at a cost of $ 305,309.98. Deactivated in 1946.
Originally built as a World War II concrete coastal gun battery for two 6" rapid fire guns mounted on M4 carriages. The battery was completed and accepted in 1945 but the gun tubes were never received and the battery was never armed.
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, Oct 1945, 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 104-105, 213. Note 1: Carriages transferred 6 Oct 1945. CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA
Battery 236 Plan
Current Status
Fort Travis Seashore Park, a Galveston County Park. No period guns or mounts in place.
