Battery Chamberlin

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Six-Inch Rifled Gun No. 9
(U.S. National Register of Historic Places)
Docent explaining "gun drill" procedures to park visitors as part of the gun's demonstration. The rifle is in the "out of battery" or loading position.
Docent explaining "gun drill" procedures to park visitors as part of the gun's demonstration. The rifle is in the "out of battery" or loading position.
Location: San Francisco, California
Coordinates: 37°47′38.44″N, 122°28′57.7″W
Added to NRHP: November 7, 1976
Reference #: 79000255 [1]
Governing body: National Park Service

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.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).

[edit] References

U.S. National Register of Historic Places - (List of entries)

National Park Service . National Historic Landmarks . National Battlefields . National Historic Sites . National Historic Parks . National Memorials . National Monuments