16"/50 caliber M1919 gun

The 16 inch Coastal Defense Gun M1919 was a large artillery piece installed to defend the United States' major seaports between 1920 and 1946.

History
The first 16-inch gun was started in 1895 (M1895) and completed in 1902 by the Watervliet Arsenal. It was eventually mounted on a disappearing carriage in Fort Grant, Panama Canal Zone, where it served until scrapped in 1943.

The second 16 in was the United States Army 50 caliber Model 1919 (M1919). It was deployed to Fort Michie, Great Gull Island, New York. An additional six of the Army designed M1919 gun were built and deployed.

In 1922, the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty caused the US Navy to cancel the battleships and the s, surplusing 16-inch/50 caliber Mark II and Mark III barrels. These 20 guns were transferred to the Army, who built a new version of the M1919 mount for the naval guns. On 27 July 1940, the Army's Harbor Defense Board recommended the construction of 27 16-inch gun batteries to protect strategic points along the US coastline. Typical of this plan were the guns placed to protect Narragansett Bay, two 16-inch guns were placed in Battery Gray, Fort Church, Little Compton, Rhode Island and two more were placed in Battery Hamilton, Fort Greene, Point Judith. A second battery of 16-inch guns at Fort Greene, Battery 109, had construction suspended in 1943 and never received guns. These batteries were placed such that they not only protected Narraganset Bay, but interdicted the main channels into Buzzards Bay and the east end of Long Island Sound.

Specifications
The gun fired a 2240 lb. projectile to a range of 26 mi. The estimated cost of the gun and barbette was $520,000 in 1938. The new M1 Gun Data Computer was used in directing these guns.

Surviving examples

 * All but one of these guns were scrapped by 1950. The remaining piece is at the US Army Ordnance Museum, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Aberdeen, Maryland,  39.48969°N, -76.13933°W.

General references

 * TM 9-2300 Standard Artillery and Fire Control Materiel FEB. 1944
 * TM 4-210 Seacoast Artillery Weapons Oct. 1944
 * TM 9-471
 * SNL E-10
 * SNL E-20
 * SNL E-58
 * American Coast Artillery Materiel 1922 (extensive manufacturing information)