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Battery 244 (1943-1950) - A World War II era Battery built in 1943 as a reinforced concrete coastal artillery battery on Milagra Ridge Military Reservation, Pacifica, San Mateo County, California. The Battery was begun 24 Mar 1943, completed 18 Sep 1943 and turned over for service 18 Sep 1944 at a cost of $299,699. The guns were not mounted until 1948. Decommissioned in 1950.
 Battery 244 Main Entrance & Gun Emplacement #2  Battery 244 Emplacement #1 Entrance
Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco.
Battery 243 was a battery of two, 6" rapid fire guns mounted in M4 Barbette carriages on either side of an earth covered reinforced concrete support structure. The guns were obtained from Fort Canby, Battery 247 and mounted in 1948. Decommissioned in 1950.
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These 6" World War II coastal gun batteries were designed to replace obsolete Endicott Period Batteries. Of the 87 planned only 45 were completed and many of those were not completed until late in the war (1944-1945).
The 6" guns fired a 105 pound armor-piercing projectile with a range of over 15 miles at a rate of up to 5 rounds per minute. The gun crews were protected by a thick shield around the gun. Only six of these guns remain in the world, two at Fort Columbia in Battery 246, two at Fort Pickens in Battery 234, and two at Fort McAndrew in Battery 282 in Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
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Current Status
No period guns or carriages in place.
Sources:
- Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 107-109
- U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, (CCA-P-SFB), 15 Nov 1945, CDSG
Links:
Visited: 26 Aug 2009
Picture Gallery
Battery 244 Gun Emplacement #1
Battery 244 Gun Emplacement #2
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