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A Harbor Defense Command was a military organization of 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 ...
designated in 1925 from predecessor organizations dating from circa 1895. It consisted of the forts, controlled underwater minefields, and other coastal defenses of a particular harbor or river. Harbor Defense Commands, along with the similar Coast Artillery Corps, were disestablished in 1950.


History

These commands originated as Artillery Districts, to control groups of forts constructed under the Endicott Program beginning in 1895. A 1909 reference shows that districts could include (depending on size) a Battle Command (later Fort Command), Fire Command, Mine Command, and Battery Commands. Mine planter vessels were also attached to these commands to plant and maintain controlled minefields. In 1913 the districts were redesignated as Coast Defense Commands, called "Coast Defenses of..." the area protected.''Coast Artillery Organization: A Brief Overview'' at the Coast Defense Study Group website
/ref>Rinaldi, pp. 165-166 At this time Coast Artillery Districts became regional commands, each controlling several Coast Defense Commands. Several of these commands were disarmed and disestablished between World War I and World War II, although minefield defenses may have been retained (references are unclear). Some of the disarmed commands were rearmed in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
with " Panama mounts", circular concrete platforms for towed 155 mm guns. Some of these rearmed commands and other hastily-armed areas were designated as "Temporary Harbor Defenses". In 1925 the Coast Defense Commands were redesignated as Harbor Defense Commands, called "Harbor Defenses of..." the area protected.Stanton, pp. 477-481 After World War II all of these commands were disarmed within a few years, and they and the Coast Artillery Corps were disestablished in 1950.


Harbor Defense Command areas

The major Harbor Defense Commands in the Continental United States (
CONUS ''Conus'' is a genus of predatory sea snails, or cone snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Conidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2015). Conus Linnaeus, 1758. In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species a ...
) were:Berhow, pp. 200-231List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
These are arranged in the traditional order of US Army reports, starting in Maine and working clockwise around the US. The major Harbor Defense Commands in US territories were: The Harbor Defense Commands established as a result of the 1940
Destroyers for Bases Agreement The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, according to which 50 , , and US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for land rig ...
with the United Kingdom were:


See also

* Seacoast defense in the United States *
List of coastal fortifications of the United States The United States and the colonies that preceded it built numerous coastal defenses to defend major cities, ports and straits from the colonial era through World War II. Some listed were built by other nations and are now on United States territo ...
* List of forts in the United States


References

* * * * *
A Short History
of US fort construction at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website
List of all US coastal forts and batteries
at the Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. website {{Artillery Regiments (United States) United States Army Coast Artillery Corps Coastal fortifications Fortifications in the United States 1925 establishments in the United States 20th-century military history of the United States United States military-related lists