FORT MILES, DELAWARE

Since this website is being devoted mainly to WW2, I thought I would tell you a little 
about Fort Miles, DE. Perhaps some of you had relatives stationed there during WW2.

In 1938, an area known as Cape Henlopen Military Reservation, after being turned 
over to the War Department, became known as Ft. Miles by an Act of Congress. 
Located at the mouth of the Delaware Bay, the fort was a 'defensive military fort.' The 
bunkers and gun emplacements of eight, twelve and sixteen inch were camouflaged in 
among the dunes. Luckily the guns there never had to be used. It was mainly to protect 
the shipping on the river and bay and to keep Germany, our enemy at the time, from 
storming our beaches as we did at Normandy in 1944. Up the Delaware River were all 
kinds of industries, oil refineries and the Phila Naval Base, all critical to the war effort. 
The Germans would have liked nothing better than to destroy any trade or shipments of 
supplies to our allies. The Fort was used as a POW camp for German soldiers for awhile 
and once the war was over, Ft. Miles was used as a separation facility. Today, you can 
still see the huge doors on some of the bunkers.

If you've ever been to the beaches in Delaware, you no doubt noticed concrete towers 
and probably wondered what they were. The towers were used to locate ships and to 
direct firing of guns should there be an attack. There were 11 of those towers built between 
Cape Henlopen and Fenwick Island. They range from 40 to 90 feet high and are 17 feet 
in diameter with 1 foot thick walls.

In 1986, one of the towers at Cape Henlopen was restored and remodeled and is now the 
Pilot Radar Tower. It's high tech equipment helps track ships and it's radios monitor incoming 
and outgoing traffic on the Delaware River. There is a picture of the Pilot's Radar Tower, 
along with a few others at http://members.tripod.com/~CldWarHist/Towers.html

All but one of the remaining towers are closed to the public. The one that's open is located 
in the Cape Henlopen Park. You can climb to the top and enjoy a spectacular view. On the 
way up the steps you can peer out the slots in the walls. You can view a 360 degree panoramic 
view from the top of this tower by going to the following website: 
http://www.destateparks.com/chsp/pano.htm

The many, many acres have been, over the years, turned back to the state of Delaware, bit 
by bit by the US Government. The last, approx 17 acres, with the help of our Senator Joseph 
Biden, was turned back over to the state in the late 1990's.

You can read more by going to 
http://www.hnd.usace.army.mil/oew/factshts/factshts/miles.pdf (you must have Acrobat Reader 
to see this one) 
OR
http://www.destateparks.com/chsp/chsphistory.asp