Fort Drum (El Fraile)
| Fort Drum (El Fraile) | ||
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| Waters | Manila Bay | |
| Geographical location | 14 ° 18 ' N , 120 ° 38' E | |
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Fort Drum (El Fraile Iceland) , also known as the "concrete battleship," is a heavily fortified fortress island in the Philippines belonging Manila Bay is located. The island is located south of Corregidor Island .
investment
The island of El Fraile was originally a barren rocky island. Between 1910 and 1914, the island was leveled by pioneers from the US Army and turned into a fortress island. The island then had the shape of a 106 meter long and up to 44 meter wide concrete ship. The ammunition depots, the engine rooms and the quarters of the 200-man garrison were surrounded by a reinforced concrete shell up to eleven meters thick, the reinforced concrete ceiling over the island is six meters thick. On the concrete ceiling of the island, which is twelve meters above the water, two turrets , each with two 35.6 cm guns, were erected like on a battleship . There were also four 15.2 cm guns in casemates and a fire control tower. Along with other fortresses such as Corregidor, Fort Drum was designed to block access to Manila Bay to enemy ships.
history
During the conquest of the Philippines in World War II , Fort Drum was bombed and shelled by the Japanese without penetrating the concrete shell. With its artillery it supported the US defense, but since the guns were mainly aimed at sea targets, it could do little. After Corregidor's surrender, Fort Drum surrendered on May 6, 1942 and was then occupied by Japanese troops. During the reconquest of the Philippines in 1945, Fort Drum was bombed again - this time by the US Air Force. US pioneers were able to occupy the concrete surface of the island on April 13, 1945 and lock the Japanese garrison inside the fort. Since the Japanese did not surrender, the Americans pumped gasoline through the vents and then blew it up. Fort Drum burned out and glowed for three days. This ended the last Japanese resistance in Manila Bay. The ruins of Fort Drum, with their inoperative turrets, remain at the entrance to Manila Bay.
literature
- Martin Brice: castles and fortifications . Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1991, ISBN 3-8289-0730-X .
