The First Big Guns at Fort MacArthur by Jim Shneer

The First Big Guns at Fort MacArthur

by Jim Shneer

1937 view Fort MacArthur Upper Reservation and Gun Batteries (Fortwiki.com

During the First World War the Army built Fort MacArthur, named for General Arthur MacArthur, in San Pedro on the hills just west of Gaffey Street. The fort was built to protect the then new Port of Los Angeles from a naval invasion which would presumably be lead by a fleet of battleships. The Japanese triumph over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese war was perceived as a serious potential threat and the port was already an important economic asset. The fort was equipped with four 14" naval guns each in a separate battery and eight 12" mortars, four in each of two batteries. These six concrete batteries exist today absent the weapons they were armed with.

14" Gun at Battery Osgood on a disappearing carriage firing (Bundesarchiv Bild)

Remains of Battery Farley with the Korean Bell in the background (authors collection)

Two of these four batteries, Osgood and Farley are now the home of the Fort MacArthur Museum which is free to the public and well worth a visit (https://ftmac.org).

14" shell in the Fort MacArthur Mueum (authors collection)

Example of the breech end of a 14" naval gun gun similar to those that were at Ft. MacArthur (authors collection)

The other two 14" gun batteries, Merriam and Leary, are usually closed to the public but around them can be seen the remains of antenna pedestals from when it was the control center for the White Point LA43 Nike battery in the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. The building between the two batteries houses the Marine Exchange of Southern California which is responsible for managing naval traffic at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego, Port Hueneme, and the Chevron Offshore Terminal at El Segundo.

Battery Leary, the Marine Exchange, Battery Merriam (Google maps)

Remains of Battery Merriam (Authors collection)

The 12" mortars were housed in Batteries Barlow and Saxton. These mortars fired a 700 pound shell in a high arc intended to penetrate the lightly armored decks of the target vessels.

12" mortar firing (Ft. MacArthur collection)

At present these batteries are in poor condition and closed to the public. Notice in the contemporary photo below the circular marking where the mortars were once mounted.

Batteries Barlow and Saxton (Google maps)

All of these weapons were obsolete by the time World War II began and were scrapped shortly after it ended.  

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://tinyurl.com/yarrnasm. To learn about the military history of Fort MacArthur and Palos Verdes, please visit https://tinyurl.com/yaaa7opl to purchase a copy of his recent book.