Pulpit Rock Camp
Loc. 142 Pulpit Rock was a WWII AMTB gun and Fire Control site in Rye NH.
Battery AMTB 951
Anti Motor Torpedo Boat Battery 951 was constructed and completed in 1943 for $10,750. It was armed with four 90mm dual purpose guns, two on M3 fixed pedestal mounts and two on M1A1 mobile mounts. The guns were capable of firing at small watercraft and at enemy airplanes with an effective range of 4.5 miles. 40mm mobile guns on M2 mounts complimented the 90mm guns. Ammunition was stored in two wooden earth covered magazines. A wooden BC station was located near the emplacements. Electrical power was provided commercially, and two standby generators were available. In 1945 the guns were moved to Battery Seaman for storage and the concrete emplacements were covered with sod. A temporary searchlight position (SL #8) was adjacent to emplacement #1. A wooden H shaped barracks building was built in-between Site 2A and the battery and it still remains as a private residence. In 1962 emplacement #2 was destroyed and thrown onto the beach by NH DOT during roadway expansion. Remains of the emplacement are still strewn across the beach. After major coastal storms in 2023 and 2024, NH DOT rebuilt the parking lot emplacement #1 resided in and it is now preserved.
WWII Fire Control Stations
Site 1A
Constructed in 1942 for $15,074, this tower was a unique steel girder tower with a two-level 1" thick corrugated steel cab. The upper level (DPF) was to serve Battery 205 and the lower level (DPF) was the Harbor Defense Operations Command 1. The tower was painted Olive Drab to provide camouflage. The parcel the tower was built upon was acquired on June 24th, 1941. Power was provided commercially or from one of the AMTB battery generator shelters. A small oil heater was located inside the cab to provide heat. This was the only tower of its type built in New Hampshire. These types of towers are not common in New England and only one remains at Trundy Point MR. Others remain south of New Jersey
Site 2A
Constructed in 1943 for $18,325 by a private contractor on a .44-acre tract of land purchased by the government June 19th, 1943. It is a unique cylindrical tower eight stories high. It had two observation levels, the 8th floor (DPF) served Battery 204 and the 7th floor (DPF) served Battery Seaman (the level for Battery Seaman was marked Eliminated by 1945). In the back of the 8th floor was a crow's nest for AAIS-OP 7. The walls are 12 inches thick splinter proof reinforced concrete. Haze paint would have been used to camouflage the tower with the horizon. Electrical service was provided by the New Hampshire Gas and Electric Company, but auxiliary power was available in case of an outage. A cannon stove on the first floor provided heat to the tower. This tower and the one at Sisters Point MR were the only ones actively manned through WWII. The navy had control over the tower from 1954-1971 and made modifications for surveillance equipment. The fish and game department has owned the tower since 1974. In the 1970s it was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places but did not make the final cut. In 2010 it was nominated again and did make the list. In 2008 the Friends of Pulpit Rock Tower was formed to preserve the tower after it was proposed to be used as a cell phone tower. The tower officially opened in 2009 on some holidays and continues to do so. The tower has been under restoration for many years and is still as of 2025.
SOURCES and REFERENCES
Report of Completed Works 1945
HD Portsmouth Annex 1945
The World, Portsmouth, and the 22nd Coast Artillery - J. P. Wysong