Fort DeRussy
Located
at Waikiki beach, Fort DeRussy was an Army reservation, constructed in 1911 and completed in 1915 in order to protect Honolulu and Pearl
Harbor in the US territory of Hawaii. Named in honor of Rene Edward DeRussy who built the fortifications of San Francisco and invented the Barbette Depressing Gun Carriage.
Initially large cannons
were
located in two battery locations within this fort. Later on, the canons
were replaced with antiaircraft guns. Coastal Artillery was officially
disbanded
by the US Army on June 28, 1950. The guns of Fort DeRussy were cut
up for scrap and the Fort designated as an Armed Forces Recreation
Area.
Battery
Randolph (US Army Museum)
Located inside Battery Randolph. In
1977, historian Warren Sessler worked to have the
battery turned into a museum, and acquired two guns from
a WWI memorial
in Honolulu for installation at the former battery. The
museum is dedicated to
the roll Hawaii played in military actions from WWI through
Vietnam.
U.S. Prefabricated Pill Box
Steel pillbox placed around Oahu to defend military installations. Once buried into position a two man crew entered through a culvert pipe opening at the base to operate a light machine gun from the revolving turret.
105mm Howitzer M3
Displayed outdoors
M24 Chaffee Tank
Displayed outdoors at the museum
Type
95 Ha Go
Recovered from Makin, transported to Hawaii for technical evaluation
Type 1 47mm Anti-Tank Gun
Displayed at the museum
Japanese
127mm Gun
This gun was recovered to Hawaii
after the war. In the middle 1970's it
was then taken to the
US Army Museum of Hawaii for display. Thanks
to Warren Sessler for this information.
Monarchy Cannon
One of a battery of twelve guns emplaced at Punchbowl by the Hawaiian Monarchy starting in 1831 to defend the harbor and fire salutes. The gun was moved to the Bishop Museum in 1920 where it remained until 1988, then moved it to the museum.
Indoors Displays
Indoors, the former gun battery is the museum. Displays cover the history of Fort DeRussy and the development of Battery Randolph. Also, the World War II history of Hawaii. Other displays include the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (RCT). Other exhibits cover the role of Hawaii in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Plus, other displays and exhibits. A new exhibit is devoted to the life and career of General Shinseki.
Type 92 70mm Battalion Gun Serial Number 213
Displayed inside the museum
Type 100 Sub Machine Gun Serial Number 7065
Type 94 Light MG SN 13014
Knee Mortar x 2
Lewis Gun
Type 94 pistol
Type 14 pistol
Type 26 revolver
Type 92 HMG "Jukie"
China war display with mannequin
