16-inch Gun

When Fort Miles was completed, its two 16-inch guns were among the largest artillery ever engineered by the United States and were placed there to defend the coastline from enemy battleships. This gun barrel, Barrel 371, was not original to Fort Miles, like the other guns found throughout the artillery park. It was removed from the Iowa-class Navy battleship BB-63 the USS Missouri, or "Big MO," one of the largest battleships the United States ever built, which carried nine 16-inch guns on its deck. Barrel 371 was mounted near the table where the Japanese delegation signed the surrender documents on September 2, 1945, ending World War II. The two 16-inch guns placed at Fort Miles were casemated inside Battery Smith rather than sitting outside.

Delaware · United States