The 16-inch coastal defense gun M1895 was a large

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

piece installed to defend major American

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s. Only one was built and it was installed in

Fort Grant Fort Amador ( es, Fuerte Amador) and Fort Grant were former United States Army bases built to protect the Pacific (southern) end of the Panama Canal at Panama Bay. Amador was the primary on-land site, lying below the Bridge of the Americas. Grant ...

on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal Zone. It was operated by the

United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...

History

Under President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

's administration in 1885, the

Board of Fortifications Several boards have been appointed by US presidents or Congress to evaluate the US defensive fortifications, primarily coastal defenses near strategically important harbors on the US shores, its territories, and its protectorates. Endicott Board ...

under William C. Endicott was ordered to investigate the value and state of the United States' coastal defenses. Endicott found that America had fallen behind and that new naval technology made many forts and coastal defense weaponry obsolete. The 1886 report recommended a $127-million ($ in ) construction program of breech-loading cannons, mortars, floating batteries, and submarine mines for some 29 locations on the US coastline. New fortifications built in the following decades as a result of this report were called "Endicott Period" fortifications. Finding a need for long range weaponry, the

ordered a 16-inch (406 mm) gun, the construction of which began in 1895 at the

Watervliet Arsenal The Watervliet Arsenal is an arsenal of the United States Army located in Watervliet, New York, on the west bank of the Hudson River. It is the oldest continuously active arsenal in the United States, and today produces much of the artillery fo ...

Watervliet, New York Watervliet ( or ) is a city in Albany County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 10,375 as of the 2020 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, the capital of the state, and is bordered on the north, west, and south by the to ...

. The massive artillery piece was designated the M1895 and was completed in 1902; only one was built. At it weighed more than any gun that had ever been created up to that point. The 32-wheel train car alone weighed . The long gun could launch a shell . The weapon was shipped from the Watervliet Arsenal to

Watertown Arsenal The Watertown Arsenal was a major American arsenal located on the northern shore of the Charles River in Watertown, Massachusetts. The site is now registered on the ASCE's List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks and on the US Nationa ...

Watertown, Massachusetts Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is part of Greater Boston. The population was 35,329 in the 2020 census. Its neighborhoods include Bemis, Coolidge Square, East Watertown, Watertown Square, and the West End. Waterto ...

to be packed for shipment to the Panama Canal Zone. It was installed on an M1912

disappearing carriage A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate bac ...

on the Pacific side of the canal in 1915, where it protected the fort until it was scrapped in 1943. The muzzle section was later preserved and displayed at the Watervliet Arsenal museum, which closed in 2013.

Gallery

File:Scientific American Volume 91 Number 09 (August 1904) (1904) (14784412442).jpg, Full-scale model of 16-inch gun M1895 with various ammunition alongside, St. Louis World's Fair, 1904 File:Solider standing on the 16 inch Coastal Defense Gun M1895 at Sandy Hook Proving Grounds, NJ.jpg, Soldiers standing on the 16-inch gun M1895 at

Sandy Hook Proving Ground The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was a military facility along the Atlantic coast of New Jersey established by the Secretary of War on August 7, 1874, to serve as the United States Army's first proving ground for the testing of ordnance and materi ...

, New Jersey

Bibliography

Notes References * * * * * * * *
Description of Seacoast Guns 8, 10, 12, 14, 16-inch

External links

FortWiki gun type list
{{WWIIUSGuns World War I artillery of the United States World War I guns World War II artillery of the United States Coastal artillery 400 mm artillery Disappearing guns

History

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

External links