From the Los Angeles Times November 3, 2002 Read more at the link: During WWII, the City Braced for a Japanese Invasion [SIZE=+3]During WWII, the City Braced for a Japanese Invasion[/SIZE] ----- A shallow bluff-top trench covered with ice plant overlooks the coastline and marks the spot where infantrymen once guarded Los Angeles Harbor against a Japanese invasion. Ft. MacArthur, now the centerpiece of Angels Gate Park, was the "Guardian of Los Angeles," the coast's first line of defense from 1914 through 1982. More than half a century ago, these peaceful hills bristled with 30,000 soldiers, 5,000 feet of tunnels, gun crews, machine-gunners and aircraft spotters. The fort, one of nine along the California coast, was named for Civil War hero Lt. Gen. Arthur MacArthur, father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Today, it's a reminder of World War II's profound effect on the Pacific Coast, as well as evidence that today's anxieties about terrorism are nothing new. Back then, people on this side of the ocean lived in fear. Newspaper stories asked readers to heed blackouts, prepare for air raids and learn to extinguish incendiary bombs. Before Pearl Harbor, no one dreamed that Ft. MacArthur -- the only fort in the nation with 14-inch disappearing gun batteries -- would actually be called upon to defend the harbor. But after Dec. 7, 1941, nine Japanese submarines moved east to target merchant ships off the Pacific Coast.
I omitted to say that the 11 inchers were replaced by 6 inch MK V11 guns as the originals were very limited in elevation (only up to 20 degrees) and the slow rate of fire.
The gun/s that fired the first shot of WWI and the first shot in the "Far East" in WWII - mentioned on the forum before - http://ww2chat.com/forums/news-articles/400-navy-divers-inspecting-uxb-under-melbourne-pier.html
There is the story told about Los Angeles when they thought that the invasion had started and panic ensured. Gen MacArthur, who at that time was under siege in the phillipines, sent a message to Los Angeles, which read "if you give me 48hrs notice, I can come to your aid with reinforements"!
Answer According to the US Army R.O.T.C. Manual, Coast Artillery Basic, 1942, the 14inch Coastal Artillery gun was basicly a WWI era railroad gun with one of two basic mounts. It ws either a mobile, or semi-mobie rail mount, which employes a detachable locamotive when moved; or it can be deployed in a "fixed carriage" mount. The fixed mount is such that it, too, can be swiveled arounded a fixed base-plate in what seems to be a 360-degree arc (probably less). And in this fixed mount, the gun must be raised into firing position, and lower into service/loading position. I know from other studies that the US Army Officer Corps divides officers into professional "tracks". Before and during WWII this tracks included Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineering, Aviation, Medical, Quartermaster, Judge Advocate, Sgnal Corp, Chemical, Chaplain, Ordinace, and COASTAL ARTILLERY. The Coastal Artillery Corp is a specialized profesional branch which dealt with the specialized big guns meant to be the bulwark of the national defence throughout the nation's history, from the Revolution up to and through WWII, when the development of Aircraft made the 12-mile range of the coastal guns a no longer practical deterent. I once had a brief interview of a WWII veteran who was assigned to Coastal Artillery somewhere along the Pacific Coast. The imagry I retain from his remarks was that the weapons were old, in dis-repair, and the morale of the men and officers both were fairly low. He very distinctly recalled that it was a standing order that no requests for transfer would be entertained. From that I was lead to understand that already the professional officers were seeing their career being terminated as redundant. And from what I could recall of a book by Homer Lea, the areas along the Pacific Coast which were defended by Coastal Artillery were North-west region, the San Francisco Region, and the Los Angeles-San Diego Region.
Not something you hear of too often but the guys in Coastal Artillery still did their service and deserve greater recognition. Would have been long hours of nothing with the occasional alert that amounted to nothing and, perhaps rarer still, action of some sort. A lot of batteries, such as the ones on Rottnest Island about 35 kms from where I sit would have only fired in exercises. Oliver Hill Battery, Rottnest Island, Western Australia during WW2 Olivers Hill Battery, Rottnest Island, WA Profile
My in-laws lived near Burbank just before the war, and my father-in-law was working at Douglas building DC3s and C47s. Just after the war started, a flight of Army planes flew over the city and activated the air raid systems. My in-laws swear to this day that, "the Japs tried to bomb LA when we lived out there". My father-in-law was an "air raid" warden for the apartments where they lived. He was offered a better job at Northrup, so he quit at Douglas and went over to Northrup and they said that they wouldn't be having another wave of new-hires for two weeks. He had the job, but Northrup didn't notify the draft board when he accepted the position, and Douglas notified them the day he quit (they were mad). So, while the paperwork crossed paths in the mail, he was drafted the following week! He went from top wages to 30-bucks a month, plus a 50-dollar allotment for my mother-in-law. She went up to Richmond (near Oakland) and built Liberty ships for top wages while he "slaved away" on Kauai :eyebrows: working on P40s, Catalinas and Hudsons.
