Battery Kingman is an artillery emplacement at

Fort Hancock, New Jersey Fort Hancock is a former United States Army fort at Sandy Hook in Middletown Township New Jersey. The coastal artillery base defended the Atlantic coast and the entrance to New York Harbor, with its first gun batteries operational in 1896. The ...

. The Battery was named after

Dan Christie Kingman Dan Christie Kingman (March 6, 1852 – November 14, 1916) was an officer in the United States Army who served as Chief of Engineers from 1913 to 1916. Early life Kingman was born in Dover, New Hampshire on March 6, 1852. Military career E ...

(March 6, 1852 – November 14, 1916) an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

who served as

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering program ...

from 1913 to 1916.

History

WWI

In the start of the 20th century changing technology meant that battleships out-ranged land based gun batteries. Brigadier General Dan C. Kingman saw this threat and had ordered the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

to design a new barbette carriage. To out-range battleships, the Model 1917 Barbette carriage, was introduced. He died, in 1916, during the design process so one of the Fort Hancock Batteries was named in his honor. The BCLR M1917 carriage allowed for a maximum elevation of 35 degrees, which added about to its range compared to the normal disappearing carriage. This new carriage system allowed M1895 batteries to fire at a high angle over in any direction. In 1917 construction began on two

12-inch gun M1895 The 12-inch coastal defense gun M1895 (305 mm) and its variants the M1888 and M1900 were large coastal artillery pieces installed to defend major American seaports between 1895 and 1945. For most of their history they were operated by the Unit ...

at Fort Hancock with two guns each on long-range barbette carriages; these were completed in 1921 and named Battery Kingman and Battery

Mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places Un ...

WWII

The rise of air power meant static ground defences like Battery Kingman were vulnerable to air attack. Batteries Kingman and Mills were modernized to meet this threat and their guns were protected from aerial bombing by the addition of thick concrete walls and roofs making it a

casemate A casemate is a fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired, in a fortification, warship, or armoured fighting vehicle.Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary When referring to antiquity, the term "casemate wall" mean ...

or fortified gun emplacement or armored structure from which guns are fired. In addition, several anti-aircraft gun batteries were installed in Fort Hancock.

Bibliography

Notes References * - Total pages: 64 * *{{cite web , last=National Park Service, date=2019, url = https://www.nps.gov/gate/learn/historyculture/upload/defenses_of_sandy_hook.pdf, title =The Defenses of Sandy Hook, publisher =

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...

, access-date = June 25, 2019 , quote=

Hancock Hancock may refer to: Places in the United States * Hancock, Iowa * Hancock, Maine * Hancock, Maryland * Hancock, Massachusetts * Hancock, Michigan * Hancock, Minnesota * Hancock, Missouri * Hancock, New Hampshire ** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshire * ...

Military installations in New Jersey National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey Military and war museums in New Jersey Sandy Hook, New Jersey Middletown Township, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey 1917 establishments in New Jersey 1974 disestablishments in New Jersey Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Closed installations of the United States Army Military history of New York City Military installations established in 1917 Military installations closed in 1974