Oahu's 8-inch Naval Turret Batteries 1942-1949 - Personal Page of ...

Volume 22, Issue 1 The Coast Defense Journal Page 32
the USS Planter (ACM-2).(53) The battery was abandoned altogether sometime in 1948 and the guns
and turret mounts were cut up for scrap.
Real Property Transactions
The land upon which Battery Brodie was built is recorded at the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances
under Tax Map Key Number: 6-5-2: Parcel 11. On September 30, 1945, an “Option for Purchase of
Land” under Contract No. W-49-040-eng-3226, between the Waialua Liquidating Co., Ltd. (WLCL)
and the Hawaiian Pineapple Co., Ltd. (HPCL), provided the United States the opportunity to acquire
15.77 acres comprising Battery Brodie. A “Battery Gun-Fire Easement” was also recorded on that date.
The United States accepted the option for land purchase on May 28, 1946. On December 14, 1948,
Helemano Co., Ltd. (HCL), successor to WLCL and HPCL acquired fee title to the land encompassing
Battery George W. Ricker (Brodie). On August 31, 1951, it was mutually agreed by HCL and the
United States to cancel Contract Number W-49-040-eng-3226. The federal government quitclaimed
all rights, title, and interest in purchasing the Battery George W. Ricker property.
On June 30, 1955, HCL retroactively granted the United States of America an easement or rightof-way
for construction, use, and maintenance of a dirt roadway to Battery George W. Ricker. The
easement reserved the right for the Grantor and tenants to use the developed roadway in addition to
the Grantee (the U.S. Army). No quitclaim of cancellation of the easement was found, however real
property records stated that, “Provided that if the R/W is not used by the Grantee for a period of 2
consecutive years, all rights and privileges herein conveyed shall cease and determine, subject to covenants.”
(54)
Map showing location of Battery Opaeula (Riggs). Honolulu Dist. Engineer, USAMH
(annotations by author)
Battery Opaeula
Army engineers staked out the Opaeula position on the Anahulu Flats by April 9, 1942. Construction
plans and estimates as well as drawings were prepared by the Design Division of the Honolulu
District Engineer’s Office under Colonel Lyman, who also held the title of Hawaiian Department