A short-lived battery, Fort Chebucto was built in 1943, and decommissioned in the 1950's. Three 6" Mk24 guns were placed here with a range of just under 14 miles (almost 22.5 km) with the idea that, without this battery, and another at Devil's Point, a German battleship would be able to bombard the port of Halifax well out of reach of existing coastal artillery.
In actual fact, German battleships had a firing range of about 21.7 miles (almost 35 km). With the batteries being fixed targets, they would never have lasted long against an actual attack. The guns, once removed, were sent to Portugal.
The cement emplacements for the guns are now on private land and in fact constitute the foundation of a couple of the houses there. There are also several searchlight shelters, and apparently the remains of a building houseing a fire-control radar. An observation point also exists slightly further up the coast near the lighthouse that is pictured here.
It was a little disappointing to find much of the remains of the fort were now private land. The "No Trespassing" signs made it clear that uninvited visitors were not welcome.
I did, however, walk the road to the lighthouse and looked over the observation station, and enjoyed the view of the harbour entrance it offered.
