spit) with ranges generally on the order of 7-9 miles (maximum of 20 miles). The 

 borrow area in relation to the battery positions is presented in Figure 1 . Note that 

 the entire borrow area is within the quoted firing fans and range potential for 

 most classes of artillery tested at Fort Hancock. 



Discussions with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team members at Fort 

 Monmouth (Army) and Earle Naval Air Station (NAS) confirmed that the age and 

 caliber of recovered ordnance from the general vicinity suggest that Fort Hancock 

 is a likely source for the bulk of this material. They referenced finding Civil 

 War-era cannonballs, parrot rounds, and a common array of 3-in. hollow rounds 

 and 10-in. rounds filled with ball bearings which were known to have been tested 

 at Fort Hancock from 1875-1919. However, they also pointed out that 90 percent 

 of the World War II ordnance shipped to Europe went out of New York Harbor. 

 Some of these vessels were sunk by German U-boats just outside the harbor. In 

 addition, some ordnance cargo may have been lost or dumped off ships outside 

 the harbor entrance. Thus, there is potentially a more modern source of ordnance 

 contamination to the area, and more modern (circa WWII) pieces have been found 

 in the offshore. 



It was not the intent of the subject study or this cursory review of potential 

 ordnance sources to conduct a complete historical assessment. However, the 

 information presented here does indicate the potential for a wide variety of 

 ordnance types and sizes to exist throughout the borrow area. A more in-depth 

 archival review would be needed to better characterize the caliber, vintage, 

 location, and volume of expected ordnance contamination. 



Chapter 2 Background on Fort Hancock 



