The 515th Coast Artillery was a regiment of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

first created in the early 1920s. It was allotted to the Seventh Corps Area in 1923, and organized in 1924 as part of the

Organized Reserves The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 202 ...

. After the outbreak of the Pacific War on 7 December 1941, a "Provisional 200th CA (AA) Regiment of Manila" was established on 8 December 1941, initially with 20 officers and 500 enlisted men manning anti-aircraft weapons previously stored in the Manila area. The 515th Coast Artillery was then withdrawn 19 December 1941 from the Organized Reserves and allotted to the Regular Army, and the 515th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) hastily activated at

Fort Stotsenburg Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment, 86th Field Artillery Battalion, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 24th Fie ...

near Manila in the Philippine Islands, with the provisional regiment's personnel from the 200th Coast Artillery (AA). The number "515" was taken from an

Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

regiment in Lincoln, Nebraska, organized in 1924, that probably had few personnel assigned. That day the provisional regiment was redesignated as the 515th and augmented with about 750 officers and enlisted men of the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

for training. It was moved from Manila on 25 December 1941 (the day before Manila was declared an

open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will be ...

) to defend the withdrawal routes to

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

, where the unit defended the Cabcaben airfield and other key points until surrendering as part of the Philippine Provisional Coast Artillery Brigade on 9 April 1942. The 515th Coast Artillery (Antiaircraft) was inactivated on 2 April 1946 at Fort Mills, Philippine Islands. The regiment was redesignated on 1 August 1946 as the 515th Coast Artillery Battery and activated at

Fort Winfield Scott Fort Point is a masonry seacoast fortification located on the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is also the geographic name of the promontory upon which the fort and the southern approach of the Golden Gat ...

, California. Inactivated 25 November 1946 at Fort Winfield Scott, California. Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 515th Antiaircraft Artillery Group, organized and federally recognized on 25 September 1947 at Roswell, New Mexico, moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in 1955, but then consolidated with a number of other units into the reformed 200th Artillery on 1 September 1959. The 515th Support Battalion within the

New Mexico Army National Guard The New Mexico Army National Guard (NM ARNG) is a component of the United States Army and the New Mexico National Guard. The NM ARNG traces its history back to units formed when New Mexico was still a territory. Nationwide coordination of the S ...

now is the heir to the lineage of the 515th CA.515th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion exercise January 2019
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References

;Footnotes ;Sources * {{Artillery Regiments (United States) Coast artillery regiments of the United States Army

See also

References