CDSGThe Newsletter The Coast Defense Study Group, Inc. — May 2014 Chairman’s Message CDSG Meeting and Tour Calendar Norm Scarpulla Please advise Terry McGovern of any additions or changes at [email protected] Over the last three months, we learned of the death of two long- time CDSG members, Bill Gaines and Phil Sims. Bill was one of 2014 CDSG Annual Conference our earliest members and a frequent contributor to the Journal. October 1 - 5, 2014 Because of his work in naval ship design, Phil had unique insight Los Angeles /San Diego HDs into the relation of coast artillery and warship armament. We will Mike Fiorini, [email protected] miss them both. In February, we implemented our new website (same address: 2015 CDSG Annual Conference CDSG.org). The photos on the homepage are stunning, and we April 2015 now have the ability to accept credit cards and PayPal for member- Delaware River HD ships, books, and clothing. Chris Zeeman, [email protected] Our 2014 annual conference will be in San Diego and Los Angeles this October. The details and signup are included with 2016 CDSG Annual Conference this Newsletter. Please plan to attend to see the fortifications and September 2016 meet other members. Because of the need to reserve buses at San Tampa Bay & Key West Diego, and due to security at US Navy controlled sites, you need Charles Bogart, [email protected] to sign up early; don’t delay. In March, we completed our financial audit, and the audit re- Proposed CDSG Special Tour port and financial statement are included with this Newsletter. The June 2015 CDSG continues to be financially strong. However, the number of Panama Canal Zone individual memberships is down from 387 at the end of 2009 to Terry McGovern, [email protected] 359 last year. We need to recruit new members. When you visit a fort or a military event, be an ambassador for the CDSG. Wear a Proposed CDSG Special Tour CDSG shirt, hat, or patch. Talk to people about the organization June 2016 and point them to our website, CDSG.org. Can you recruit one Defenses of Switzerland new member in 2014? Terry McGovern, [email protected] Each year, we elect one new director to replace the director who is finishing his or her third year. Mike Fiorini’s term ends September Other Meetings and Tours 30. With this Newsletter, you will find the ballot for the election of a new director. We have two fine candidates, Alex Hall and Alfred July 2014 Chiswell. Please mail in your vote by July 15. FORTE CULTURA Pilot Tour Remember that this is a volunteer organization. We need mem- Germany-Austria-Italy bers to write articles for the Journal and Newsletter. Even a short Hans-Rudolf Neumann, [email protected] report about a visit to a fort is useful. And we need site representa- tives. A site representative does not need to be the expert about August 2014 the fort or coast artillery, but rather he or she needs to maintain Czech Association for Military History Tour contact with the site owner or manager and be the conduit for Maginot Line in the Alps communication both ways. Vladimir Kupka, [email protected] * * * * * August 30 - September 6, 2014 CDSG 2014 Conference ECCOFORT Reg. Association Tour San Diego and Los Angeles Pula & Croatia October 1 – October 5, 2014 Hans-Rudolf Neuman, [email protected] Registration fee will be $195 which includes our bus in San Di- September 5 - 8, 2014 ego, handouts, site fees, lunches, the banquet on Friday night, and Fortress Study Group Annual Conference other expenses. Extra banquet tickets will cost $45. A registration East Anglia form is attached to this newsletter or it can be printed from the Alistair Graham Kerr, [email protected] The CDSG Newsletter, May 2014 Page 2 September 2014 May 2015 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Festungsforschung Annual Meeting Council on America's Military Past Koln (Cologne) New Orleans, Louisiana Andreas Kupka, [email protected] Marylou Gjernes, [email protected] September 18 - 22, 2014 August/September 2015 Association Saint-Maurice d'Etudes Militaries Tour ECCOFORT Reg. Association Tour Maginot Line & Verdun Verona/Italy Maurice Lovisa, [email protected] Hans-Rudolf Neuman, [email protected] October 11, 2014 September 11-15, 2015 Stiching Menno van Coehoorn Tour Association Saint-Maurice d'Etudes Militaries Tour Zaltbommel, Netherlands Hamburg, Germany Frits van Horn, [email protected] Marc Girard, [email protected] October 17, 2014 October 2015 International Fortress Council Annual Meeting International Fortress Council Annual Meeting Portsmouth, UK Antwerp, Belgium Luc Fellay, [email protected] Luc Fellay, [email protected] November 8, 2013 May 2016 Czech Association for Military History Annual Meeting Fortress Study Group Overseas Tour Prague, Czech Republic Menorca/Majorca Vladimir Kupka, [email protected] TBA, [email protected] February 2015 Sept/Oct 2016 ECCOFORT Reg. Association Tour ECCOFORT Reg. Association Tour Punjab, India Edime, the Dardenelles, Istanbul Hans-Rudolf Neuman, [email protected] Hans-Rudolf Neuman, [email protected] May 2015 October 2016 Fortress Study Group Overseas Tour International Fortress Council Annual Meeting South Portugal Berlin, Germany Charles Blackwood, [email protected] Luc Fellay, [email protected] CDSG website at cdsg.org. Please register as soon as you can if San Diego Fairfield Inn by Marriott you are planning on attending and make your hotel reservations. 3900 Old Town Avenue See our nation’s key defenses on southern California Coast. The San Diego, CA 92110 Point Loma Peninsula of San Diego contains Fort Rosecrans and Conference nights are October 1 and 2, 2014. Room rate is a number of WWII-era batteries. Coronado has the former Fort $109 per night plus tax for a single king bed or twin queen beds. Emory with its WWII-era 100 and 200-series batteries. Many Price is good for 3 days before and after the conference dates in non-conference additional sites include the USS Midway museum, San Diego. Reservation phone # 888.236-2427 - reference CDSG Liberty Station, the former Naval Training Center, the Marine group rate. Concessions include: free shuttle to/from Lindberg Corps museum, and Cabrillo National Monument to name a few. field during “normal business hours”, free on-site parking, free In Los Angeles see Fort MacArthur, Battery Osgood-Farley’s meeting room for 40 and hospitality suite, free hot breakfast on restored BC station and power room, and the other batteries, fire site. control stations, and Nike missile sites of the Upper Reservation, Double Tree by Hilton White Point, and Long Point. Many additional sites can be seen 2800 Via Cabrillo Marina before or after the conference, including the USS Iowa and the San Pedro, CA 90731 Queen Mary. Conference nights are October 3 and 4, 2014; Room rate is $145 per night plus tax for single or double queen beds; Pricing is Joe Janesic is my Co-Chairman – Thanks Joe. good for 3 days before and after the conference dates in San Pedro. Mike Fiorini Reservation phone # 800.222-8733 - reference group code “CDS.” [email protected] Food and Beverages service is available on site with nearby ad- ditional sites within walking distance. Site of annual dinner and Hotel Information: we will be staying in San Diego two nights business meeting on Friday night. Free parking is provided for all and in San Pedro two nights: registered guests. Free meeting room. The CDSG Newsletter, May 2014 Page 3 Post-conference shuttles are available to both Los Angeles topics: “The British Rifled Muzzle Loading Guns Period 1865- International and Long Beach Airports for a reasonable fee. 1879” by Charles Trollope and “The Solent Forts – the Preliminary Prompt reservations are encouraged, as both sites are popular Arguments”(the Spithead forts) by Andrew Saunders. tourist destinations. In any case, August 15 will be the deadline The bulk of the issue is taken up by a facsimile reproduction of for room reservations and conference registration. Both sites the “1860 Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Consider have many tourist attractions for men and women, bring your the Defences of the United Kingdom,” an often cited reference lady and book your rooms early! in British fortification history – a report which “draws the vari- ous structures being built at that time to rearm the coast of Great Tentative Schedule pending permission from the various Britain into a coherent scheme of defence.” This is a valuable piece organizations: of reference material. Wednesday, October 1st: Afternoon check in with evening * * * * * organizational meeting and presentations. Fort Casey Additions Thursday, October 2nd: Subbase/Ft. Rosecrans sites, Cabrillo Steven Kobylk National Park sites, West side of Pt. Loma Peninsula, evening presentations. Fort Casey, WA, has been the grateful beneficiary of work Friday, October 3rd: Coronado, Ft. Emory, and Border Field by several local organizations. These have added considerably fire control stations in morning. Mid-day drive to San Pedro in to our ability to interpret the batteries, and perhaps have also private cars. Annual dinner meeting in evening, presentations awakened an interest in historic preservation in some of our Saturday, October 4th: Fort MacArthur: Battery 241, Battery young people. Leary-Merriam, Battery Barlow-Saxton, afternoon at Fort Ma- The Oak Harbor High School shop class has made several cArthur Museum (Battery Osgood-Farley) and Battery Bunker; impressive additions to the displays at Fort Casey, WA. They evening presentations. fabricated steel shot tongs, which have been installed in the Bat- Sunday, October 5th:Outlying sites in the morning, White’s tery Worth shell hoist room. After some modification and adjust- Point, Sea Beach, 2 base-end stations, Long Point, Battery 240, ments, the tongs now work as originally designed.