Battery Townsley

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Battery Townsley (1940-1948) - Battery Townsley is a reinforced concrete World War II 16" gun battery located on Fort Cronkhite, California. Named after MG Clarence P. Townsley, a World War I veteran and superintendent of the United States Military Academy. Battery construction was begun in Jan 1938, completed 1 Jul 1940 and transferred to the Coastal Artillery for use 24 Jul 1940 at a total cost of $595,000. Deactivated in 1948 after World War II.

Battery Townsley Construction Gun Position #2, 1938	Battery Townsley Completed Gun Position
Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #1 Today. Note the gun pit filled with water.

Battery Townsley History

Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco. Battery Townsley and Battery Davis at Fort Funston were two 16" batteries planned to guard the entrance to San Francisco harbor.

Battery Townsley was a casemated battery with two naval Mark II MI 16" guns mounted on long range Barbette M1919 M5 carriages, 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. The central traverse magazine, in addition to the two casemated guns, included two separate magazines, several storerooms and a power room. A large reserve magazine was built about 2500 feet southeast of gun emplacement #1 on the reverse slope of the battery, not visible from the sea. The reserve magazine construction began June 1938, was completed 1 Jul 1940 and was accepted for service 24 Jul 1940 at a cost of $52,950. Total cost of the battery including the reserve magazine, plotting switchboard, radio room, BC station and real property improvements rose to $1,007,500 by 1940.

Test firings in 1940 with live ammunition proved the range to be over 30 miles.

**Battery Townsley Armament**
No.	Caliber	Length	Model	Serial No.	Manufacturer	Carriage	Service Dates	Notes
1	16" Rifle	68'	Mark II-M1	87	Navy	Barbette, M2, #15	1940-1948	Carriage shipped 16 Jan 1939 Gun shipped 7 Aug 1939 Watertown
2	16" Rifle	68'	Mark II-M1	88	Navy	Barbette, M2, #16	1940-1948	Carriage shipped 2 Jun 1939 Gun shipped Jun 1939 Watertown
Source: Coastal Defense Study Group, CDSG gun card collection from NARA

Battery Townsley Plan

Current Status

Part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Location: Battery Townsley is located one ½ mile up from the Fort Cronkhite parking lot.

Maps & Images Lat: 37.8362253 Long: -122.5440574

Street map from Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps
Topographic map from TopoZone
Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
Satellite image from Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth
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Mapping from Bing
Elevation: 345'

Sources:

Battery Townsley NPS
Coastal Defense Study Group, Press, Digital Library, Forums
Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 216

Links:

Visited: 19-20 Aug 2009

Battery Townsley Picture Gallery

Click on the picture to see a larger version. Contribute additional pictures - the more the better!

Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #2	Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #1	Battery Townsley Power Room Entrance	Battery Townsley Radiator Room Entrance
Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #1 Entrance	Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #1 Gun Crew Board	Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #2 Entrance	Battery Townsley Gun Emplacement #2 Interior