Fort Heath
Encyclopedia
Fort Heath was built in 1898 as a Coast Artillery fort, located on Grovers Cliff in Winthrop, Massachusetts, and was part of the defenses of Boston Harbor. It was named in honor of General William Heath
, who served in the American Revolution. The three 12-inch guns of Battery Winthrop at Fort Heath, along with the 16 12-inch coast defense mortars of nearby Fort Banks
, made Winthrop the most heavily armed part of the harbor defenses.
After WW2, the fort was decommissioned as a Coast Artillery installation, but from 1960 to 1964, the area became the location for the Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) for the Nike missile defenses of Boston. Until 1966, the U.S. Army and the Air Force continued to operate various air defense radars from Grover's Cliff, and after 1966, the FAA operated radar equipment there.
Today, all traces of earlier military activity are gone. The old Coast Artillery gun batteries have been removed, the artillery observation stations have been demolished, and the area has been completely re-graded. At the site in 2011 are a public park for the Town of Winthrop and several large privately owned apartment buildings.
During WW2, Battery 945, a pair of 90mm Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat guns, was sited at the very southeast tip of the fort, covering the northern approaches to the harbor. Gun #1 of this pair was located at 42.387972°N 70.967081°W, and the second gun to its left (as viewed looking toward the sea). Today (in 2010), this battery would appear to be underneath a very large apartment building.
Today (in 2011) no traces remain of the structures or gun emplacements of Fort Heath. The entire area has been subjected to demolition and re-grading, and three large apartment buildings, a huge parking lot, and municipal park and recreation facilities have been constructed over the fort's original footprint. A correspondence could be established, however, between the 1921 map of the fort shown above and present-day maps. A federal survey mark (MY0121--GROVERS) was set in the roof of the southernmost one of the three fire control buildings at the fort. (These are the three buildings in a sort of echelon just north of the northern end of Battery Winthrop.) The position of this mark is precisely known (42.389455°N 70.968786°W), and has been roughly indicated by the tip of the topmost red arrow on the 1921 map. Gun #3 (the most westerly one) of Battery Winthrop was about 120 ft. southeast of this marker, and the line between this gun and Gun #1 (the most easterly one) was 270 ft. in length.
. The United States Army Signal Missile Master Support Detachment, Ft. Heath (strength: 3 officers, 2 WOs, 12 enlisted men), was stationed there from 4 January 1960 to December 1964. It operated the Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) B-21DC for Nike missile command-and-control functions. The site was an AN/FSG-1 Missile-Master Radar Direction Center. In early 1965 the Army AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system was installed.
(SAGE) air defense radar network as Site MM-1 in 1960. Two Air Defense Command AN/FPS-6B height-finder radars were added for the Air Force, attended by the 820th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron. [The Army also operated two AN/FPS-6 variant radars.] The site was removed from the ADC network in 1962 and Air Force personnel were withdrawn. The Army continued to use the radar facility until the Nike control center there was deactivated on 1 September 1966 and the Fort was declared surplus.
(JSS) radar at North Truro AFS, MA, on outer Cape Cod
, the ARSR-1 at Fort Heath was deactivated. Today, the site is now closed and all radar towers have been removed.
William Heath
William Heath was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War....
, who served in the American Revolution. The three 12-inch guns of Battery Winthrop at Fort Heath, along with the 16 12-inch coast defense mortars of nearby Fort Banks
Fort Banks (Massachusetts)
Fort Banks was a U.S. Coast Artillery fort located in Winthrop, Massachusetts. It served to defend Boston Harbor from enemy attack from the sea and was built in the 1890s during what is known as the Endicott period, a time in which the coast defenses of the United States were seriously expanded and...
, made Winthrop the most heavily armed part of the harbor defenses.
After WW2, the fort was decommissioned as a Coast Artillery installation, but from 1960 to 1964, the area became the location for the Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) for the Nike missile defenses of Boston. Until 1966, the U.S. Army and the Air Force continued to operate various air defense radars from Grover's Cliff, and after 1966, the FAA operated radar equipment there.
Today, all traces of earlier military activity are gone. The old Coast Artillery gun batteries have been removed, the artillery observation stations have been demolished, and the area has been completely re-graded. At the site in 2011 are a public park for the Town of Winthrop and several large privately owned apartment buildings.
Coast Artillery Fort
Construction on the Coast Artillery fort began about 1898, during the so-called Endicott period of modernization of U.S. coast defenses, and was complete by 1901. The fort mounted three of what at that time were the heaviest guns in the U.S. Coast Artillery's arsenal: 12-inch guns (Model 1888) on disappearing carriages (M1896). These three guns constituted Battery Theodore Winthrop. It appears that the battery remained in service through January, 1932, when its ammunition hoists were authorized for disposal. The entire battery was declared surplus on December 28, 1943.During WW2, Battery 945, a pair of 90mm Anti-Motor Torpedo Boat guns, was sited at the very southeast tip of the fort, covering the northern approaches to the harbor. Gun #1 of this pair was located at 42.387972°N 70.967081°W, and the second gun to its left (as viewed looking toward the sea). Today (in 2010), this battery would appear to be underneath a very large apartment building.
Today (in 2011) no traces remain of the structures or gun emplacements of Fort Heath. The entire area has been subjected to demolition and re-grading, and three large apartment buildings, a huge parking lot, and municipal park and recreation facilities have been constructed over the fort's original footprint. A correspondence could be established, however, between the 1921 map of the fort shown above and present-day maps. A federal survey mark (MY0121--GROVERS) was set in the roof of the southernmost one of the three fire control buildings at the fort. (These are the three buildings in a sort of echelon just north of the northern end of Battery Winthrop.) The position of this mark is precisely known (42.389455°N 70.968786°W), and has been roughly indicated by the tip of the topmost red arrow on the 1921 map. Gun #3 (the most westerly one) of Battery Winthrop was about 120 ft. southeast of this marker, and the line between this gun and Gun #1 (the most easterly one) was 270 ft. in length.
Nike Missile Radar Station
During the Nike missile era, the New England District of the Army Corps of Engineers built a bombproof, fallout-proof Master Missile unit at Fort Heath which was responsible for coordinating all the Nike Batteries in New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. The United States Army Signal Missile Master Support Detachment, Ft. Heath (strength: 3 officers, 2 WOs, 12 enlisted men), was stationed there from 4 January 1960 to December 1964. It operated the Army Air-Defense Command Post (AADCP) B-21DC for Nike missile command-and-control functions. The site was an AN/FSG-1 Missile-Master Radar Direction Center. In early 1965 the Army AN/TSQ-51 "Missile Mentor" solid-state computer system was installed.
United States Air Force Use
B-21DC was integrated with the USAF Air Defense Command/NORAD Semi Automatic Ground EnvironmentSemi Automatic Ground Environment
The Semi-Automatic Ground Environment was an automated control system for tracking and intercepting enemy bomber aircraft used by NORAD from the late 1950s into the 1980s...
(SAGE) air defense radar network as Site MM-1 in 1960. Two Air Defense Command AN/FPS-6B height-finder radars were added for the Air Force, attended by the 820th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron. [The Army also operated two AN/FPS-6 variant radars.] The site was removed from the ADC network in 1962 and Air Force personnel were withdrawn. The Army continued to use the radar facility until the Nike control center there was deactivated on 1 September 1966 and the Fort was declared surplus.
FAA use
Beginning in 1966, the FAA installed ARSR-1 radar at the former Fort Heath – renamed Winthrop, MA, and operated at the site until the mid to late 1990’s. When the FAA assumed control of the newer ARSR-4 Joint Surveillance SystemJoint Surveillance System
The Joint Surveillance System is a joint United States Air Force and Federal Aviation Administration system for the atmospheric air defense of North America...
(JSS) radar at North Truro AFS, MA, on outer Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, the ARSR-1 at Fort Heath was deactivated. Today, the site is now closed and all radar towers have been removed.