[1][2] The military history of this station resumed in 1941 when the United States Army established Fort Winslow at this location as a coastal defense artillery installation.

This was for two casemated 16-inch (406 mm) ex-Navy guns, eventually creating a crossfire with two similar batteries at Fort Story.

Following the American entry into World War II a four-gun battery of 155 mm (6.1 in) guns was deployed on Fisherman Island; circular concrete "Panama mounts" were built to improve their firing positions.

[1] The 1st Battalion, 52nd Coast Artillery (CA) Regiment arrived at Fort John Custis on 27 August 1942, armed with eight 8-inch (203 mm) ex-Navy railway guns.

[1][5] The batteries on the mainland at Fort John Custis during World War II were as follows:[2][3] The batteries on Fisherman Island during World War II were as follows:[2][3] From 1940 through October 1944, HD Chesapeake was garrisoned by the 2nd Coast Artillery Regiment of the regular army,[6] with the 246th Coast Artillery Regiment as the Virginia National Guard component, plus the railway units already mentioned.

[8] On 20 April 1944 most of the 246th Coast Artillery Regiment was inactivated, with the remainder transferred to HD Beaufort, North Carolina.

This temporary system was named Lashup to distinguish it from the Interim Program for which the air force was seeking appropriations.

A small airfield was established near the station, to provide logistical support due to its isolated location at the southern end of the Delmarva Peninsula.

Receiving the Defense Secretary’s approval on 21 July, the air force directed the Corps of Engineers to proceed with construction.

As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward intruders picked up on the unit's radar.

Today, the former Cape Charles Air Force Station has mostly been demolished, and is now part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, although a few minor service buildings remain.

The Gap Filler support buildings at Z-56A (Temperanceville, VA) and Z-56C (Elizabeth City, NC) remain, although the tower and radar are gone.

[1] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency