CABRILLO
The Guns of San Diego
Historic Resource Study
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CHAPTER 7:
WORLD WAR II AND AFTER, 1941-1948 (continued)
D. Batteries Grant and Woodward, and Fort
Emory
Engineers began work on Battery Construction No. 239
(Grant) in June 1942, the contractor being Herbert Mayson. This 6-inch,
two-gun battery was located at Coronado Heights, along with Battery
Imperial. A 16-inch gun battery was also scheduled for this area. In
view of the concentration of defenses there, the San Diego Chamber of
Commerce asked Secretary of War Henry L. Stinson to name it Fort Emory,
in honor of Brig. Gen. William H. Emory. Emory had arrived in San Diego
in 1846 with the Kearny command to survey the new international
boundary. The Chamber of Commerce believed that it was due to Emory's
representations that the boundary was placed south of San Diego Bay. The
War Department agreed and in December so renamed the Coronado Heights
Military Reservation as Fort Emory which became a sub-post of Fort
Rosecrans.
Battery Grant itself was completed in April 1943, but
the guns did not arrive until December. Meanwhile, the District Engineer
gave the Coast Artillery permission to store 6-inch projectiles and
powder in its magazines. Construction of the project cost $219,000. The
identifications of its guns and carriages were thus:
Guns | Caliber | Model |
Ser. No. | Manufacturer |
1 | 6-inch | 1905 | 24 | Watervliet Arsenal |
2 | 6-inch | M-1905 | 20 | Watervliet Arsenal |
Carriages | Type | Model |
Ser. No. | Manufacturer |
1 | barbette | barbette | 56 | York Corporation |
2 | barbette | barbette | 57 | York Corporation [6] |
Battery Woodward, Construction No. 237, was the last
of the 6-inch batteries to be commenced, in March 1943, and the Army
Engineers did not transfer it to the troops until August 1944. Its cost
amounted to $256,000. Located in northwest Fort Rosecrans, its two guns
replaced the Marine batteries Gillespie and Zeilin. It was named for
Col. Charles G. Woodward who as a captain had commanded Fort Rosecrans
from March 1906 to June 1907. The guns and carriages were identified as
follows:
Guns | Caliber | Model |
Ser. No. | Manufacturer |
1 | 6-inch | 1903A-2 | 40 | Watervliet Arsenal |
2 | 6-inch | 1903A-2 | 55 | Watervliet Arsenal |
Carriages | Type | Model |
Ser. No. | Manufacturer |
1 | barbette | barbette | 103 | Watertown Arsenal |
2 | barbette | barbette | 109 | Watertown Arsenal [7] |
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Fort Emory, north of Imperial Beach, San
Diego County. (click on image for an enlargement in a new
window)
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Battery Grant, Fort Emory, two 6-inch
guns. National Archives, RG 77, OCE, Box 129, File 600.914, Harbor
Defenses of San Diego. (click on image for an enlargement in a new
window)
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Battery Construction No. 134, Fort
Emory. Its 16-inch guns were never mounted. The War Department deferred
further construction inasmuch as danger of a Japanese invasion
disappeared toward the end of World War II. National Archives, RG
77, OCE, Box 129, File 600.914, Harbor Defenses of San Diego. (click on
image for an enlargement in a new window)
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Plans for Battery Woodward, two 6-inch
guns. This World War II battery was built near the north boundary of
Fort Rosecrans. National Archives, RG 77, OCE, Box 129, File
600.914, Harbor Defenses of San Diego. (click on image for an
enlargement in a new window)
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Battery Imperial, Fort Emory, four 155mm
guns. These guns were not emplaced on the Panama mounts until after
Pearl Harbor. National Archives, RG 77, OCE, Box 129, File 600.914,
Harbor Defenses of San Diego. (click on image for an enlargement in a
new window)
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cabr/guns-san-diego/hrs7a.htm
Last Updated: 19-Jan-2005
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