World War II Defense of Beaufort Inlet

World War II Defense of Beaufort Inlet. . , (right panel) , Harbor Defenses of Beaufort Inlet, 1941-1944, When the United States entered World War II, the U.S. Army established the “Harbor Defenses of Beaufort Inlet.” Its purpose was to defend the entrance to Beaufort Inlet, Cape Lookout, the North Carolina State Port at Morehead City, a nearby Navy section base, and a merchant ship anchorage in Cape Lookout Bight., The initial unit assigned to the Harbor Defenses of Beaufort Inlet was First Battalion, 244th Coast Artillery Regiment, which arrived on December 21, 1941. One battery of four 155 mm guns was placed into position in the sane dunes southwest of Fort Macon guarding the Beaufort harbor entrance. A battery of 155 mm guns was also established at Pine Knoll Shores and later at Cape Lookout. Battalion headquarters occupied Fort Macon itself. Other defenses included the establishment of base end stations for sighting and plotting approaching enemy vessels, search lights, barbed wire entanglements, a radar station on Cape Lookout and a Harbor Entrance Control Point (HECP) on Fort Macon to control ship movements., Beaufort Inlet Defense Force, In addition to Coast Artillery troops, part of an infantry battalion combat team was stationed in the New Bern – Morehead City – Beaufort area as the “Beaufort Inlet Defense Force,” part of the Chesapeake Bay Sector Mobile Forces. Its duty was to provide defense against enemy landings and local attack, and also perform outpost duty and beach patrols in conjunction with the coast Guard., U-Boats Attack, During 1942, German U-boat submarines threatened the coast and wreaked havoc on Allied shipping just offshore. Dozens of Allied ships were sunk or damaged by U-boats off the North Carolina coast., Changes to Troops and Defenses, During 1942-1944, the troops in the Harbor Defenses of Beaufort Inlet and the Beaufort Inlet Defense Force changed several times as units were ordered overseas or rotated out to other posts. In fall of 1942, the 155 mm guns at Fort Macon, Cape Lookout and Pine Knoll Shores were removed and replaced by quick-firing naval gun batteries at Fort Macon and Cape Lookout. Fortunately, no enemy attacks or landings took place here during the war., Inactivation, On October 19, 1944, with the threat to the coast all but eliminated, the defenses of Beaufort Inlet were inactivated, and the troops subsequently withdrawn. Thus ended World War II coastal defense of Fort Macon and Beaufort Inlet. Between 1941 and 1944, about 4000 soldiers served in the defense of Beaufort Inlet and the surrounding area., (left panel) , World War II Defense of Beaufort Inlet: The Soldiers, Units Serving in the Harbor Defense of Beaufort Inlet, . First Battalion, 244th Coast Artillery, December 21, 1941 to August 15, 1942 , . Battery H, 2nd Coast Artillery) Cape Lookout), July 18, 1942 to March 1944 , . Second Battalion, 54th Coast Artillery (Colored), August 2, 1942 to September 6, 1942 , . Battery K, 2nd Coast Artillery (Fort Macon), September 11, 1942 to March, 1944 , . Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, HDBI, October 18, 1942 to October, 1944 , . First Battalion, 246th Coast Artillery, March to October, 1944, Beaufort Inlet Defense Force (Sector Mobile Forces), . Third Battalion, 116th Infantry, December 20, 1941 to January 21, 1942 , . Battery C, First Battalion, 111th Field Artillery, December 20, 1941 to January 21, 1942 , . Second Battalion, 111th Infantry, January 21, 1942 to October 28, 1943 , . Battery A, 193rd Field Artillery, January 21 to May 24, 1942 , . Battery A, 176th Field Artillery Battalion, May, 1942 to October, 1943 , . Headquarters and Troop C, 116th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron (Mechanized), 101st Cavalry (Mechanized), October 15, 1943 to October, 1944