Gun Shed

Gun Shed. Fort Williams. This building was completed in 1934 for the 240th Coast Artillery Regiment of the Maine National Guard by the Quartermaster Corps. The shed was used to house two of the regiment's four mobile 155mm guns and the large Holt crawler tractor used to haul the heavy pieces. The 155mm was an American version of a powerful French gun designed and built during World War I. This weapon was adopted bythe Coast Artillery after the war as part of a new emphasis on mobility that would allow sections of the coast to be quickly defended in time of war. During the annual two week summer encampment at Fort Williams, the regiment's guns were moved out, set up, and fired by the guardsmen. In 1940 the 240th Coast Artillery was federalized, and with American entry into World War II in 1941, the guns were hauled to sites north and south of Portland and set up in temporary emplacements to extend the defenses of the harbor.