I rushed around and got into or on top of everything I could with the time that I had. I nearly got inside the tunnels at Battery Townsley, but was running low on time and gave up my efforts, in search of more certain exploring elsewhere.
Having (finally) recently completed editing my shots from this trip, I now present Part III: Shore Defense Batteries.
Up next: Part IV: ALCATRAZ!
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Battery Spencer
"For half a century, Battery Spencer was one of the most strategically important sites guarding the Golden Gate. Construction started in 1893 and was completed in 1897. Under the provisions of War Department General Order 16, dated 14 February 1902, it was named for Major General Joseph Spencer of the Continental Army, a hero of the Revolutionary War, who died in 1789. It was initially armed with three M1888 12-inch breech loading rifles (Made at Waterlieviet Arsenal and serial numbered 10, 16, and 17) mounted on M1892 barbette mounts (made at Watertown Arsenal and serial numbered 1, 4, and 5.) In 1917 one gun was removed to rearm Battery Chester at Fort Winfield Scott. The remaining two guns were removed and scrapped in 1943."
Source: http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtySpencer.html
The view from Spencer:
Battery Smith-Guthrie
"The emplacement was named on December 27, 1904 in honor of Captain Edwin Guthrie, 15th Infantry Regiment, who died in action at La Hoya during the Mexican War in 1847.
In 1922, Battery Guthrie was divided for better management of the weapons, and the two guns on the left flank were named on March 22 for Hamilton A. Smith, a West Point graduate killed in action at Soissons, France, during World War I in 1918.
During World War II the guns from these two batteries were used to defend the minefields outside the Golden Gate from minesweepers. The battery was inactivated in 1945 and its guns scrapped soon thereafter. "
SOURCE:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtySmithGuthrie.html
Battery Alexander
"Commenced in October 1901, this eight-mortar battery, smallest mortar battery in the defenses of San Francisco, was armed with breech-loading 12-inch mortars, all Model 1890 manufactured by the Waterlievet Arsenal with serial numbers 145 through 160. These were mounted on model 1896 Mark I carriages with serial numbers 277 through 284. These carriages were all maufactured by the Rarig Engineering Company. The battery was named on November 22, 1902 in honor of Colonel Barton S. Alexander of the Corps of Engineers, an associate of Colonel George Mendell's and the senior engineer on the Pacific Coast, who had died in 1878.
This battery saw service from 1905 to August 1943, its armament was dismounted and salvaged in 1943, and sold for junk."
SOURCE:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtyAlexander.html
Battery Townsley - Fort Barry
"Battery Townsley was a casemated battery that mounted two 16-inch caliber guns, each capable of shooting a 2,100 pound, armor-piercing projectile 25 miles out to sea. The guns and their associated ammunition magazines, power rooms, and crew quarters were covered by dozens of feet of concrete and earth to protect them from air and naval attack.
This battery, named in honor of Major General Clarence P. Townsley, a general officer in World War I, was considered the zenith of military technology and was the result of careful, long-term planning. As early as 1915, the army was eager to construct the 16-inch gun batteries at San Francisco, and by 1928, the decision had been made to install two batteries near the city, one on either side of the Golden Gate straits. By 1940, Battery Townsley was completed and its two guns installed."
SOURCE:
http://www.nps.gov/goga/historyculture/ ... wnsley.htm
Battery Mendel
"Battery Mendell was the first of the batteries built at Fort Barry. Construction was started in July 1901 and was completed in 1902.
On 22 November 1902, War Department General Order 120 named the battery after Colonel George H. Mendell, Corps of Engineers. In 1905, two M1895A4 12-inch breech loading rifles (numbers 4 and 6) made by the Bethlehem Steel Company arrived on site. They were mounted on disappearing carriages (Model 1897, numbers 30 and 31) fabricated by the Midvale Steel Company. These guns fired a 1,100 pound projectile over eight miles.
These guns remained emplaced until 1943, when the threat of imminent invasion was over and more modern Battery Elmer J. Wallace was reactivated following that battery being casemated. The guns were removed and scrapped that same year"
SOURCE:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtyMendell.html
Battery O'Rorke
"Battery O'Rorke was built to mount four 15-pounder, 3 inch guns, serial numbered 90, 91, 92 and 94, on Model 1903 pedestal mounts. The battery was named in honor of Colonel Patrick Henry O'Rorke. Colonel O'Rorke, at native of Ireland and a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was killed at the age of 27 at the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War in July 1863.
Each gun could fire shells weighing 15 pounds a distance of five miles. These small guns were important because they could be loaded and fired more rapidly than larger weapons. The guns were located at their location to prevent enemy landings on Rodeo Beach.
The battery was inactivated in 1945 and its guns scrapped in 1946."
SOURCE:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtyORorke.html
Battery Wallace
Battery Wallace was originally constructed as an open firing platform in 1919. The Endicott period Model 1895A4 12 inch coastal rifles mounted on the more modern Model 1917 Carriage extended the range of the older gun from eight miles to 17 miles. The battery was named after Colonel Elmer J. Wallace, a Coast Artillery Officer who was killed in France in 1918.
The threat of aerial attack led the Army to develop overhead cover for the battery's two guns. Between 1942 and 1944 the battery was casemated with a steel reinforced concrete ceiling and covered with blast absorbing earth and camouflaging vegetation.
By 1948, Battery Elmer J. Wallace was considered obsolete. The Army abandoned it and scraped its massive guns."
SOURCE:
http://www.militarymuseum.org/BtyEJWallace.html
BONUS BUILDINGS
This was on the side of a cliff:
Possible Jail?
The building on the top of this hill caught my eye:
So I got on the roof of it. It was otherwise sealed up, yet covered in Graffiti. Decent view, though. That's SF-88L in the distance on the right-hand side:
I'll have to try again tomorrow!