Battery Davis

Tunnels leading to ammunition and powder magazines for Battery Davis today.

Kirke Wrench

Quick Facts

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Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

Located in Fort Funston, Battery Davis was constructed in 1936 as a critical part of the Harbor Defenses of San Francisco. During WWII, the army's secret weapon was the 16" gun that was able to shoot over 25 miles out into the Pacific Ocean. During the tense days after Pearl Harbor, soldiers were stationed in concrete look-outs, on 24 hour shifts, scanning the waters and sky for signs of enemy invasion. The men used listening devices that picked up reverberations in the water or the air that signaled soldiers on shore of any ships or airplanes that might be lurking nearby.

Batteries at Fort Funston

WWII led to a serious expansion of the garrison complex at Fort Funston. There was Battery Davis, the southern 16-inch gun counterpart to Battery Townsley across the Golden Gate, not to mention 86 new-fangled temporary barracks and other buildings that by 1942, were deemed obsolete. At the close of the war, the batteries were also behind the times and the post was demolished except for a few straggler buildings.

Battery Bruff was declared obsolete just six months after it came under the jurisdiction of the Coast Artillery Corps, making it the shortest-lived battery in all the San Francisco Bay defenses. Built to be a temporary structure, Battery Howe held out until 1945 outlasting many "permanent" mortar batteries.