Big Gun Bus Trip

Large coastal defense guns were a significant product line of Bethlehem Steel and other defense contractors. This day long tour, starting at NMIH in Bethlehem, PA, will drive past gun production sites then proceed to Fort Hancock, NJ to explore the remnants of the Sandy Hook Proving Ground where big gun testing occurred between 1874 and 1919. Among the many other stops will be a visit to Battery Gunnison/New Battery Peck, the most fully restored WWII seacoast artillery battery in the USA, where guests will watch volunteers from the Army Ground Forces Association perform a gun drill; see the plotting room, hoisting the ammunition, and the aiming and loading of a M1900 6-inch gun. Everything except firing will be experienced. Other stops will include the 16-inch gun at nearby Battery Lewis, an in-depth tour of the NIKE radar site and a rare look inside Fort Hancock's historic 1911 water purification plant and pump house (in active use) and its historic Roller-Smith electrical panels built in Bethlehem, PA in the 1930s.

The bus will leave NMIH at 8:30 AM and return at approximately 7:30 PM.

Price: $90 for NMIH members (Use code MEMBER to redeem), $100 non-members. $20 optional box lunch. Reserve your spot online by October 10th.

Host or Publisher National Museum of Industrial History