UNITED STATES ARMY

5th COAST ARTILLERY REGIMENT (HARBOR DEFENSE) (TYPE A) BATTERY GUIDONS  •  1941

Coast artillery regiments designated Harbor Defense were configured to man the fixed gun batteries of ports and naval bases both in the continental United States and its overseas territories. As such they were static units, permanently assigned to harbor defense commands. There were three standard organizations for these regiments, designated Type A (three battalions), Type B (two battalions), and Type C (four battalions), to accommodate the manning requirements of the gun batteries. Type D was a seperate battalion for assignment to smaller installations. All battalions had three firing batteries whose internal organization varied based on the type and number of guns to be manned. Types A through C had a separate searchlight battery, while Type D had only a searchlight platoon attached to the battalion headquarters battery On 7 December 1941, the 5th Coast Artillery Regiment was assigned to the 2nd Coast Artillery District, Harbor Defenses of Southern New York, First Army/Northeastern Defense Command. The 5th CA manned three installations: Fort Hamilton (New York City), Fort Tilden (Rockway Park, Long Island), and Fort Wadsworth (Rosebank). These installations embodied a total of 2 x 16in guns, 10 x 12in guns, 8 x 12in mortars, 4 x 10in mortars, 10 x 6in guns, 14 x 3in guns, 6 x 3in antiaircraft guns, and 24 x caliber .50 machine guns on AA mounts. Some of these guns were former naval weapons taken from decommissioned warships. When the Army adopted the flexible group organization in mid-1943, some though not all CA regiments were reorganized accordingly. Their regimental headquarters and headquarters batteries became separate group HHBs and their subordinate battalions were renumbered as separate battalions.

REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS & HEADQUARTERS BATTERY
1st BATTALION
2nd BATTALION	3rd BATTALION
BATTERY K (SEARCHLIGHT)

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