Mention of the Western Front usually brings to mind the memorable exploits of the U. S. Army and Marine Corps in France in World War I. Not generally known, perhaps, is the fact that the U. S. Navy went ashore and actively engaged the enemy on that same front. The record shows that the Navy supplied and manned the only big guns used by the Allies and that the sailors established themselves as redoubtable heavy artillerymen.
Navy participation in the land action came about because the Navy alone could supply the demand of the Allies for long-range mobile artillery on the Western Front. During 1917 the enemy progressively introduced longer range artillery, which played hob with behind-the-lines installations and contributed much to a serious morale problem. Inasmuch as our Allies had little or nothing available to combat this big gun offensive, it was up to the United States to step into the breach.
Rear Admiral Ralph Earle, then Chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance, suggested the use of large naval guns, mounted as railway artillery, as an answer to the problem. His suggestion was favorably received by the Chief of Naval Operations and the Naval Gun Factory was asked to make recommendations. Fortunately, several 14-inch guns and a quantity of 14-inch ammunition were available for the project. Naval Gun Factory personnel experienced in turret and mount design, as well as in locomotive and bridge design, set to work immediately to design a gun mount and car, and auxiliary cars and equipment. Locomotives and gun cars were built at record speed to Navy designs by the Baldwin Loco- motive Works and the American Bridge Company, as were the auxiliary cars by the Standard Steel Car Company of America. Ballistic and mount tests were carried out successfully at the Army’s Sandy Hook proving grounds.
Five complete railway batteries were shipped overseas. Each battery was made up of a train consisting of a locomotive, gun car, two construction cars, sand and log car, fuel car, battery kitchen car, two ammunition cars, three berthing cars with messing facilities, battery headquarters car, battery headquarters kitchen car, and a workshop car. In addition to the five battery trains, there was a staff train consisting of a locomotive, staff quarters car, staff kitchen and dispensary car, spare parts car, staff construction car, staff workshop car, staff commissary car, and a staff berthing car.
The gun car consisted essentially of two longitudinal steel girders upon which the gun was mounted. The Car itself was carried by two 6-wheel trucks foreward and two 6-wheel trucks aft. The gun could be elevated between zero and 45 degrees. When the gun was fired between zero and 15 degrees, the wheel brakes were locked and the recoil was absorbed by the car’s being forced backward over the rails. At higher elevations the gun was placed over a pit to allow for the 44-inch recoil of the piece. In preparation for high- angle firing, the construction cars of the battery were brought to the selected site. A pit was then dug, in which a steel and wood framework foundation was built. Rails were next laid across the pit and the gun car pushed across it. The wheel brakes were locked and the weight of the car was transferred to the framework foundation by jacks and lifting screws. An armored ammunition car was then brought to the rear of the gun car. Ammunition was handled by a monorail crane which transferred it to a shell tray on a track in the after section of the gun car.
Although the Navy railway batteries were in action on the Western Front for but a short time, they established an excellent record. During the 67 days they were in action, from 6 September to 11 November 1918, they fired a total of 782 rounds and they were highly successful in destroying important enemy military installations, including railway yards, tunnels, aviation fields, and materiel depots.
Allied officers were unstinting in their praise of the work done by the Navy artillerymen, and AEF commander General John J. Pershing added his hearty endorsement to the “Well Done” passed on by high-ranking British and French officers.
A total of 30 officers and 500 enlisted men, under the command of Rear Admiral C. P. Plunkett, formed the complement of the five batteries and the staff train.
“Ships, men, and weapons change, but tradition, which can neither be bought nor sold nor created, is a solid rock amidst shifting sands.”
Lord Fraser of North Cape
Commander-in-Chief, Royal Navy