Battery Potter
The army operated its first and only lift gun battery here from 1893 to 1906. Inside its cavernous galleries, two 12-inch guns could be raised to the surface for firing and lowered for loading and servicing. Concealed and protected from enemy fire, Potter’s rifled artillery could hammer battleships eight miles away.
The Lift Guns
Giant boilers fired, building up steam to power the guns’ hydraulic lifts. Half-ton projectiles brought from the magazine by rail cart are hoisted to the second floor loading area. The elevators raise the guns through the holes in the roof to the firing position. Total time for loading, ascending, firing and descending averaged more than six minutes. This was no match for the 30-second firing style of the disappearing guns installed in 1907 at nearby Battery Granger.
Courtesy hmdb.org
