12 - inch Gun M1895 The 12 inch Coastal Defense Gun M1895 was a large artillery piece installed to defend major American seaport s between 1895 and 1945 . 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 coast - line . Coast Artillery fortifications built between 1885 and 1905 are often referred to as Endicott Period fortifications . The Watervliet Arsenal designed the gun and built the barrels . The guns were mounted on either a M1897 or M1901 disappearing carriage designed by Bethlehem Steel ; when the gun was fired , it dropped behind a concrete and / or earthen wall for protection from Counter - battery fire . Bethlehem later built barrels as well . After the Spanish - American War , the government wanted to protect American seaports in the event of war , and also protect newly gained territory , such as the Philippines and Cuba , from enemy attack . A new Board of Fortifications , under President Theodore Roosevelt ' s Secretary of War William Taft , was convened in 1905 . Taft recommended technical changes , such as more searchlights , electrification , and in some cases less guns in particular fortifications . The seacoast forts were funded under the Spooner Act of 1902 and construction began within a few years and lasted into the 1920s . M1895 12 - inch Coastal Artillery Batteries . Additional batteries were located around the United States and its possessions . The M1895MI weighed 52 tons and the M1901 carriage weighed 251 tons . The projectile weight for all M1895 guns was 1 , 046 pounds . Each shell used 318 pounds of powder , but this was varied depending on range . The projectile achieved a muzzle velocity of 2 , 250 feet per second . The M1901 Disappearing Carriage could elevate 15 degrees maximum elevation ; earlier models couldn ' t elevate that much until the rear mounting bracket was changed from a centerline to an upper position in the M1901 . The M1901 could traverse 170 degrees , but some M1895MII emplacements could traverse 210 degrees . The M1895MII had a range of over 29 , 000 yards ( 26 kilometers ) . Surviving examples . 1 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895MIA4 ( # 1 Watervliet ) on Barbette Carriage M1917 ( # 31 Eng . Machine ) Battery Smith , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 2 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895MIA4 ( # 6 Watervliet ) on Barbette Carriage M1917 ( # 30 Eng . Machine ) Battery Hearn , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 3 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895MIA4 ( # 8 Watervliet ) ( spare gun ) Battery Hearn , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 4 . Two 12 - inch Guns M1895 ( # 13 Bethlehem & # 27 Watervliet ) on Disappearing Carriages M1901 ( # 14 & # 15 Watertown ) Battery Crockett , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 5 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895 ( # 8 Bethlehem ) ( spare gun ) Battery Crockett , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 6 . Two 12 - inch Guns M1895 ( # 37 & # 12 Watervliet ) on Disappearing Carriages M1901 ( # 16 & # 17 Watertown ) Battery Cheney , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 7 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895 ( # 16 Watervliet ) ( may be spare gun for Battery Cheney ) Bottomside Area , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 8 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895 ( # 36 Watervliet ) ( remains of disappearing carriage in front of the parapet ) Battery Wheeler , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 9 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895 ( # 7 Bethlehem ) on Disappearing Carriage M1901 ( # 2 Watertown ) Battery Wheeler , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 10 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895 ( # 10 Bethlehem ) ( spare gun ) Battery Wheeler , Fort Mills , Corregidor Island , Philippines 11 . One 12 - inch Gun M1895MIA1 ( # 19 ) on Railway Mount M1918 ( # 9 Marion Steam Shovel ) Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division , Dahlgren , VA