Ft Greene is named after
General
Nathanial Greene, commander of the Rhode Island troops in
Boston during the Revolution. Commanded the continental forces in
Long Island. Served as Quartermaster General in 1780 and commander
of the Army in the South.
This property was acquired for coastal defense purposes in 1939
and first garrisoned in February of 1943. This post along with Ft
Church in Little Compton, made all other fortifications within the
bay
obsolete.
This cache is placed at Battery Hamilton, two
16”
guns were placed here. They were Model 1919 barrels intended as
naval ordinance and redirected to Coastal Defense and mounted
on Army
carriages.
This 16" diameter
shell
is 72" long and weighs 2,700 pounds. When loaded with 600 pounds of
powder, 17.5 tons of pressure per square inch is created in the
powder chamber forcing the shell to travel through the 68 foot long
gun barrel at 1,654 miles per hour while rotating at 4,000 rpm. The
shell could travel 25.4 miles. Only three practice rounds were
fired from here on August 6, 1943.( I wonder if the local hardware
store was busy repairing broken windows on August 7th).
The site features a unique Command Post that is disguised as a
“Farm”
silo that is visible at the entrance to the park. The fort also
contained Battery 211 with 2 - 6” guns and several concrete Panama
Mount pads for 155mm field artillery pieces. Several fire control
positions or observation post were to the south. The Army still
holds the Eastern part of the reservation.
It is not required
(or even recommended)
to enter the bunker to log this cache.
Entrance to the bunker is possible, but should be
considered
dangerous.
Openings in the
floor
require your utmost attention. The
bunker is over 500 feet between gun rooms, 33000 square feet in
area, in total darkness, and contains many smaller rooms for
shell,
powder, Plotting,
Electrical
Generation and even bathrooms. Both a
primary and backup flashlight per person is an absolute must as it
is possible to become disoriented. Care should be taken on where
you entered the
main
corridor. For the less adventuress,
the view of the ocean from the top of the bunker should not be
missed. There is a marked trail not far from the “silo”.
Congratulations to BloodhoundRIk9RT for First to
Find.