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The 5-inch gun M1897 (127 mm) and its variant the M1900 were
coastal 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 c ...
pieces 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 Ham ...
s between 1897 and 1920. For most of their history they were 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 d ...
. They were installed on
balanced pillar 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 back ...
(a form of
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 back ...
) or pedestal (aka
barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protection ...
) mountings; generally the M1897 was on the balanced pillar mounting and the M1900 was on the pedestal mounting. All of these weapons were scrapped within a few years after World War I.


History

In 1885,
William C. Endicott William Crowninshield Endicott (November 19, 1826 – May 6, 1900) was an American politician and Secretary of War in the first administration of President Grover Cleveland (1885–1889). Early life Endicott was born in Salem, Massachusetts o ...
,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 Secretary of War, was tasked with creating the Board of Fortifications to review seacoast defenses. The findings of the board illustrated a grim picture of existing defenses in its 1886 report and recommended a massive $127 million construction program of breech-loading cannons, mortars, floating batteries, and
submarine mines A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...
for some 29 locations on the US coastline. Most of the Board's recommendations were implemented. US coast artillery fortifications built between 1885 and 1905 are often referred to as Endicott Period fortifications. The 5-inch caliber was chosen, as in many applications, for combining a relatively heavy shell with rapid hand loading. In the overall system, it was an intermediate caliber between the heavy 8-inch,
10-inch A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
, and
12-inch The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...
weapons and the small 3-inch guns intended to defend minefields against minesweepers. The 5-inch gun appears to have been developed shortly before the more widely deployed
6-inch gun M1897 The 6-inch gun M1897 (152 mm) and its variants the M1900, M1903, M1905, M1908, and M1 (a.k.a. T2) were coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1897 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by ...
and its variants; many harbor defenses included both weapons. The Watervliet Arsenal designed the guns and built the barrels. Initially, most of the guns were mounted on
balanced pillar 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 back ...
carriages; the gun was kept in a retracted position except while firing. Unlike the concurrent disappearing carriages for 6-inch and larger guns, the gun could only be retracted at one train angle. This meant that it was visible throughout any period of firing. Within a few years, it was realized that the balanced pillar carriage provided no real advantage, and the M1903 low-profile pedestal mount was designed while most balanced pillar mounts were replaced with pedestals.Berhow, pp. 88-91 A one-pounder single-shot subcaliber weapon was provided for training with the 5-inch gun.Lohrer, pp. 221-233 Under the Endicott program, 52 5-inch guns were emplaced in the United States, 32 on M1896 balanced pillar carriages and 20 on M1903 pedestal mounts.Berhow, pp. 201-226FortWiki.com
/ref>


World War I

After the American entry into World War I, the Army recognized the need for large-caliber guns for use on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. The Coast Artillery operated all US Army heavy artillery in that war, due to their experience and training with these weapons. A total of 28 5-inch coast defense guns were removed from fixed emplacements and mounted on M1917 wheeled carriages as
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artille ...
s;Williford, pp. 92-93Crowell, pp. 73-75 these equipped a Coast Artillery regiment in France, the 69th.69th Coast Artillery in WWI
/ref> All of these were probably M1897 weapons. However, due to the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
, the regiment did not complete training in time to see action, and reportedly never received ammunition. None of the 5-inch guns were returned to coast defenses. In June 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the field carriages for the 5-inch guns were declared obsolete and scrapped. Following World War I a number of gun types deployed in small numbers were scrapped, including all of the remaining coast defense 5-inch guns. Some were donated to local governments for use as war memorials; at least seven of these remain.


Surviving examples

At least seven Army 5-inch guns remain as war memorials:Berhow, pp. 238 * One 5-inch gun M1897,
Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
No. 16, Memorial Park,
Woodstown, NJ Woodstown is a borough in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 3,505,Fort Caswell 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'' ...
, NC) * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 21, Veterans' Memorial Park, Mahoning Ave.,
Warren, OH Warren is a city in and the county seat of Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. Located in northeastern Ohio, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown and southeast of Cleveland. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 census. The his ...
(formerly at Battery Wagner, Fort Baker, Marin County, CA) * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 13, Valley Forge Military Academy and College,
Wayne, PA Wayne is an unincorporated community centered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on the Main Line, a series of highly affluent Philadelphia suburbs located along the railroad tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad and one of the wealthiest areas ...
(formerly at Battery Bell, Fort Schuyler, NY) * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. Unk., Indiana, PA * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 3,
Virginia War Museum The Virginia War Museum is located in Huntington Park on Warwick Blvd., Newport News, Virginia. The museum contains exhibits on American military history from 1775 to the present.Virginia War Museum. "Virginia War Museum" brochure, Winter 2007. ...
,
Newport News, VA Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
(formerly at Battery Boutelle, Fort Winfield Scott, San Francisco, CA) * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. 22,
Chewsville, MD Chewsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 293 at the 2000 census. Geography Chewsville is located at (39.643149, −77.635032). According to the United States Census Bur ...
(formerly at Battery Vicars,
Fort Worden Fort Worden Historical State Park is located in Port Townsend, Washington, on originally known as Fort Worden, a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps base constructed to protect Puget Sound from invasion by sea. Fort Worden was named after U. ...
, WA) * One 5-inch gun M1897, Bethlehem No. Unk.,
Boonsboro, MD Boonsboro is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States, located at the foot of South Mountain. It nearly borders Frederick County and is proximate to the Antietam National Battlefield. The population was 3,336 at the 2010 census. ...


See also

*
Coastal 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 c ...
* Seacoast defense in the United States *
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 d ...
* Harbor Defense Command *
5"/51 caliber gun 5"/51 caliber guns (spoken "five-inch-fifty-one-caliber") initially served as the secondary battery of United States Navy battleships built from 1907 through the 1920s, also serving on other vessels. United States naval gun terminology indicates t ...
- Navy weapon of similar size and era, some used as coast defense in World War II *
Coast Artillery fire control system In the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps, the term fire control system was used to refer to the personnel, facilities, technology and procedures that were used to observe designated targets, estimate their positions, calculate firing data for guns ...
*
List of field guns Field guns are one of two primary types of field artillery. Guns fire a heavy shell on a relatively level trajectory from a longer barrel, allowing for very high muzzle velocity and good range performance. Guns are most adequate for providing l ...


References

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External links


FortWiki gun type listDrawing and description of the balanced pillar carriage, from ''Ordnance and Gunnery'', 1915.
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 World War I guns World War I artillery of the United States Coastal artillery 127 mm artillery Disappearing guns