Limantour Spit / (Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range) | beach, Second World War 1939-1945, coast, lagoon, estuary

 beach, Second World War 1939-1945, coast, lagoon, estuary

One of the most beautiful beaches in California. Sometimes you can see whales in the bay. Dogs on leash are permitted at the east end of the beach, but most of this sand spit is off limits to pets because it is a protected nesting area for the snowy plover. For years sunbathing in the nude has been semi-tolerated, subject, perhaps, to the wims of individual park rangers.
Photo by Bob Bennett of the snowy plover habitat in the Limantour sand dunes.
The Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost was located approximately one-half mile east of Limantour Beach, on a hill over looking Drakes Bay. Mr. Charlie Zetterquist, a long time resident of the Point Reyes area, stated that there were cement filled sandbags stacked around three or four guns. Several of these sandbag shaped cement blocks are still located on the hillside and were observed during a recent site visit. During World War II, the Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost's guns performed target practice against towed targets in Drakes Bay. Other sources indicate that Battery B, a battery of four 155mm guns of the 56th Coast Artillery was stationed on Limantour Beach at Drakes Bay beginning 7 December 1941. The guns stood under camouflage nets on the beach. Nearby stood a tent used as a plotting room and the Battery's assigned searchlights and anti-aircraft machine guns. Observation crews with telephones and range scopes were positioned along the bay. The four gun battery had a large degree of autonomy for firing on suspected targets. No other battery units were in the area. Due to this information, it is believed that the Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost was Battery B of the 56th Coast Artillery. Interviews suggest that the DoD used the Camp Hydle Artillery Outpost located one-half mile east from Limantour Beach, on a hill, overlooking Drakes Bay as an Artillery Outpost during World War II. However, no information or physical evidence exists to support the exact target location for these activities, their frequency of use, or their specific types of use. The Camp Hydle Skip and Dive Bombing Range was located on Limantour Spit at Drakes Bay which was part of the property leased for Camp Hydle Maneuver Area. Mr. Lee Murphy, Jr., the son of Mr. Leland Murphy and a long time resident of the Point Reyes area, discovered a small practice bomb on Limantour Spit in 1947. No other evidence indicating the type of ordnance used at this facility has been found. The exact dates of the use of this range are unclear.
Read more here: www.corpsfuds.com/reports/INPR/J09CA7289inpr.pdf