Battery 243

Battery 243 (1942-1948) - A World War II era Battery built in 1942-43 as a reinforced concrete coastal artillery battery on Fort Miley, San Francisco County, California. The Battery was begun 30 Jan 1943, completed 14 Aug 1943 and turned over for service 18 Sep 1944 at a cost of $245,808. The guns were not mounted until 1948. Decommissioned late in 1948. Battery 243 Main Entrance at Emplacement #2 Battery 243 Gun Emplacement #2 History 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. Gun tubes were provided from Battery 245, Fort Stevens in 1947. Decommissioned in 1948. 6" Gun at Fort Columbia Originally at Fort McAndrew, Battery 281, Argentia, NL, Canada 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. 6" Gun Crew Battery 243 Armament (edit list) Empl No Caliber Type Barrel Length Model Serial No Manufacturer Carriage Service Dates Notes 1 6" Rifle 302.9" T2-M1 26 Watervliet Barbette M4, #15, Wellman 1944-1948 See Note 1 2 6" Rifle 302.9" T2-M1 27 Watervliet Barbette M4, #16, Wellman 1944-1948 See Note 1 Source: Coast Defense Study Group Note 1: Gun serial numbers may not be in the correct emplacement, guns from Fort Stevens Battery 245 mounted 1948, CDSG Gun Card Collection from NARA Battery 243 Plan Current Status Battery 243 is easily accessible from the trail leading up to Battery Chester. Gun emplacement #2 is also accessible from the Department of Veterans Affairs San Francisco Medical Center via a restricted road. Emplacement #1 can be accessed via a path around the front of the battery. As the pictures show gun emplacement #2 is well kept up, emplacement #1 has some overgrowth but is still recognizable. No period guns or carriages in place. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Fort Miley, San Francisco County, California Maps & Images Lat: 37.782604 Long: -122.508245 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 348' 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 75-77 U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, (CCA-P-SFB), 15 Nov 1945, CDSG Links: California Military Museum - Battery 243 CDSG . Visited: 23 Aug 2009 Battery 243 Picture Gallery Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better! Battery 243 Main Entrance Battery 243 Emplacement #1 Battery 243 Emplacement #1 Entrance Battery 243, Emplacement 1 Ready Enclosure