Golden Gate National Recreation Area Battery Mendell Keeping the enemy at bay Battery Mendell's mission was to keep enemy warships farther from San Francisco's harbor than any of the earlier coastal defenses were equipped to do. Built in 1905, the battery was positioned as far west on the headlands as possible and armed with the biggest guns in America. The two 12-inch cannon could hit vessels 8 miles out to sea. Battery Mendell was designed for "disappearing guns" that rose up for firing and then dropped back down behind the protective parapet. That ensured greater cover for both the weapons and troops than older batteries had provided. However, new technology, such as that employed at nearby Battery Wallace (set into the hillside behind you), soon enabled high-angle fire. This nearly doubled the distance guns could shoot. Image caption 1 On the battery's lower level, a complex of rooms included ammunition magazines for storing powder and shells. Image caption 2 In the plotting room, the one-story section directly in front of you, a trained crew made the calculations necessary for accurately aiming the guns. Using a method called "triangulation" and data provided by two lookout posts (base end stations) positioned in key spots on the coast, the plotting crew could pinpoint targets miles out to sea. Image caption 3 None of San Francisco's many generations of harbor defenses ever fired at hostile forces. But some of the batteries, including Battery Mendell, conducted practice fire. Had an enemy appeared, the soldiers could have loaded the guns while remaining out of sight behind the parapet. Image caption 4 Soldiers being visited by their wives and sweethearts at Battery Mendell, 1908. Image caption 5 Though Battery Mendell's firepower was quickly surpassed by newer batteries and weapons, its guns remained in service until 1943, when they were removed and sold for scrap metal. Submitted by: Eric Goodill