Editing Montauk, New York (section)

====Mid 20th century====

During [[World War II]] the [[United States Navy]] bought most of the east end, including Montauk Manor, to turn it into a military base. Fort Pond Bay became a [[seaplane]] base. The U.S. Army established [[Camp Hero]] with {{convert|16|in|mm|adj=on}} guns to protect New York shipping lanes. Several concrete bunker [[observation post]]s were built along the coast, including one immediately to the east of the Montauk Lighthouse. Base buildings were disguised so they would appear from above as a [[New England]] fishing village.

In 1951, sport fisherman [[Frank Mundus]] began to lead charter fishing trips out of Lake Montauk, initially looking for [[bluefish]] but soon found fishing for [[shark]]s was more lucrative. The sport of "monster fishing" became Montauk's signature draw.

On September 1, 1951, the ''[[FV Pelican|Pelican]]'', captained by Eddie Carroll, capsized in the shoals off Montauk Point, resulting in the deaths of 45 passengers and crew. The {{convert|42|ft|m|adj=on}} ''Pelican'' was carrying 64 people, most of whom had taken the Fisherman's Special trains to the [[Montauk station|Montauk LIRR station]] from New York City. The boat left the Fishangrila Dock at Fort Pond Bay at 7:30&nbsp;a.m., severely overloaded. After fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on the south side of Montauk for several hours, it returned home, encountering engine trouble on the way. The weather turned stormy, and a northeast wind developed against an outgoing tide, resulting in standing waves of several feet at Endeavor Shoals, just off the Point. The vessel, wallowing in the heavy seas, became unstable in its overloaded state, capsized and then foundered at 2:10&nbsp;p.m. Nearby vessels were only able to rescue 19 passengers. The wreck was secured by fabled sport fisherman [[Frank Mundus]] and towed into Lake Montauk by the Coast Guard. As a result of the disaster, strict new regulations regarding overloading of fishing vessels were adopted nationwide.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clavin |first=Tom |title=Dark Noon: The Final Voyage of the Fishing Boat Pelican |year=2005 |publisher=International Marine |location=Camden, ME |isbn=0-07-148659-3 }}</ref>

In 1957, the Army closed Camp Hero, and it was taken over by the [[United States Air Force]], which in 1958 built a {{convert|100|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} [[AN/FPS-35]] radar. A massive building was erected to house its computers.

[[File:Shops on Main Street south side Montauk.jpg|thumb|right|Shops on Main Street]]