Barrett Point is located at the foot of
Mount Hayes
Mount Hayes is the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Range, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Despite not being a fourteener, it is one of the largest peaks in the United States in terms of rise above local terrain. For example, the Northeast Fa ...
at the entrance to
Prince Rupert Harbour at . It was a coastal fortification during
World War II.
History
The city of
Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 (O.S.) / 27 December (N.S.) – 29 November 1682 (O.S.)) was an English army officer, admiral, scientist and colonial governor. He first came to prominence as a Royalist cavalr ...
was the nearest railhead to the
Alaska and was strategically important to the defence of Alaska and West Coast of
Canada. Barrett point battery was the key component of the defences of Prince Rupert in
World War II. In 1938 Major Treatt of the Canada War Department, inspected the West Coast of Canada and determined suitable locations for Coastal defences. Barrett Point became the focal point of the defences that included gun batteries at
Fredrick Point,
Casey Point,
Fairview Point and
Dundas Point Dundas may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Dundas, New South Wales
* Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region
* Dundas, Tasmania
* Dundas, Western Australia
* Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828
* Shire of ...
.
The fort had 3 gun positions which were first equipped with Mk 12 6" anti-aircraft guns on Mk 7 mounts, later replaced by 3x 6" Mk 24 guns two on Mk5 mounts and one on a Mk5 mount. In addition a
6 pounder Hotchkiss quick firing gun was mounted, as well as 2x
40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. The guns of this fort and the others were controlled by a director station behind and above the centre gun position.
Ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
was stored in an underground
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
accessed by an electrical
hoist for each gun. Behind the main battery protected by the hill was hardened generator room and other support buildings. Two
searchlight towers front the fort along the shoreline. Bearings from these lights would be fed to the director for fire control. An observation post was established above the fort on top of Mt Hayes.
The guns were manned by the Northern British Columbia heavy battery,
Royal Canadian Artillery, later designated the 102nd Coast Battery of the 17th North British Columbia Coast Regiment. It's unclear as to when the battery ceased operations, as war progressed and the threat of attacked diminished, the soldiers manning the defences were drawn down to serve elsewhere. It would appear the guns were removed some time between Sept 1945 and the end of 1946. The last coastal defences along the West Coast of Canada at Fort Rodd Hill
were disbanded in 1958.
Today
Much of the Battery
fortifications are overgrown but can be seen on foot. Caution is advised as there are unmarked openings and entering the bunker should only be done with the proper equipment.
Image:Gun Position.jpg, One of the gun positions as it looks today
See also
*
List of World War II-era fortifications on the British Columbia Coast
References
{{reflist
''In times of War, Prince Rupert 1939-1945'', Sue Harper Rose
North Coast of British Columbia
Headlands of British Columbia
World War II sites in Canada