Decommissioned: The Giant Crane 1947

Historical Exhibit

by Stacey Carter

DECOMMISSIONED: The History of Hunters Point Shipyard was curated by Stacey Carter at Building 101 at the HP shipyard, June 5 - August 2, 2025

Gantry Crane Ship Lift, Hunters Point Shipyard, circa 1940-1950’s
Stacey Carter
Ink, pigment and acrylic on paper mounted on wood panel
32 x 40”
2022

The 450-650 Ton Marvel

Built in 1947 as the largest crane of its kind, this towering structure once lifted battleship turrets and supported Cold War missile testing. Visible for miles, it has become an enduring landmark of San Francisco's southeastern waterfront. Today, it stands not only as an unprotected historic landmark, but a reminder of the shipyard's global reach-and a vision for the site's future, where this former implement of war is transformed into a monumental, awe-inspiring work of art.

ENGINEER SPOTLIGHT: JOHN P. WAGSTAFF

Engineering Legacy at Hunters Point

John P. Wagstaff was the head designer and lead project manager for the massive gantry crane at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard—completed in 1947 as the largest crane in the world. Built to lift entire battleship gun turrets, the crane became a powerful symbol of U.S. industrial strength.

Though official credit was withheld due to military protocol, those on site knew it as “Wagstaff’s Crane.” He spent months in San Francisco overseeing its launch and was later awarded the Superior Civilian Service Award, the Navy’s highest honor for a civilian for his efforts. A leader in weight-handling engineering, Wagstaff taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and authored several foundational textbooks. He continued working as a Navy consultant until his passing in 1967.

Today, the Hunters Point crane stands as a towering monument—not only to the shipyard’s legacy, but to the vision and expertise of the man who helped build it.

OPERATION SKYCATCH

Missile Testing at Hunters Point

In the late 1950s and early 1970s, the giant crane at Hunters Point Shipyard became a key player in Cold War weapons development. As part of Operation Skycatch, Navy engineers used the crane to fire multi-ton dummy missiles—structurally identical to Polaris nuclear missiles—and then catch them mid-air using a specially engineered overhead harness system. Earlier tests, known as Operation Peashooter, launched redwood dummy missiles from underwater into the air, where they splashed back into the Bay. But water impact compromised the test data.

Operation PeaShooter before using the crane.

Operation PeaShooter from the crane.

With the Hunters Point crane's unmatched strength, engineers from Westinghouse and Lockheed developed a method to simulate launch stress without damage-preserving valuable data. In the early 1970s, the military switched to testing stronger Poseidon missiles, which delivered 700,000 pounds of pressure. Crews in 1972 added the 170-foot arch and concrete blocks to shore up the crane.

The Operation Skycatch tests were conducted the Navy along with engineers from the Westinghouse Electric Company and Lockheed Missiles and Space Division. These secretive tests helped shape the Navy's next generation of submarine-launched ballistic missiles.