The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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The Presidio of San Francisco (122.46W 37.801N) was the main headquarters of the U.S. Army on the West Coast in 1941. It is located north of San Francisco on the cliffs on the south side of the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The Spanish originally built a post here that was taken over by the Mexicans and then the Americans.
The
site included a historically important Army airfield (Crissy
Field),
which, when it
was built in 1921, was considered a first-rate facility. However,
the site
suffered from winds and fog, and
an airfield was built at a more
suitable site
north of the Golden Gate (Hamilton
Field). Thereafter Crissy
Field was used
mainly for liaison flights.
The limited area of the Presidio (1480 acres) meant that few troops could be quartered here. A much larger base was built at Fort Ord, south of the Bay Area. However, the Presidio was still the headquarters of 4 Army when war broke out.
Fort Winfield
Scott guarded the Golden Gate. It was manned by 6
Coast Artillery
Regiment, a Type C harbor
defense unit.
References
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