This cache is hidden in a stretch of the Pine Barrens that was once
used by the military for practice bombing runs. The fighters would
take off from what is now Gabreski airport and target these mock
battleships which are visible from the air but not so easy to spot
on the ground. On Google Earth they are easy to pick out. This
cache is an ammo can hidden a few feet from the trail.
Plucked from the internet:
In 1943, the Federal government built the air base for use
as U. S. Army Air Corps base and gunnery range during World War II.
Located just to the northwest of the base (now the Pine Barrens),
are outlines of a destroyer, an aircraft carrier and a railway line
made out of white rocks that were used as target practice for
fighter training at the base. The remains of these targets can
still be seen from the air although the growth of the scrub pines
obscures much of the view. Fighter planes would take off from the
base and fly to the northwest and shoot machine guns and drop bombs
on these targets. The targets extended as far west as the Speonk
Riverhead Road and nearly as far north as present day County Road
51. After the war, the base was given to Suffolk County. In 1951,
it was reclaimed for the Korean War National Emergency.
Credit for the discovery of these cool bits of American military
history goes to Blackbuck, thanks Rozz.
Roadside parking and the trailhead can be found here:
N40 51.988 W72 41.797
