BATTERY CHENEY

 No. Guns Cal. Type Troop Range Yards
chnyvue.JPG (91549 bytes) 2 12-in DC D-59 17,000 cheney1.JPG (91395 bytes)
Battery Cheney was constructed between 1906 and 1910 at a cost of $267,222 and named in honor of 1st Lt. Ward Cheney, 4th U.S. Infantry who was killed in action 7 January, 1900 at Puente Julian, Imus, Cavite,   Philippines.

The battery's armament is composed of two 12-inch (305 mm) M1895 guns on Model 1901 Disappearing Carriages, capable of ranging to 17,000 yards (nearly 10 miles or 16 km). The 1,000 lb armor piercing  (454.5 kg) shell or the 670 lb High Explosive shell required a 270 lb (122.7 kg) bagged charge. Rate of fire was at or better than 2 per minute.

The battery faces roughly west-northwest but its  220 degree field of fire allowed it to reach as far north as Mariveles and Cabcaben, Bataan.

Battery D, 59th Coast Artillery under Captain George E. Steiger manned the battery in 1941-1942. On 9 January 1942, a bomb damaged NO. 2 gun and again on 10 April it was damaged by a shell but in both instances the gun was repaired within twelve hours. The battery was never out of action during the siege,  firing counterbattery until 6:00AM of 6 May, 1942 - at which point Battery D were ordered to form up as infantry to reinforce the troops fighting against the Japanese invasion troops west of Malinta Hill. They were not used.

Though disabled prior to surrender, American POW's cut pieces out of the No. 1 carriage to refit No. 2. The gun was never placed in action by the Japanese.


GUN No. 1: Watervliet No. 37, built 1900, (relined 1933); carriage Watertown No. 16, built 1908.

GUN No. 2: Watervliet No. 12, built 1899; carriage Watertown No. 17 built 1908.

Spare Gun: There is no spare gun at the battery,  however at Bottomside there is a 12" M1895 gun tube, Watervliet No. 16 (built 1899). This is trunnioned for a disappearing carriage and may well have been the spare gun for Battery Cheney.
 

Btty Cheney is an easy hike down from the flagstaff at Topside.  If you follow the track through past the officer's quarters on your left, you'll come to a fork. Take the left fork and you'll soon arrive at Btty. Wheeler. The right  fork will take you for a longer walk through to Btty. Cheney, skirting the sheer 300 foot cliffs along the way. Battery Cheney complemented Btty Wheeler as large above ground batteries, sited to face the sea lanes approaching Manila Bay.   In 1945 Cheney the area around Batteries Wheeler and Cheney was the site of fierce fighting as the troopers fell short of Landing Zone A.   The defending Japanese soon were able to lay down a heavy harassment fire upon the assembling 2nd Battalion 503d PRCT.  With troopers still ariving, they ran from their cover attempting to spear the jumpers on their bayonets as they landed.  From their pillboxes near Cheney and Wheeler, the intense machine gun fire pinned down some fifty men of Companies E and F in the three buildings along the western edge of the parade ground. Read more in BLESS 'EM ALL - THE LANDING.