6-inch gun M1897


The 6-inch gun M1897 and its variants the M1900, M1903, M1905, M1908, and M1 were coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1897 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. They were installed on disappearing carriages or pedestal mountings, and during World War II many were remounted on shielded barbette carriages. Most of the weapons not in the Philippines were scrapped within a few years after World War II.

History

In 1885, William C. Endicott, President Grover Cleveland'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 for some 29 locations on the US coastline. Most of the Board's recommendations were implemented. United States Army Coast Artillery Corps fortifications built between 1885 and 1905 are often referred to as Endicott Period fortifications. The 6-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, and 12-inch weapons and the small 3-inch guns intended to defend minefields against minesweepers. The Watervliet Arsenal designed the guns and built the barrels. Initially, most of the guns were mounted on disappearing carriages; when the gun was fired, it dropped behind a concrete and/or earthen wall for protection from counter-battery fire. Within a few years, it was realized that operating the disappearing carriage negatively impacted the rate of fire, and the M1900 low-profile pedestal mount was designed.
On the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898 most of the Endicott fortifications were still under construction. To quickly arm some works a few weapons were purchased from the United Kingdom including nine 6-inch Armstrong guns, two of which survive at Fort DeSoto near St. Petersburg, Florida. These appear to have been withdrawn from service by 1925.
Between the Endicott program and the 1905–15 Taft Board fortifications, approximately 200 6-inch guns were emplaced in the United States and its possessions, around 150 of which were on disappearing carriages.

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. The Coast Artillery operated all US Army heavy artillery in that war, due to their experience and training with these weapons. A total of 92 6-inch coast defense guns were removed from fixed emplacements or drawn from spares and mounted on M1917 wheeled carriages as field guns; most of these equipped three Coast Artillery regiments in France, the 61st, 62nd, and 68th. The guns were nicknamed "6-inch Terrors". However, due to the Armistice, none of these regiments completed training in time to see action. By 1917, pedestal mounts for 6-inch guns were known to be superior to disappearing mounts, being able to more rapidly track targets with a faster rate of fire. Thus, most disappearing guns were dismounted for use as field guns, while most of the few pedestal guns dismounted were returned to the forts soon after the war. The removed 6-inch disappearing guns were stored and many were returned to service in World War II. The Army weapons removed included up to 18 M1900 guns and 74 M1903 and M1905 guns based on carriages ordered. One source states that four M1900 guns and 68 M1903/M1905 guns arrived in France. An additional 46 6-inch guns of other types were provided by the Navy and 30 ex-Navy guns from arms dealer Francis Bannerman; a few of these were possibly delivered to France before the Armistice. These included Navy guns Marks 2 through 6, of 30, 40, 45, and 50 calibers length. All of the Bannerman guns were 30 calibers long; the number of guns of other lengths is unclear. Sources state that all Navy guns were cut down to 30 calibers barrel length in an attempt to standardize ballistics, as that was the length of the shortest Navy guns. Thirty-seven M1917B carriages were ordered for the Navy guns, with a view to having a spare tube for each carriage; it is unclear how many were produced, or if any were delivered to France. Some of the Army weapons were returned to coast defenses after the war, but most were stored until World War II. One survives on a field carriage in the collection of the U.S. Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center, Fort Lee, Virginia. In June 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the field carriages for the 6-inch guns were declared obsolete and almost entirely scrapped.

World War II

Along with other coast artillery weapons, some of the 6-inch guns in the Philippines saw action in the Japanese invasion in World War II. Since they were positioned against a naval attack, they were poorly sited to engage the Japanese, and the open mountings were vulnerable to air and high-angle artillery attack.
In 1940–44, 16-inch gun batteries were constructed at most harbor defenses to replace the aging Endicott- and Taft-era weapons. Many 6-inch weapons were remounted on M1 through M4 shielded barbette carriages at new locations in two-gun batteries to complement the 16-inch guns. These allowed higher-angle fire than previous mountings, and extended the 6-inch guns' range from to. M1903 and M1905 weapons were remounted as the M1903A2 and M1905A2, and a new M1 gun armed some batteries. A heavily concreted magazine structure with a gas-tight plotting room was constructed between each pair of guns. At one point 87 batteries were proposed, but only about 65 were built and 45 armed before construction was suspended late in World War II. Approximately 140 barbette carriages were constructed. Some additional 6"/50 caliber ex-Navy guns were mounted in the year after Pearl Harbor to provide some defense while the new batteries were under construction; locations included Alaska, American Samoa, and Suriname among others. Some of the M1900 weapons on pedestal mounts were retained in service or relocated to better positions during the war, but the disappearing guns were mostly scrapped by 1944. Following World War II the entire coast defense system, including almost all of the 6-inch guns, was scrapped.

Specifications

Gun lengths are muzzle to breech face.
ModelLength
in calibers		Gun LengthWeight
M189744.58
M190050
M190350
M190550
M190844.58
M1 50Approx.

Carriages

The carriages for Army 6-inch guns were:
CarriageTypeUsual gunNumber built
M1898disappearingM189729
M1900pedestalM190045
M1903disappearingM1903, M1905, M190090
M1905disappearingM1905, M190833
M1910pedestalM1908M26
M1917field gunM1903, M190574
M1917Afield gunM190018
M1, M2, M3, M4shielded high-angle barbetteM1903A2, M1905A2, M1 143

Surviving examples

At least 20 Army 6-inch guns remain, mostly in the Philippines.