Fort Cronkhite

Fort Cronkhite (1937-1975) - Established in 1937 on 800 acres of land at Tennessee Point, Marin County, California. Named 17 Dec 1938 for Major General Adelbert Cronkhite, who commanded the 80th Division during World War I. Fort Cronkhite Entrance sign Fort Cronkhite Post Overview Fort Cronkhite from Battery Townsley World War II (1941-1945) Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco. The 800 acre reservation for Fort Cronkhite was acquired in 1937 to house a battery of two 16" long range guns and the necessary support facilities for its operation. Construction on the 16" Battery Townsley began in 1938 on top of Wolf Ridge and was completed in 1940. The support cantonment was built below the battery during late 1940 and early 1941. The cantonment consisted of temporary World War II style barracks, mess halls and administrative wooden frame buildings, many of which survive today. The post was first garrisoned 20 Jun 1941 by Battery E of the 6th Coast Artillery, just five months before the start of World War II. A second 16" gun battery, Battery Davis (2), was established at Fort Funston on the south side of the Golden Gate to provide long range coverage of the entrance to San Francisco Harbor from the south while Battery Townsley provided coverage from the north. Each 16" gun had a range of 26 miles and the combined batteries provided the first line of defense from any attacking warships throughout World War II. Fort Cronkhite World War II Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Notes Battery Townsley 2 16" Casemated Long Range Barbette 1937-1948 Activated 1940 Battery AA#1 2 3" Pedestal 1941-194? Source: CDSG Cold War (1947-1991) Nike Missile Integrated Fire Control (IFC) facility SF-88C, located atop Wolf Ridge and Nike Launch Site SF-87L were established on Fort Cronkhite in 1954 and remained operational until 1974. The associated Nike Missile Launch Battery for SF-88C, SF-88L, was located about a mile away on Fort Barry and is now a museum with working parts of the Nike System. The Nike Missile Integrated Fire Control (IFC) facility SF-87C associated with SF-88L is also located on Fort Barry, Hawk Hill. Marin Headlands Nike Batteries (edit list) Battery Type Location GPS Elevation Notes SF-88C Control Wolf Ridge 37.84197, -122.53218 910' SF-88L Launch Fort Barry 37.82698, -122.52753 134' SF-87C Control Hawk Hill 37.82754, -122.49956 889' SF-87L Launch Fort Cronkhite 37.83525, -122.53099 182' Source: Jef's Nike Website Current Status Part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA) administered by the National Park Service. On 1 Oct 2012 a surplus 16" Naval MarkVII gun was delivered on site for use as a display gun for Battery Townsley. Battery Townsley is opened once a month for public view and the Nike Missile site is open for tours and demonstrations, check ahead for days and times. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Tennessee point, Marin County, California Maps & Images Lat: 37.83254 Long: -122.535475 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation:194' Recent Blog Posts: A New Gun for Battery Townsley at Fort Cronkhite Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 65 Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 210-245 U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, (CCA-P-SFB), 15 Nov 1945, CDSG Links: North American Forts - Fort Cronkhite Nike SF-88 California Military Museum - Fort Cronkhite Visited: 20 Aug 2009