Smyrna times., 1930-03-26
FOUR STATE FORTS IN SHIFT
New Duties and Post War Respon-
sibilities Seen in the Change

New DutIeS ana P0St war heSp0n-
sibilities Seen in the Change
Four Delaware River Coast Ar
tillery forts are included in ma
tion-wide change as result of
joint agreements entered into be-
tween the army and navy general
boards in which the entire task of
coast defense has been assigned to
the army. The Delaware River
forts effected by this agreement
are Fort DUPONT, Fort Delaware,
Fort Mott and Fort Salisbury,
near Milford. These forts are now
under the direct supervision of the
Second Corps Area, with head
quarters at Governors Island, N.
Y. They were formerly under the
supervision of the Philadelphia
District Engineer Office. In COM
pliance with the agreement a
wholesale reorganization of the
Coast Artillery Corps is in pro-
gress involving the maintenance
on care-taking basis of 18 forti-
fication centres and the expansion
of anti-aircraft units to a par with
big gun units Under the agree
ments the army will have both of
cluding anti-aircraft defense and
offensive and defensive operations
of aircraft from coastal bases. The
reorganization of the Coast Artil-
lery Corps, whose big gun fortifi-
cations at vital strategic points
defending the nations principal
harbors had been threatened by
the rapid development of offensive
bombing aircraft, provides for the
concentration Of training activity
on Long Island Sound and the
Chesapeake Bay, at Pensacola,
Fla, and San Francisco and on
Puget Sound Coast Defense or
ganization centres turned over to
army caretakers besides those on
the Delaware River include those
at Portland, Me-; Portsmouth, N.
H.; Boston and New Bedford,
Mass: Narragansett Bay, Eastern
New York, Southern New York,
Potomac River, Charleston, S. c.;
Savannah, Ca; Key West and
Tampa, Fla; Mobile Bay, Calves
ton, Tex; San Diego and Los An
geles, Cal, and the Columbia Riv-
er. The program provided for as
signment of eight coast artillery
regiments to coast defense duties
and seven regiments to anti-air-
craft duties. At Aberdeen, Md,
the new anti-aircraft regiment is
now being formed, the personnel
being drawn from the harbor de-
fenses at Boston, Narragansett
Bay and Fort Hancock, on Sandy
Hook. This regiment will ulti-
mately be assigned to Fort Crock
EFT, Tex.
General Charles P. Summerall,
Chief of Staff, stated that reor-
ganization was to enable the coast
artillery to meet its postwar re-
sponsibilities, including anti-air-
craft, railway and tractor big gun
facilities, subaqueout sound-rang-
ing and experimentation missions.
General Summerall said that post
war demobilization necessitated
skeleton organizations at most of
the important big gun centres.
These skeleton crews now will be
further reduced to leave only care
takers, while the five fully equip
ped posts will quarter from 800 to
500 men each. Equipment under
caretaker status will be maintain
ed in condition for immediate use,
so that men could be marched in
ready to begin to serve the guns
The enlisted strength of the Coast
Artillery is $685. men. There will
be no reduction in personnel, but
the order reduces the number of
men assigned to fixed defenses and
increases those assigned to anti
aircraft duty.