View allAll Photos Tagged worldwarII
09-7912-056
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Casualties are brought aboard an LCVP for evacuation from the beach. Wounded man holding a carton of "Chesterfield" cigarettes. Normandy invasion. [Relief of sick and wounded.] [Boats.] [World War 2. European Theater.] [Scene.] WWII (European Theater).
6/1/1944
Old photographs found in my family's collection. The original photographers are mostly unknown and few photos have notes or other descriptions. I would be happy to hear from anyone who can add any information, especially identifying any persons shown.
Please ask for permission to use these photos for anything other than personal (non-public, non-published) use.
"Modern Gunga Din-A Marine wounded in action at Peleliu, gets a drink of water from the canteen of a thoughtful buddy."
From the Photograph Collection (COLL/3948), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections
OFFICIAL USMC PHOTOGRAPH
This bronze statue by Yannec Tomada depicts a USA soldier aiding an injured comrade during the 6 June 1944 D-Day landing at ‘Omaha Beach’ in Normandy, France. The landing of USA troops on this beach is the factual event behind the film “Saving Private Ryan”. The plaque by the sculpture reads:
“In commemoration of the determined efforts by the soldiers of the 29th Division's 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team who landed the morning of June 6, 1944 on this section of Omaha Beach … to open the Vierville Draw … to begin the liberation of Europe.”
The Vierville Draw was a paved road that cut between cliffs. Capture of that road was essential so that the vehicles and armaments, that were being unloaded from the invasion fleet, could be taken inland in order to drive back the occupying German forces.
Wounded marine raider is taken ashore at Pearl Harbor from the USS Argonaut (SS-166) following the Makin Island Raid, August 1942. [World War II; medical evacuation; stretcher]
Michael LeBleu served in the Navy during World War II. This album was found in an abandoned building. It consists of photos, post cards, and clippings. The album cover has Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands written on it. Most of the photos are from Rio de Janerio. The originals are in the Library's Archive Collection.
WWII Reenactment
Midway Village Museum
Rockford, Illinois
September 24, 2016
COPYRIGHT 2016 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier. 160924ed7000-72511600
World War II nurses holding hands, from a mostly uncaptioned photo album. Possibly Africa, c. 1943. Photo on Flickr by gbaku/John Atherton (CC BY SA) www.flickr.com/photos/gbaku/4019920791/
Take a look at the Chamomile Tea Party's other posters. Digital high res downloads are free here. Other options are available.
09-7926-005
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Ordeal by fire - his back a blistered excruciatingly tender blotch of blood and blackened skin, a U.S. Navy man submits to medical treatment below decks of a warship in Lingayen Gulf. He rises on his toes with his left foot to ease the agony of the injuries...
01/24/1945; Number 59518
09-7923-006
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Lieutenant Commander Justin Stein, Medical Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve examines a Japanese medicine bottle in Tarawa. [Portraits.] [World War 2. Pacific Theater.] [Scene.] Tarawa.
11/24/1943
09-7931-003
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The Red Cross indicates that this Piper Cruiser plane is a Navy ambulance. These small maneuverable planes, accommodating the pilot and one patient in a Stokes Stretcher, are used to transport injured personnel from isolated areas to Navy base hospitals.
01/15/1943; MS-HP-004-0032111
during our Normandy weeks we visited some of the memorials of Operation Overlord and also cemeteries. just some days befor the official D-Day meetings. the liberation of France and Europe, the liberation of Germany will always be connected with the sacrifice of thousands of mostly young men,of many nations, who gave their lives to end Nazi terror. and we mourn about them, inlcuding
the german soldiers who also were victims of a brutal regime.
The cost of blood and treasure to stop this horror and to put it into the junk pile of history was very high
There are no less than nine B-17 Flying Fortress bombers visible, at least in part, in this photograph taken at Nuthampstead, England in 1945. All of the aircraft belong to the 398th ("Triangle W") Bombardment Group. Those with N7 on their sides belong to the 603rd Squadron, while K8 identifies planes of the 602nd Squadron. The other two squadrons that made up the 398th Bomb Group were the 600th and the 601st, with identifiers N8 and 3O respectively. The 398th Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire on strategic bombing raids over Germany. Nuthampstead was the nearest Eighth Air Force heavy bomber base to London. Built between 1942 and 1943 about 35 miles north of the city, it had three concrete runways. It was first occupied from September 1943 to April 1944 by the 55th Fighter Group, equipped with P-38s Lightings. The 398th Bomb Group, equipped with B-17s took over the station in April 1944 and remained until June 1945. The air base was transferred to the RAF in July 1945 and closed in 1959; now mostly demolished and returned to agriculture.
The principal subject of this picture is Wonder Bird (serial number 43-38627) with the squadron and aircraft identifier K8-Z painted on the fuselage. This was not the first B-17 to bear either the name or the identifier. (The first Wonder Bird, # 42-102592, with identifier N8-G, crash landed on January 28, 1945 after aborting from a mission and returning to base due to a severe oil leak. The previous plane to bear the identifier K8-Z was plane # 42-102463, which was shot down by flak over Cornebarrieu, France on June 25, 1944.) The Wonder Bird in this picture, number 43-38627, was assigned to the 602nd BS, 398th BG at Nuthampstead, England on October 17, 1944 and given the identifier K8-Z. Sometime after its namesake was lost on January 28, 1945, this aircraft also had the name Wonder Bird painted on its nose. It flew a total of 60 missions, survived the war and was returned to the U.S. after the conflict, where it ended up at the aircraft boneyard at Kingman, Arizona, on December 10, 1945.
Two other aircraft visible in the background of this photo can be positively identified. The serial number of the first, 338631, can be seen painted on the vertical stabilizer of an aircraft in the distant background under the Plexiglas nose of Wonder Bird. This is plane # 43-38631, N7-T, named Tondelayo, which was assigned to the 603rd Squadron on November 23, 1944. The other, whose serial number can be seen below the inboard left engine of Wonder Bird is 43-38951, N7-B, also of the 603rd, which joined the Group on January 3, 1945. It is the presence of this plane that dates this picture to sometime in 1945.
One other B-17 in the photo can be tentatively identified based on the N7-F identifier painted on its side even though its serial number is not visible. A total of four aircraft bore this code at one time or another. The first two (42-102570 and 43-38671) were lost a month apart on October 21 (crash landing) and November 21, 1944 (enemy fighters over Germany), and thus are outside the possible time frame of this photograph. The next, 43-38864, was active from November 23, 1944 until it was lost on March 2, 1945 (unknown cause). The last, 43-39242, was assigned to the 398th Bomb Group on March 4, 1945 and given the name Linn County Express. It flew until the end of the war.
I believe the plane partially hidden behind Wonder Bird in this photograph is # 43-38864, the third to bear the N7-F code. I base this assumption on two observations about the picture. First, the plane N7-F in the picture (behind Wonder Bird) has no visible nose art, whereas the fourth plane with this code, 43-39242, had the name Linn County Express. This alone is not proof, as the name could have been added after this picture was taken. However, a careful examination of the photograph reveals that all of the trees in the background are bare of leaves, meaning that the photo must have been taken before the trees leafed out in the spring. This too is not proof positive, since the transition between the last two planes bearing the code N7-F occurred in early March, 1945, before the spring bloom. However, all things considered it is my best guess that the N7-F here may be the third of the four. This plane has the distinctive Bendix chin turret, associated with the B-17G model. It would be interesting if we could determine whether either of the candidate planes were, like Wonder Bird, B-17G models with the turret removed.
There were a total of twelve missions flown with a combination of all four tentatively identified planes in this photo: the first eight with 43-38864 as N7-F; the next four with 43-39242 as N7-F.
Missions flown with 43-38864:
Jan 13
Jan 17
Jan 21 take off before dawn
Jan 22
Feb 23
Feb 28 take off about noon
Mar 1 take off about 10:00
Mar 2
Missions flown with 43-39242:
Mar 5
Apr 7 takeoff delayed to 10:20
Apr 8
Apr 11
Apr 13 delayed takeoff about noon
One of these missions can be eliminated as a possible date for the photo because the takeoff time was before dawn, whereas the shadows in the photo indicate that the picture was taken with the sun high in the sky. Four of the missions, February 28 and March 1 with 43-38864 and April 7 and April 13 with 43-39242, had takeoff times in late morning and are prime candidates for the date of the photo. Takeoff times for the other dates are not known, but probably very early morning . As noted earlier, I believe the lack of leaves on the trees in the background discount the possibility that the picture records one of the April missions.
In 1939 the Commonwealth began building the Hendon small arms munition factory on the site of the former Albert Park Aerodrome. The factory was served by a spur railway line (closed Feb 1980, track removed, now a section of West Lakes Boulevard). Philips Electrical Industries took over the 80-acre site in 1947. In 1970s after Philips transferred to Victoria, the site was named Hendon Industrial Park. Some buildings were used by the SA Film Corporation from early 1980s until 2011. Many wartime buildings are still in use, now as warehouses. Harry Butler & his partner, Harry Kauper, had established an aerodrome at Albert Park to offer flights to the general public in a two-passenger bi-plane. An adjacent housing development was named Hendon. The partnership, Butler-Kauper Aviation Co, was dissolved Sep 1921 and Butler returned to Minlaton. The aerodrome was used by the government as the Adelaide Airport until the move to Parafield in 1927.
“A surveyor has begun the preliminary detailed work for the £100,000 small arms ammunition factory to be established by the Commonwealth Government at Albert Park. It is expected that tenders for the construction will be called within a few weeks. The property occupies 69 acres and the factory will comprise one large workshop and about a dozen subsidiary buildings.” [News 14 Nov 1939]
“Because of the need for precautions against prying eyes, a guard room and fencing to keep unauthorised people out of the premises will be the first contracts let in preparation for the ammunition factory at Hendon.” [News 4 Dec 1939]
“Recently the Woodville Council asked the Commonwealth Government to supply plans and particulars of the work to be undertaken at the small arms factory at Hendon, near Albert Park, as required by the Building Act. The Acting Minister for Supply and Development (Mr. Stewart) has now advised the council. . . that it was not desirable in public interest to release the plans of the factory or to indicate precisely the products to be manufactured there.” [Advertiser 24 Jan 1940]
“The Defence Department, however, is building a small arms factory at Hendon. And it is expected that this plant will be in production by next September.” [Advertiser 6 Feb 1940]
“More than 40 South Australian men and women operatives have been sent to Melbourne for experience in munition work to fit them for key positions at the new ammunition factory at Hendon. The second group of 20 trainees left Adelaide this week and will begin work at Footscray smallarms ammunition factory on Monday.” [News 6 Jul 1940]
“A limited amount of work in drawing out cartridge and bullet cases has begun this week in the Commonwealth munition works at Hendon. This factory will undertake the complete manufacture of .303 (Mark VII.) cartridges for rifles and machine guns. This type of ammunition is used also in fighter aircraft. Buildings are still being erected, and only a small percentage of the machinery has been installed.” [Advertiser 24 Aug 1940]
“The first unit of the new small arms ammunition factory at Hendon, South Australia, would begin production next month, and preliminary operations had begun already. When in fun production the two Hendon units would employ from 2,000 to 2,500 people.” [Advertiser 26 Aug 1940]
“In addition to railway tracks already laid, a line will link the Cheltenham works to the present Port Adelaide-Dry Creek route. . . As there is already a rail link from the case factory to Woodville, and another from Albert Park to Hendon, interlocking railway communication will be complete,” [News 19 Dec 1940]
“More than half the 864 girls and women engaged in munition work at Hendon were previously in domestic service, and a minority formerly worked in factories. . . Since the shifts have been arranged to co-operate with the train, tram, and bus services, the housing problem has been eased considerably. When the number comes up to the proposed full strength of 2,000, then the housing will require some thinking out. . . The number of workers has increased in the last few weeks since the age limit was reduced to 16 and increased to 40, and more country girls are being: attracted to the work.” [The Mail 8 Feb 1941]
“Not many months ago the site of the factory was covered with boxthorn and ugly scrub. Today well-kept lawns border concrete-surfaced roads and paths and solidly constructed modern buildings. . . Men who are responsible for the tools and mechanical side of the machines are in the minority with the blue uniformed girls, most of whom had no previous experience of machine work. . . One of the experiments being carried out now is to put some of the girls into overalls with trousers, as it has been found that they get their stockings splashed with oil when wearing the frock type of overall.” [News 16 Jul 1941]
“the Hendon munition factory, that neat, attractive, well-set-out group of red and grey buildings among concrete ways and green lawns, which serve the double purpose of stilling the dust and pleasing the eye — the whole an amazing mushroom growth from the open field of 18 months ago. . . several of them as they worked at the machines — feeding them with those small sections of brass or nickel, lead or aluminium, which go to the making of millions of bullets for our fighting services. . . There are two of these large bullet case-making factories at Hendon, and then there is the final department — the ‘clean area’, when cigarettes and matches are left behind, and when outsize special shoes must cover normal footwear — where the explosive is placed in the cases. Here, again, girls are to be found working quietly and efficiently. In these filling rooms they all wear woollen clothes as one of the many precautions against possible fire.” [Advertiser 17 Jul 1941 p 4]
“Except for boxthorn and weeds, the factory site — part of the old Hendon aerodrome — was idle and bare when the war started in 1939. . . first in the main work-shop where the brass is pressed and drawn and gradually moulded into the proper cartridge shape, and where bullets are formed from separate pieces of nickel, aluminium and lead: and secondly, in the 'clean' separated shops where brass cases are partly filled with cordite and the insertion of the bullet makes the cartridge complete. . . bullets made at Hendon have been spraying from the machine guns of Spitfires and Hurricanes.” [Advertiser 17 Jul 1941 p 6]
“The social club is making a big effort this month to raise £315 for the endowment of a cot at the Adelaide Children's Hospital. More than £100 has already been raised, with nearly half of that sum as proceeds from the sale of 2,000 copies of the ‘Hendon Howl’, a chatty newspaper of munition workers' doings.” [News 4 Jun 1942]
“Hendon smallarms ammunition factory would cease production shortly, the Minister for Munitions (Mr. Makin) announced in Adelaide last night. At the same time, however, production at the Finsbury and Salisbury factories would be speeded up. . . Since its inception in 1940, the Hendon factory had produced 650 million rounds of small-arms ammunition, and had had an exceptionally low percentage of rejections. . . the termination of production at Hendon would be gradual. It was expected that by the end of the year it would no longer be required for munitions purposes. In the meantime, a section of the factory had been made available for rehabilitation training purposes, and the Secondary Industries Commission was negotiating for the establishment of an industry there in the post-war-period.” [News 23 Jul 1945]
“Hendon's future is already decided. It is to become the Australian production centre of Philips Electrical Industries.” [Advertiser 6 Apr 1946]
“The whole of the vast Hendon plant, which covers an area of 80 acres, has been taken over by Philips Electrical Industries.” [Advertiser 6 Dec 1947]
“Eight years ago, an Australian branch of the world's largest electronics firm undertook what must have been the biggest move in Australia's industrial history. Having decided that South Australia offered everything a modern industry needed, the management of Philips Electrical Industries of Australia Ltd. Uprooted its three New South Wales plants and moved to Hendon. . . The factory now employs 1,000 — a half men, and a half girls — in one of the most up-to-date plants in the Commonwealth.” [News 28 Jul 1954]
OSTRICH FARM
Before Harry Butler established his aerodrome, the land had earlier been used for an ostrich farm.
“There was a large number of visitors at Albert Park on Sunday afternoon to see the ostriches which are in Mr. Cave's paddock there. The birds appear to have quite recovered from the effects of sea-voyaging, and many show a very great improvement in plumage.” [Advertiser 11 Jun 1883]
“Albert Park Ostrich Farm. . . over eighty acres, and is divided into paddocks suitable for the birds. . . In one paddock of about an acre there are two very fine birds in excellent order, and at the time of inspection there were fifteen eggs in the nest. In another paddock was a splendid pair of birds which were worth a fabulous price as parents, and in another large enclosure were two broods of home-bred creatures, the first six being so far grown as to be over six feet high in the clear, and the second brood of six being considerably more than half-grown.” [Register 4 Aug 1884]
“The Albert Park estate is primarily an ostrich farm, but there are other animals to be seen there in the shape of four camels. These animals were born on board one of the steamers recently arrived from India, but, being two [sic] young to attempt the journey to the northward, Mr. Cave hit upon the idea of rearing them by hand. . . has succeeded in rearing the whole four of the camels, which are now fine upstanding animals. They appear tractable and docile, and the experiment of artificial rearing seems to have been a complete success.” [Advertiser 4 Aug 1884]
“The loss of feathers by the ostriches on Mr. W. B. Cave's farm at Albert Park. . . caused by the moulting of the birds. . . Daring the last few days two or three of the ostriches have been noticed to cast off feathers, and on close examination buds of new feathers were seen on the skin.” [Advertiser 22 Oct 1884]
“Mr. W. R. Cave has at his office, Port Adelaide, some very fine feathers, taken from an ostrich at the farm, Albert Park, on Friday. The collection comprises thirty pinion feathers and nearly a pound weight of byocks*, besides some black body samples. Mr. George Wilson, who has had a long experience of ostrich farming in Africa, and who cut and plucked the feathers, pronounces them a superior lot, and values the pinion feathers at from 15s. to 20s. each in their undressed state. They are well shaped, with long staple, and without blemish.” [Register 6 Dec 1884]
*byock = black and white wing-feather from a cock ostrich
“The birds at the Albert Park Farm, which are in excellent condition, now number thirty-six, and are all in good feather. The fifteen months' chickens are rapidly improving, and one of the old hens is at present sitting on twenty-six eggs. The feathers from one of the mature ostriches at a recent sale brought £13, and those of the younger birds were quitted at 4s. 6d. each. Altogether there is every prospect of the farm proving a success.” [Register 9 Apr1885]
“Mr. W. R. Cave on Sunday transferred his ostriches from Albert Park to his farm at Dublin. Sunday was selected so as to secure the road being free from traffic. Seven horsemen under the personal supervision of Mr. Cave were engaged for the undertaking, and it took them from 7 o'clock in the morning till 8 in the evening to accomplish the journey, a distance of 13 miles. The birds were driven because on a previous occasion ten were killed in conveying a flock by vehicles. . . the ostriches had increased so rapidly that a larger run had to be found for them.” [Evening Journal 10 Aug 1886]
Original Caption: Dust Storm in Rolla, Kansas; 05/06/35; Dear Mr. Roosevelt, Darkness came when it hit us. Picture taken from water tower one hundred feet high. Yours Truly, Chas. P. Williams." Photo: Massive Dark cloud approaching village in forefront.
U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: NLR-PHOCO-A-48223(3719)33
Created By: Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
From:: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library Public Domain Photographs
Production Date: 4/14/1935
Persistent URL: arcweb.archives.gov/arc/action/ExternalIdSearch?id=195691
Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (Hyde Park, NY)
Access Restrictions: Unrestricted
Use Restrictions: Unrestricted
The USS Nevada - Veteran of 2 Wars and Many Battles. The USS Nevada, built by the Fore River Ship yard, Boston, Massachusetts, and commissioned 03/11/1916, still commands a prominent place in what is today the world's biggest fleet. An old sea dog that has weathered many battles including the Jap[anese] attack at Pearl Harbor, the Nevada is still able to withstand the best the enemy has to offer. When a Jap[anese] suicide plance crashed the Nevada off Okinawa, March 27, 1945, this veteran battleship shook off the resulting damage in a matter of hours. Again on April 5, when a Jap[anese] shore battery on Okinawa began shelling the ship, scoring five hits, she silenced the installation in 18 minutes. Though the Nevada has been active throughout the Pacific fight - from the Aleutians to the Ryukuys, the big ship also played a leanding role in the Normandy and Cherbourg landings in Europe. Wounded men from the USS Nevada are transferred to an amphibious craft for further transfer to a Navy hospital ship. Eleven men were killed; 41 wounded, when the big battleship was hit by a Jap[anese] suicide plane off Okinawa early in the morning of March 27, 1945. Released 07/18/1945; BuAer 274508.
Navy Medicine Historical Files - Subject series - World War II photos - WWII Shipboard Evacuation - Pacific. 09-7930-011
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From original deck of WW2-era International Aircraft Silhouettes Spotter Cards published by The U.S. Playing Card Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Philippine President Sergio Osmeña (right) and Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur (left) on board a landing craft en route to the Leyte landing beaches, October 20, 1944.
(Photo and text courtesy of World War II History)
09-7922-008
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Landing on Panaon, Phillippines. Volunteer blood donor contributes the vital fluid for transfusions. [Blood. Transfusions.] [World War 2. Pacific Theater.] [Scene.] WWII Pacific Theater - Miscellaneous.
10/20/1944
Take a look at the Chamomile Tea Party's other posters. Be sure to download the large size and post them.
Nearly ended up in the bin after I knocked a full bottle of Alclad over it after the underside had been finished, but I managed to salvage it
This mint 1942 Harley Davidson WLA Army Motorcycle looked fantastic in the original army paintwork. Got a soft spot for these, my late father had one.
Taken at Jeparit Museum, Victoria in 2012.
Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 25, 2018. BLM photo: Matt Christenson
A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.
It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.
Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.
The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.
At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.
Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.
And then the troops arrived.
The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.
They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.
And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.
Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.
The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.
After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.
Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...
Sheet of song lyrics printed by the Canadian YMCA for soldiers during the Second World War.
This page has lyrics for: Grandfather's Clock; John Peel; Home on the Range; Listen to the Mocking Bird; Voyageur Song; I've been Wukkin' on de Railroad; Oh! Susanna; She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain; The Spanish Cavalier; The More We Get Together; A La Claire Fontaine; En Roulant Ma Boule; Sur La Pont D'Avignon; Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho; A Perfect Day; Down by the Old Mill Stream; Beautiful Blue Danube; Mademoiselle from Amentieres; Siegfried Line; Taps; Abide With Me.
Part of the Floyd Marlin collection, donated to the Deseronto Archives by Sally and Wally Vick.
Between the world wars, the port of Freeport, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Galveston, gained sufficient importance to merit some coastal defense, but not large fortifications. The solution was to install a temporary defense with two field guns on Panama Gun Mounts.
Field artillery is usually unsuited for coastal defense because such guns cannot easily follow a moving target, such as a ship. The US Army developed in Panama in the 1920s the Panama Gun Mount as a cheap way to mount medium size coastal defense. The mount consisted of a circular concrete track, with a small concrete platform in the center. A US M1918 155 mm GPF gun was mounted on the center platform, with the trail extended to the circular concrete track. This allowed the gun to quickly traverse and follow a moving target.
Here, we see one of the two Panama mounts built at this site, but the gun we see is not the correct one. Instead of a US M1918 155 mm (6.1 inch) GPF gun, which had one axle and a pair of wheels, we see here a US M115 8-inch (203 mm) Howitzer, which is similar in size to the correct weapon. The original M1 of World War II became the M2 during the war after some improvements and then the M115 when all US artillery was redesignated in 1962. This mount, Battery Quintana, is at Quintana Beach County Park, Freeport. The second mount is 300 feet (91 m) to the northeast and has not been restored. I visited this place on March 16, 2021.
Between the world wars, the port of Freeport, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Galveston, gained sufficient importance to merit some coastal defense, but not large fortifications. The solution was to install a temporary defense with two field guns on Panama Gun Mounts.
Field artillery is usually unsuited for coastal defense because such guns cannot easily follow a moving target, such as a ship. The US Army developed in Panama in the 1920s the Panama Gun Mount as a cheap way to mount medium size coastal defense. The mount consisted of a circular concrete track, with a small concrete platform in the center. A US M1918 155 mm GPF gun was mounted on the center platform, with the trail extended to the circular concrete track. This allowed the gun to quickly traverse and follow a moving target.
Here, we see one of the two Panama mounts built at this site, but the gun we see is not the correct one. Instead of a US M1918 155 mm (6.1 inch) GPF gun, which had one axle and a pair of wheels, we see here a US M115 8-inch (203 mm) Howitzer, which is similar in size to the correct weapon. Originally designated M2, it was redesignated M115 in 1962. This mount, Battery Quintana, is at Quintana Beach County Park, Freeport. The second mount is 300 feet (91 m) to the northeast and has not been restored. I visited this place on March 16, 2021.