In 1941, during World War II, the U.S. Department of War began to use the area as a Navy base. The Army used Rodman's Neck again in the 1950s during the Cold War, building a radar fire control center there. In 1959, the peninsula's operation was transferred to the NYPD who built the current firing range at the peninsula's southern tip. Early signs at the entrance said, "NYPD Pistol Range". In 1976, one NYPD Officer was killed and another was badly injured in The Pit when a bomb went off accidentally.