 The Royal Canadian Artillery operated a searchlight and coastal gun battery at Chebucto Head as part of "Fortress Halifax" as a means of providing an integrated defense for the port.The Chebucto Head battery was the key outer battery of the western side of harbour defending it from possible attacks by German U-boats or surface raiders.The fortified battery was armed with three Elswick naval guns with associated searchlight, director tower, generators, a long-range optical rangefinder and by 1943 a radar artillery control unit.