The Point Atkinson Battery and the Lower Mainland Coastal Defense System
by Hanjo Zink
The Point Atkinson Battery was part of a system of coastal defenses designed to defend the port of Vancouver against enemy raids during World War II. The defenses were mobilized on August 25th 1939 in anticipation of a declaration of war. A new battery in Stanley Park was manned and positions were quickly constructed at Point Grey, and on the north side of the First Narrows. In addition to this gun positions at both entrances to the Strait of Georgia were in operation. One of these was located in the Victoria-Esquimalt area over looking the Juan de Fuca Strait. The other was located on Yorke Island overlooking the Johnstone Strait. These two positions were given precedence over the defenses in the Lower Mainland. Victoria’s Battery was already formidable, but Yorke Island’s guns were swapped for superior guns from Stanley Park after Pearl Harbour when the threat of attack increased. At its height a total of 720 men were stationed around Vancouver at the different gun positions.
At the out break of the War the Navy took over command of the harbour. Wartime protocols were installed to ensure that shipping traffic was monitored and regulated. Point Atkinson was designated the “Port War Signal Station” this meant it operated a look out post and received by radio message any news of incoming Naval Vessels. Between Point Atkinson and Point Grey ran an imaginary line called the examination line. This marked off the harbour, all ship traffic beyond this point had to be inspected and authorized. Two small examination vessels were stationed at the entrance to the harbour, as well as one inside the harbour. According to the new regulations freighters and other foreign vessels wishing to enter the harbour had to identify themselves to these small examination vessels. Once inside the harbour private radio transmissions were prohibited. Smaller vessels like fishing and tugboats that frequented the harbour were given an identification number. This was painted on the side of the hull. These boats were expected to identify themselves via this number to the Point Atkinson observation post. In addition to monitoring ship traffic the Point Grey and later the Point Atkinson Batteries were charged with using an “examination gun” to fire a stopping round, or warning shot, at vessels that did not identify themselves to the examination boats or the observation post. If these stopping rounds were ignored the batteries were supposed to sink the offending vessel.
The firing of stopping rounds was relatively frequent and could be fired as often as once a day. In one incident on September 15th 1942 gunners from Point Atkinson and Point Grey identified a fish-packer that had accidentally ignored the examination line. The battery at Narrows North fired a stopping shot at the approaching vessel. The round skipped across the water past the intended target and hit the Fort Rae a recently launched freighter undergoing testing in the harbour. The Fort Rae took on water and was forced to beach itself until it could be patched up and pulled off the shore.
In general the whole defense system was inadequate and out dated. Some of the guns had been produced during the Boer War, and many of them had been used during World War I. The sights were often calibrated for different positions that were at a higher elevation, so they could not be used, and the gun mounts were outdated and limited the range of the batteries. In some cases guns were so worn that the commanders advised they only be fired in the event of an enemy attack. Another major problem with Vancouver’s defenses was that when war was declared, the west coast did not have any functioning anti-aircraft guns. This was a problem because attack by air seemed more likely than a Naval attack. In June 1942 Dutch Harbour in Alaska was bombed, and in September of the same year a submarine launched floatplane managed to bomb Mount Emily in Oregon. Until 1942 Vancouver’s anti-aircraft defenses consisted mainly of machine guns on special mountings. In 1942 the city was equipped with Bofors guns, a type of Canadian made anti-aircraft gun, and in 1943 the harbour was equipped with heavier 3.7 inch guns which where placed at Stanley Park and Point Grey. |
The site of the Point Atkinson Battery is located in what is now Lighthouse Park. The park has a number of hiking trails as well as a beach and a view of the historic Lighthouse. The Lighthouse is off limits to the public and so is the former location of the gun emplacement. However, the barracks and buildings that used to house the gunners are still in use and are accessible. There are no plaques or information boards in the park referencing the Point Atkinson gun Battery, but the information is available online.
Resources:
Davies, Chuck. History of Metropolitan Vancouver. Madeira Park: Harbour Pub. 2011.
Davies, Chuck. The Vancouver Book. Vancouver: J.J. Douglas, 1976.
Moogk, Peter N. Vancouver Defended: A History of the Men and Guns of the Lower Mainland Defenses, 1859-1949. Surrey: Antonson Publishing Ltd., 1978.
Nicholson, Gerald W.L. The Gunners of Canada: The History of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967.
http://www.northamericanforts.com/Canada/bc.html
http://www.lpps.ca/lighthouse-park-history.asp
Davies, Chuck. The Vancouver Book. Vancouver: J.J. Douglas, 1976.
Moogk, Peter N. Vancouver Defended: A History of the Men and Guns of the Lower Mainland Defenses, 1859-1949. Surrey: Antonson Publishing Ltd., 1978.
Nicholson, Gerald W.L. The Gunners of Canada: The History of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1967.
http://www.northamericanforts.com/Canada/bc.html
http://www.lpps.ca/lighthouse-park-history.asp