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Camp Wellfleet

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Former US military training camp in Massachusetts
Camp Wellfleet
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
A soldier peering at the angle of his artillery gunA gunner checking the elevation on his 40 mm Bofors gun
Camp Wellfleet is located in MassachusettsCamp WellfleetCamp WellfleetLocation of Camp Wellfleet
Coordinates41°53′51.14″N 69°58′27.78″W / 41.8975389°N 69.9743833°W / 41.8975389; -69.9743833
TypeGunnery/Rocketry/Bombing Range
Area1,738 acres (2.7 sq mi; 7.0 km)
Site information
OwnerDepartment of Defense
Open to
the public		Yes
Site history
Built1942 (1942)
In use1943 (1943)–1961 (1961)
FateDemolished in the 1960s, now the headquarters of the Cape Cod National Seashore

Camp Wellfleet is a former United States military training camp. It occupies about 1,738 acres (7.03 km) of land located along the Atlantic Ocean in the town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. The 548th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion (75mm Gun) used the Camp for a firing range from 1954 to 1956. The majority of the site (1,688.8 acres) is owned and maintained by the National Park Service, as the administrator of the Cape Cod National Seashore. The Town of Wellfleet owns a portion (49.2 acres) of the site. It was officially opened on March 19, 1943.

Military use

Camp Wellfleet in 1960

For almost 19 years, the former Camp Wellfleet property was used by the U.S. Government for military training purposes. The United States Army also conducted several surface removal clearances prior to property transfer. The property was used by the Army as an anti-aircraft training center from 1942 to 1944; Camp Edwards in the western part of the cape was also used for this. By June 1944, Camp Wellfleet encompassed 1,948 acres (788 ha) with a capacity of 64 officers and 1,052 enlisted personnel. In 1944, the United States Navy obtained a permit to use a portion of the property as a temporary bomb target, and it became a sub-installation of Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Hyannis. The Navy returned the site to the Army in 1947, and after World War II it was used as a training center for guardsmen and reservists.

National Park usage

In 1961, the site was declared excess and conveyed to the United States Department of the Interior by President John F. Kennedy to establish the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Army Corps of Engineers Investigations

The periodic discovery of ordnance in beach areas heavily used by the general public, coupled with the potentially large volume of ordnance suspected to be at the site, resulted in the initiation of an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) at the site by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. During the EE/CA investigations of 1998-1999, geophysical surveys were conducted, and followed by intrusive investigation of geophysical anomalies, resulting in the finding of a rifle smoke grenade, inert 1000 pound Dove missiles, and one inert 250 pound bomb. The EE/CA report recommended implementation of institutional controls and clearance of ordnance along coastal areas (where the majority of ordnance was used). The EE/CA was followed by a aerial magnetic survey conducted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The success of the survey was somewhat limited by tree cover, but 345 magnetic anomalies were identified for further investigation. Government contractor Zapata Engineering investigated the anomalies and conducted further geophysical surveys, and discovered other ordnance items. A removal action was conducted in a 5-acre area east of the southern parking lot where a rocket range had existed.

A Remedial Investigation (RI) was conducted by ERT, Inc. in 2019. The report assessed the previous geophysical surveys and intrusive results but no further investigation for munitions was conducted. Fieldwork focused on munitions constituents. Incremental sampling of surface and subsurface soil was conducted, and soils were tested for select metals and explosives. No analytical results were above project screening levels or above EPA Ecological Soil Screening Levels.

In the decades since the military used the property, various ordnance items, including anti-aircraft projectiles, bazooka rounds, smoke grenades, and small arms ammunition have been recovered. The majority of this was found along the beach and dune areas due to wave action and erosion.

Site today

It is not uncommon to find bazooka and anti-aircraft rounds on the beach. A 14-inch long round was found in 2014 and detonated on site.

See also

References

  1. Stanton, Shelby L. (1991). World War II Order of Battle. Galahad Books. p. 603. ISBN 0-88365-775-9.
  2. Tice, Pam. "South Wellfleet's Camp Wellfleet". Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  3. "News release information". Archived from the original on 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  4. FINAL FORMER CAMP WELLFLEET EE/CA. Prepared by Foster Wheeler Environmental Corporation for U. S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville. May 2000.
  5. Helicopter Geophysical Survey at Former Camp Wellfleet, Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. July 2002.
  6. Ordnance and Explosive (OE) Removal Action, Site Specific Letter Report for Area C (Phase I), The Former Camp Wellfleet, Wellfleet Massachusetts. Prepared for US Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, and US Army Corps of Engineers New England District by Zapata Engineering P.A. July 2003.
  7. FINAL – REVISION 1, VOLUME I, SITE SPECIFIC FINAL REPORT, ORDNANCE AND EXPLOSIVE REMOVAL ACTION, FORMER CAMP WELLFLEET, WELLFLEET, MASSACHUSETTS. Prepared for US Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, by Zapata Engineering P.A. April 2006.
  8. FINAL – REVISION 1, VOLUME II, SITE SPECIFIC FINAL REPORT, ORDNANCE AND EXPLOSIVE REMOVAL ACTION, FORMER CAMP WELLFLEET, WELLFLEET, MASSACHUSETTS. Prepared for US Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, by Zapata Engineering P.A. April 2006.
  9. ERT, Inc. (2019). Final Remedial Investigation Report, Former Camp Wellfleet FUDS Remedial Investigation Through Decision Document, Wellfleet, Massachusetts. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Contract: W912DR-15-D-0015, Delivery Order 0002.
  10. Bomb Squad Detonates WWII Round On Cape Cod Beach, CBS Boston, July 23, 2014.

External links

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