The 2nd Generation of Big Guns at Fort MacArthur By Jim Shneer
The 2nd Generation of Big Guns at Fort MacArthur
By Jim Shneer
By the mid 1920s, the big guns at Fort MacArthur had become obsolete. The carriages on which the original 14" guns were mounted limited their maximum elevation and, therefore, their range. Contemporary battleships and those in development could position themselves beyond the range of the old Fort MacArthur guns to attack the port. To repair this shortfall, the Army deployed two 14" guns mounted on purpose-built railway cars to Fort MacArthur.
M1920 Railway Gun
These guns could be elevated to the optimum angle of 45o to maximize their range, essentially doubling the range over their predecessors.
14" Gun on its railway car (Fort MacArthur Collection)
Railway guns, however, were severely limited in the angles to which they could be slewed off the center line of the car and still be fired. However, these guns, unlike earlier railway guns, could be removed from the railway cars and set onto previously constructed emplacements and aimed in any direction.
14" Gun dismounted from rail car - Lower Reservation Aug. 12, 1927 (California Military Department)
The Army built four of these railway gun systems. Two were deployed to the Canal Zone where they could be moved between the Pacific coast and the Caribbean coast in a few hours over the tracks of the Panama Canal Railway. The other two came to Fort MacArthur, one in 1925 and one in 1929.
Gun arriving at Fort MacArthur through the 22nd Street railway underpass
These were the only two modern railway guns in the United States. Three emplacements for dismounting the guns were built on the lower reservation which is now Cabrillo Marina. The railway spur ended there as well and this area was named Battery Erwin. When these guns were deployed they formed part of a support train containing many cars. A flat car was needed on either side of the gun car plus cars were needed for shells, powder, a fire control facility, feeding and accommodating personnel, maintenance, baggage, a caboose and coal cars for the engine.
14" Camouflaged railway gun with ammunition train July 1941 (National Archives).
Running across the upper photograph is 22nd Street with the railway underpass shown right of center.
Big guns were first fired for training purposes at Fort Macarthur. But the resulting concussion damage caused to nearby property brought that practice to an end. For training, in 1937, the two guns were moved south and fired from a site at Don, California at what is now San Onofre State Beach.
Both guns firing simultaneously at Don
The next year they were brought up north and fired from a position just to the north of Goleta at Naples Beach. These guns as well as all the others were scrapped after World War II.
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On June 27, 2020, the docents of Los Serenos de Point Vicente may be conducting a free docent-lead guided tour of the three generations of preserved military facilities surrounding Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall. For the details and to confirm that it will still take place, please visit http://www.losserenos.org/ and scroll down to the 2020 tours page.
Jim is a former aerospace engineering manager who, since retiring, has become an author and speaker on a variety of military subjects. To read more about his work, please visit https://easyreadernews.com/the-battle-that-didnt-happen/. To learn about the military history of Fort MacArthur and Palos Verdes, please visit http://www.lulu.com/shop/james-shneer/exploring-the-military-history-of-fort-macarthur-and-palos-verdes/paperback/product-23784472.html to purchase a copy of his recent book.