Magnetic Battery
Encyclopedia
The Magnetic Battery, Fort War or The Forts, as it is commonly referred, is a former Australian Royal Navy artillery battery
in the hinterland of Horseshoe
. Florence and Arthur Bays on Magnetic Island
. Built in 1942/43 the battery operated from July 1943 until the end of World War II
. The remains of the facility are now maintained by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
as part of the Magnetic Island National Park and are open to visitors year round.
During its operation the battery consisted of a two searchlights in Horseshoe and Florence Bays, a radar screen in the hinterland of Arthur Bay, a permanent living encampment and a Command Post, Observation Post and two Gun Emplacements overlooking Cleveland Bay. While the majority of the buildings no longer remain, the fortified concrete command post, observation post, munitions bunker and gun emplacements still remain along with the foundations of many of the buildings within the living encampment. These remains form part of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's The Forts Walk, a popular 3.8 km environmental and heritage walk for visitors to Magnetic Island.
Construction began on September 28, 1942, and the facility was built to a plan of a standard post war signal station by the Queensland Main Roads Commission. A road to the facility was constructed by a team of 25 men firstly constructing a road from Arcadia to what is now the Radical Bay turnoff on Horseshoe Bay Road, then continuing up into the hinterland ending at the camouflaged mountain-top facility. Major Tom Sherman, a fortress engineer working on the project, on the advice of Tom Wetherell, a visiting officer from Townsville's Kissing Point barracks, extended the road onto Florence Bay as Wetherell "could not accept the [Japanese] would not have known all about it, the road stood out like a sore thumb and ended abruptly in a heap of camouflage nets and netting". The command post, observation post and gun emplacements were all heavily camouflaged with local foliage, camouflage netting and false rocks, constructed by laying concrete over a wire mesh structure to resemble the local granite boulders.
Most construction materials for the facilities were shipped to Arcadia by lighters or Hayles Ferry Service and transported up to the battery by road. The guns and materials for the Horseshoe Bay searchlight were shipped to Horseshoe Bay. The fortified structures were constructed of 12 inches (304.8 mm) reinforced concrete poured into custom made forms on-site The facility was completed on 1943-06-10 and promptly began operation under the Australian Royal Navy. The radar screen in Arthur Bay was operated by the 13th Australian Radar Unit. Battery Commander Major Nichol commanded the artillery detachment of over 100 people responsible for the Magnetic Battery.
The two guns located at the Magnetic Battery, originally bound for Manila, were diverted to Magnetic Island by General McArthur along with a number of other guns that were requisitioned for use in Australian coastal batteries. The guns were based on the French Canon de 155mm GPF
and had a set of rubber tyres at front of the gun that allowed it to be easily towed by a tractor. These were positioned at Magnetic Battery each on concrete Panama mount
with a full outer ring of metal rail set into the concrete base allowing the guns a full 360-degree traverse. With a 26 feet (7.9 m) barrel the 155 mm gun could fire a 105 pounds (47.6 kg) shell up to 18000 yards (16,459.2 m) with a 6 feet (1.8 m) recoil. The guns were removed following the war but are one of the most controversial issues surrounding the history of Magnetic Battery. It is often contested whether either of the guns ever fired a shot. It is well known that the guns never fired on an enemy vessel; however, it is believed, although not confirmed, that the gun facing the harbour entrance did fire on an U.S. Navy
PT boat
"in mild astonishment" when it "arrived unannounced". It is also considered that four guns were deployed for emplacement at Magnetic Island during the war. However, in early 1999 a letter to the Townsville Bulletin from an Eric Hall claimed that his father, being the tug master of Townsville Port at the time, towed only two guns aboard a barge to Magnetic Island.
The two searchlights were manufactured by the Sperry Company and had dedicated diesel generators at both locations, one above White Lady, a rock formation in Horseshoe Bay, the other in Florence Bay. The fully automatic lights were 3000000 candle power, Carbon Arc and were capable of spotting aircraft at 30000 feet. 20 engineers supervised the operation of these searchlights.
Following the cease of hostilities in 1946 the battery was decommissioned. The guns used at the facility were disassembled, removed and shipped to Southern Queensland while construction materials from the demolished buildings as well as a large amount of remaining equipment, machinery and plumbing were auctioned to local residents.
Artillery battery
In military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
in the hinterland of Horseshoe
Horseshoe Bay, Queensland
Horseshoe Bay is a village on Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia. It is considered the tourist strip of the island. From September 2006, Horseshoe Bay was undergoing a string of housing development behind the existing residential area to the southern part of the bay. It is also a major...
. Florence and Arthur Bays on Magnetic Island
Magnetic Island
Magnetic Island is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,107 permanent residents. The island is accessible from Townsville Breakwater to Nelly Bay Harbour by ferry...
. Built in 1942/43 the battery operated from July 1943 until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The remains of the facility are now maintained by Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, or QPWS, is a sub-section of the Environmental Protection Agency within the Queensland government. Its primary concern is with the development and maintenance of national parks within Queensland.-External links:*...
as part of the Magnetic Island National Park and are open to visitors year round.
During its operation the battery consisted of a two searchlights in Horseshoe and Florence Bays, a radar screen in the hinterland of Arthur Bay, a permanent living encampment and a Command Post, Observation Post and two Gun Emplacements overlooking Cleveland Bay. While the majority of the buildings no longer remain, the fortified concrete command post, observation post, munitions bunker and gun emplacements still remain along with the foundations of many of the buildings within the living encampment. These remains form part of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service's The Forts Walk, a popular 3.8 km environmental and heritage walk for visitors to Magnetic Island.
History
In 1942 Townsville became an important base in Australia for troops from Australia and the United States. Cleveland Bay, between Magnetic Island and Townsville, also became an important assembly point for supplies and military boats alike, with the bay was providing temporary anchorage for up to 40 vessels assembling for convoys. To ensure the assembling fleets were able to be coordinated and safe from enemy attack, a large military facility, The Magnetic Battery was built on Magnetic Island.Construction began on September 28, 1942, and the facility was built to a plan of a standard post war signal station by the Queensland Main Roads Commission. A road to the facility was constructed by a team of 25 men firstly constructing a road from Arcadia to what is now the Radical Bay turnoff on Horseshoe Bay Road, then continuing up into the hinterland ending at the camouflaged mountain-top facility. Major Tom Sherman, a fortress engineer working on the project, on the advice of Tom Wetherell, a visiting officer from Townsville's Kissing Point barracks, extended the road onto Florence Bay as Wetherell "could not accept the [Japanese] would not have known all about it, the road stood out like a sore thumb and ended abruptly in a heap of camouflage nets and netting". The command post, observation post and gun emplacements were all heavily camouflaged with local foliage, camouflage netting and false rocks, constructed by laying concrete over a wire mesh structure to resemble the local granite boulders.
Most construction materials for the facilities were shipped to Arcadia by lighters or Hayles Ferry Service and transported up to the battery by road. The guns and materials for the Horseshoe Bay searchlight were shipped to Horseshoe Bay. The fortified structures were constructed of 12 inches (304.8 mm) reinforced concrete poured into custom made forms on-site The facility was completed on 1943-06-10 and promptly began operation under the Australian Royal Navy. The radar screen in Arthur Bay was operated by the 13th Australian Radar Unit. Battery Commander Major Nichol commanded the artillery detachment of over 100 people responsible for the Magnetic Battery.
The two guns located at the Magnetic Battery, originally bound for Manila, were diverted to Magnetic Island by General McArthur along with a number of other guns that were requisitioned for use in Australian coastal batteries. The guns were based on the French Canon de 155mm GPF
Canon de 155mm GPF
The Canon de 155 Grande Puissance Filloux mle.1917 was a 155 mm cannon used by the French Army during the first half of the 20th century.-History:The gun was designed during World War I by Colonel L.J.F...
and had a set of rubber tyres at front of the gun that allowed it to be easily towed by a tractor. These were positioned at Magnetic Battery each on concrete Panama mount
Panama mount
The term Panama Mount describes a gunmount developed by the U.S. Army in Panama during the 1920s for fixed coastal artillery positions. Panama mounts were widely used during the buildup to and during World War II by the United States military....
with a full outer ring of metal rail set into the concrete base allowing the guns a full 360-degree traverse. With a 26 feet (7.9 m) barrel the 155 mm gun could fire a 105 pounds (47.6 kg) shell up to 18000 yards (16,459.2 m) with a 6 feet (1.8 m) recoil. The guns were removed following the war but are one of the most controversial issues surrounding the history of Magnetic Battery. It is often contested whether either of the guns ever fired a shot. It is well known that the guns never fired on an enemy vessel; however, it is believed, although not confirmed, that the gun facing the harbour entrance did fire on an U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
"in mild astonishment" when it "arrived unannounced". It is also considered that four guns were deployed for emplacement at Magnetic Island during the war. However, in early 1999 a letter to the Townsville Bulletin from an Eric Hall claimed that his father, being the tug master of Townsville Port at the time, towed only two guns aboard a barge to Magnetic Island.
The two searchlights were manufactured by the Sperry Company and had dedicated diesel generators at both locations, one above White Lady, a rock formation in Horseshoe Bay, the other in Florence Bay. The fully automatic lights were 3000000 candle power, Carbon Arc and were capable of spotting aircraft at 30000 feet. 20 engineers supervised the operation of these searchlights.
Following the cease of hostilities in 1946 the battery was decommissioned. The guns used at the facility were disassembled, removed and shipped to Southern Queensland while construction materials from the demolished buildings as well as a large amount of remaining equipment, machinery and plumbing were auctioned to local residents.