[2] During World War II, Fort Dawes was initially the site of a target detection radar for the harbor defenses and Battery Taylor (two 3-inch M1902 guns moved from nearby Fort Strong), both completed by late 1942.

[3] AMTB 944 replaced Battery Taylor in October 1943, whose guns were placed in storage at that time.

Fort Dawes can also lay claim to the largest collection of "artillery that never was" in the harbor defenses of Boston.

However, in the summer of 1956 or perhaps a bit longer, the airfield was used to run flights testing the new ideas of air traffic control.

A small radar was installed there and used to track flights to determine if an airplane could be directed to follow a predetermined path.