'Battery Chamberlin' is an
artillery battery on the grounds of the
Presidio of San Francisco in
San Francisco, California,
United States.
The battery is named in honor of Captain Lowell A. Chamberlin,
1st Artillery Division, who served with distinction in the
Civil War and continued as an artillery officer until the 1890s. This
Endicott-era battery was completed and armed in 1904 with four six-inch guns mounted on
disappearing carriages. The battery was built to protect underwater
minefields laid outside the
Golden Gate during the time of war. These guns had a range of nine
miles (14.4
km) and could fire at the rate of two rounds per minute. The original guns were dismounted in 1917 for use in
World War I, but the battery was modified to receive two six-inch guns on simple
barbette carriages in 1920.
During
World War II, the Sixth Coast Artillery (Harbor Defense) Regiment, Battery "D," manned the two guns at Battery Chamberlin, which were placed under
camouflage netting to hide them from potential air attack. In 1948, the Coast Artillery Corps was deactivated, the battery disarmed and the guns scrapped during "Operation Blowtorch."
In 1977, the
National Park Service received the Six-Inch Rifle Gun Number Nine and disappearing carriage, listed individually in the
National Register of Historic Places, from the
Smithsonian Institution. The gun and carriage were installed at gun emplacement Number Four at Battery Chamberlin, and are the same type used here during World War II. An underground cartridge room also is open for inspection, and contains photos and small exhibits on the coastal defenses of San Francisco.
Footnotes
1. National Register Information System
References
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Battery Chamberlin 1904-1948
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Battery Chamberlin
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Fort Winfield Scott: Battery Lowell Chamberlin