The 300 foot long Battery Steele fortress, built in 1942, is the longest battery in the United States. It took close to 200 men to operate. Then it housed two Mark II battleship guns, the heaviest in the naval artillery at the time. The guns fired 16 inch shells 25 miles. A nearby plotting room was equipt with an early computer used to triangulate enemy position. Mines, nets, underwater microphones, and magnetic submarine detection equipment were deployed in Casco Bay to defend against German uboats.
Gun in place
The Mark II gun
Emplacement and entrance
There is a lot of graffiti, some of it impressive
Inside the battery
There are a few dark, haunting rooms deep inside. Among some of the interesting items we found were a burned out mattress, a cross country ski, desk, and an underground hatch that we were way to scared to go in.
