The 251st Coast Artillery was a

coast artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

regiment in the California National Guard, constituted in 1924 as a harbor defense regiment for the 9th Artillery District and re-designated in 1930 as an

antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

regiment. It served in World War II in that capacity.

Lineage

The regiment was constituted in the National Guard in 1924, allotted to the state of California, and assigned to the Harbor Defenses of San Diego. Batteries were formed by redesignating several batteries of the extant 250th Coast Artillery Regiment on 1 November 1924, and the regimental headquarters was organized and federally recognized on 7 November 1924 at San Diego * Headquarters (new) * Headquarters Battery from Battery G, 250th Coast Artillery * Medical Detachment from Medical Detachment, 20th Coast Artillery * Battery A from Battery E, 250th Coast Artillery * Battery B from Battery F, 250th Coast Artillery * Battery C from Battery H, 250th Coast Artillery * Battery D from Battery I, 250th Coast Artillery * Battery E from Battery K, 250th Coast Artillery As a harbor defense unit, the 251st was the California National Guard's component of the harbor defenses (HD) of Los Angeles and San Diego (

Fort MacArthur Fort MacArthur is a former United States Army installation in San Pedro, Los Angeles, California (now the port community of Los Angeles). A small section remains in military use by the United States Air Force as a housing and administrative annex ...

and

Fort Rosecrans Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...

were the main forts); parts of the 3rd Coast Artillery Regiment were the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a standin ...

components of these defenses. It was redesignated and reorganized as 251st Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) on 1 January 1930. * Inducted into Federal service 16 September 1940 at home stationsGaines National Guard, 251st Coast Artillery Regiment * Boarded ships for Hawaii on 17 November 1940, arrived at

Fort Shafter Fort Shafter, in Honolulu CDP, Page 4/ref> City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific, which commands most Army forces in the Asia-Pacific region with the exception of Korea. Geographically, F ...

, Hawaii on 23 November 1940, said to be the first National Guard unit shipped overseas in World War IIStanton, p. 417 * Moved to Camp Malakole, HI on 27 January 1941, assigned to the air defense of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

* Engaged during the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, 7 December 1941 * Departed Hawaii for Fiji 22 May 1942 * 3rd Battalion constituted 27 May 1942 at Nadi, Fiji Islands Arrival of the regiment in Fiji was reported on 1 June 1942, "more than doubling the anti-aircraft defenses of Fiji." * moved to Guadalcanal 23 November 1943 * moved to Bougainville 4 December 1943, assigned to XIV Corps Regiment broken up at Bougainville 1 March 1944 as follows- * HHB as HHB 251st Antiaircraft Artillery Group * 1st Battalion as 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion * 2nd battalion as 951st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion * 3rd Battalion as 140th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (Gaines and Stanton list 3rd Battalion as disbanded 1 March 1944, Stanton lists 140th AAA Gun Battalion as existing stateside 10 July 1943 to 25 January 1945) The 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion moved to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on 9 January 1945, returned to

San Francisco Port of Embarkation The San Francisco Port of Embarkation (SFPOE) was a United States Army command responsible for movement of supplies and troops to and from the Pacific during World War II with extensive facilities in the San Francisco area. SFPOE was established ...

13 January 1946, inactivated 15 January 1946 at Camp Stoneman, California. The 951st Antiaircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion moved to the Philippines on 9 January 1945, returned to San Francisco for inactivation 26 December 1945. The 251st Antiaircraft Artillery Group departed Bougainville on 11 December 1944, stopped at

Lae Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and Manus,

Admiralty Islands The Admiralty Islands are an archipelago group of 18 islands in the Bismarck Archipelago, to the north of New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. These are also sometimes called the Manus Islands, after the largest island. These rainforest-co ...

, arriving at Lingayen Gulf, Philippines on 9 January 1945. Moved to Manila 8 March 1945; returned to San Francisco 26 December 1945 and inactivated at Camp Stoneman 29 December 1945.Stanton, p. 452 Later the regiment became an air defense artillery regiment, and was equipped with the

Nike-Hercules The Nike Hercules, initially designated SAM-A-25 and later MIM-14, was a surface-to-air missile (SAM) used by U.S. and NATO armed forces for medium- and high-altitude long-range air defense. It was normally armed with the W31 nuclear warhead, but ...

missile. Elements which were to become part of the 251st Air Defense Artillery were under control of the Regular Army's 47th Artillery Brigade (Air Defense), part of

Army Air Defense Command Army Air Defense Command, previously Army Anti-Aircraft Command, was a major command of the United States Army which existed from 1957 to 1974. The previous ARAACOM was created in 1950 and was redesignated ARADCOM in 1957. It was formed to command t ...

. The brigade's command post was at the

Fort MacArthur Direction Center A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in San Pedro, Los Angeles. In May 1959, the 720th ADA Battalion was redesigned as the 4th Missile Battalion (Nike-Hercules) 251st Artillery, California Army National Guard. The lineage of the regiments headquarters company continues on in the form of the headquarters company of the

79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team The 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is an infantry brigade of the United States Army and the California Army National Guard. In late 2008, the 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (United States), 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team was redesignated ...

Distinctive unit insignia

* Description A Gold color metal and enamel device in height overall consisting of a shield blazoned: Or, six pallets couped Gules, a ship of Cabrillo’s time Argent; on a canton Azure a fleur-de-lis encircled by a garland of laurel of the first. Attached below and to the sides of the shield a Red scroll inscribed “WE AIM TO HIT” in Gold letters. * Symbolism The shield is red for Artillery. The six pallets couped produce a diminished bordure effect on the shield and represent the six batteries comprising the Regiment at the time of its organization. The ship is a representation of the ship of Don Juan Rodrigues Cabrillo, a Portuguese, who discovered San Diego Harbor. The charges on the canton, the fleur-de-lis encircled by a garland of laurel, are taken from the coat of arms of the 250th Coast Artillery, as Batter B of the 251st Coast Artillery, California National Guard, is a descendant of Batter F of the 250th Coast Artillery, California National Guard which served during World War I as B Battery of the 65th Coast Artillery (US). * Background The distinctive unit insignia was originally approved for the 251st Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) on 9 January 1928. It was amended to add the motto on 16 June 1928. It was redesignated for the 746th Antiaircraft Artillery Gun Battalion on 7 January 1952. The insignia was redesignated for the 251st Artillery Regiment on 16 February 1961. It was redesignated for the 251st Air Defense Artillery Regiment on 10 July 1972.

Awards

In 1936, the regiment was awarded the Coast Artillery Association Trophy.

Campaign streamers

World War II 251st CA (AA): Central Pacific and Northern Solomons 251st AAA Group: Luzon, Philippines

References

*
Gaines, William C., ''Historical Sketches Coast Artillery Regiments 1917-1950, National Guard Regiments 197-265

Gaines, William C., Coast Artillery Organizational History, 1917-1950, ''Coast Defense Journal'', vol. 23, issue 2
*

External links

* {{Artillery Regiments (United States)

251 __NOTOC__ Year 251 ( CCLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Etruscus (or, less frequently, year 1004 ' ...

Military units and formations established in 1924 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s 1924 establishments in the United States