Английская Википедия:Fort Drum (Philippines)

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox military installation

Fort Drum, also known as El Fraile Island (Шаблон:Lang-tl), is a heavily fortified island situated at the mouth of Manila Bay in the Philippines, due south of Corregidor Island. Nicknamed a "concrete battleship",[1] the reinforced concrete sea fort, shaped like a battleship, was built by the United States in 1909 as one of the harbor defenses at the wider South Channel entrance to the Bay during the American colonial period.

It was unique among forts built by the United States between the American Civil War and early World War II, as it was a sea fort with turrets. It was captured and occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and was recaptured after U.S. forces ignited petroleum and gasoline in the fort, the conflagration killing 68 Japanese soldiers and leaving it permanently out of commission. Due to the high temperature caused by the conflagration it took five days before U.S. soldiers could enter the fortress.

The now-abandoned fort was named after Brigadier General Richard C. Drum,Шаблон:Sfn who served with distinction during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War, and died on October 15, 1909, the year of the fort's construction. The island and the other former harbor defenses of Manila Bay fall under the jurisdiction of Cavite City.[2]

Battle of Manila Bay

On the night of 30 April–1 May 1898, Commodore George Dewey's squadron entered Manila Bay, passing El Fraile, where three 120 mm guns were mounted: one Hontoria 12 cm gun from the Spanish cruiser Antonio de Ulloa, and two shorter 120 mm guns from the Spanish gunboat General Lezo.[3]

The shore guns exchanged fire with Шаблон:USS, which was briefly illuminated by a soot flare-up from her stacks, and soon also Шаблон:USS, Шаблон:USS and Шаблон:USS opened fire. However, Dewey's ships passed the forts without significant damage, and fought the Battle of Manila Bay in the morning.[4]

Planning and design

Файл:Fort Drum Before.jpg
El Fraile Island before the construction of Fort Drum, c. 1909

The Board of Fortifications chaired by William H. Taft recommended that key harbors of territories acquired by the United States after the Spanish–American War be fortified.Шаблон:Sfn Consequently, the rocky El Fraile Island was fortified and incorporated into the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays.

Файл:Fort Drum Longitudinal Section Form 7 Sheet 1.jpg
Longitudinal section

Initially, Fort Drum was planned as a mine control and casemate station. However, due to inadequate defences in the area, a plan was devised to level the island, and then build a concrete structure on top of it armed with four Шаблон:Convert guns in twin mounts.Шаблон:Sfn This was submitted to the War Department, which decided to change the Шаблон:Convert guns to Шаблон:Convert guns mounted in twin armoured turrets.

The forward turret, with a traverse of 230°, was mounted on the forward portion of the upper deck, which was Шаблон:Convert below the top deck; the rear turret, with a full 360° traverse, was mounted on the top deck. The guns of both turrets were capable of 15° elevation, giving them a range of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn Secondary armament was provided by two pairs of Шаблон:Convert guns mounted in armoured casemates on either side of the main structure. There were two Шаблон:Convert mobile AA guns on "spider" mounts for anti-aircraft defense, probably the 3-inch Gun M1918 and probably added circa 1918.Шаблон:Sfn

Overhead protection of the fort was provided by a Шаблон:Convert thick steel-reinforced concrete deck.[5] The exterior walls ranged between approximately Шаблон:Convert thick, making it virtually impregnable to enemy naval attack.[6]

Construction

Файл:FortDrumSandyHook.jpg
14-inch guns and turret undergoing testing at Sandy Hook Proving Ground before installation at Fort Drum

Construction began in April 1909 and lasted for five years. The rocky island was levelled by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was built up with thick layers of steel-reinforced concrete into a massive structure roughly resembling a battleship, Шаблон:Convert long, Шаблон:Convert wide, and with a top deck Шаблон:Convert above water at mean low tide.Шаблон:Sfn The [[14-inch gun M1909|Шаблон:Convert M1909 guns]] and their two custom built M1909 turrets, named Batteries Marshall and Wilson, were delivered and installed by 1916. The M1909 guns were specially designed for Fort Drum and were not deployed elsewhere.[7] The secondary [[6-inch gun M1908|Шаблон:Convert M1908MII guns]] on M1910 pedestal mounts in casemates, Batteries Roberts and McCrea, were installed the same year.[8]

Searchlights, anti-aircraft batteries, and a Шаблон:Convert lattice-style fire control tower were mounted on the fort's upper surface. The living quarters for the approximately 240 officers and enlisted men, along with the power generators, plotting rooms and ammunition magazines, were located deep inside the fort.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Battery Marshall was named for Brigadier General William Louis Marshall, Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and Chief of Engineers 1908–1910. Battery Wilson was named for Brigadier General John Moulder Wilson, Civil War Medal of Honor recipient and Chief of Engineers 1897–1901. Battery Roberts was named for Benjamin K. Roberts, a cavalry, artillery, and coast artillery officer, who was made Chief of Artillery for one day in 1905 prior to his retirement.[9][10][11] Battery McCrea was named for Tully McCrea, an artillery officer in the American Civil War.[12]

World War II

Файл:FortDrum After.jpg
Fort Drum. Temporary wooden barracks on the fort's deck are visible near the fire control tower

Philippines campaign (1941–1942)

Шаблон:Main

The successful invasion of Luzon by the Imperial Japanese Army in late December 1941 quickly brought land forces within range of Fort Drum and the other Manila Bay forts. Just before the outbreak of war in the Pacific Theatre on 7 December 1941, Fort Drum had been restaffed with men and officers of the 59th Coast Artillery Regiment (E Battery). The wooden barracks located on the fort's deck were dismantled to provide an unobstructed field of fire for Battery Wilson.

On 2 January 1942, Fort Drum withstood heavy Japanese air bombardment. On 12 January 1942, an M1903 3-inch (76 mm) seacoast gun with a pedestal mount was transferred from Fort Frank and installed at Fort Drum to help protect the fort's vulnerable "stern" section from attack, and it was named Battery Hoyle.Шаблон:Sfn

The very next day on 13 January, before the concrete emplacement was fully dry and the gun had been bore-sighted or checked for assurance level, it became the first American battery of seacoast artillery to open fire on the enemy in World War II when it drove off a Japanese-commandeered inter-island steamer, apparently bent on a close inspection of Fort Drum's vulnerable rear approach. Until that time, the cage mast control tower masked the fire of the rear main turret, while the height of the gun above water created a dead space, even had the field of fire been clear.Шаблон:Sfn

The first week of February 1942 saw the fort come under sustained fire from Japanese 150mm howitzer batteries positioned on the mainland near Ternate. By the middle of March, the Japanese had moved heavy artillery into range, opening fire with 240mm siege howitzers, destroying Fort Drum's 3-inch antiaircraft battery, disabling one of the 6-inch guns, and damaging one of the armored casemates. Sizeable portions of the Fort's concrete structure were chipped away by the shelling.Шаблон:Sfn

The armored turrets were not damaged and remained in service throughout the bombardment.Шаблон:Sfn Counter-battery fire from Fort Drum's 14-inch guns and Fort Frank's 12-inch mortars was ineffective. With the collapse of American and Filipino resistance in Bataan on 10 April, only Fort Drum and the other harbor forts remained in American hands.

On the night of 5 May, the 14-inch batteries of Fort Drum opened fire on the second wave of the Japanese forces assaulting Corregidor, sinking several troop barges and inflicting heavy casualties.Шаблон:Sfn Fort Drum surrendered to Japanese forces after the Fall of Corregidor on 6 May 1942, and was occupied by them until 1945.Шаблон:Sfn The 6 meter (20-ft) thick reinforced concrete roof enabled Fort Drum to withstand concentrated and frequent pounding from the Japanese from about 15 February to 6 May 1942. No U.S. personnel in Fort Drum were killed during the siege and only five were injured.Шаблон:Sfn

The four 14-inch turret guns were never out of action and were still firing effectively five minutes before the Fall of Corregidor.[5] As at the other forts in the Philippines, Fort Drum's garrison destroyed the guns before the Japanese occupied the fort, which is why one 14-inch gun has fallen back inside its turret. The surrender of the Manila Bay forts marked the end of U.S. resistance in the Philippines.

Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)

Шаблон:Main

In 1945 following the offensive to recapture Manila, the heavily fortified island was the last position in Manila Bay held by the Japanese.[13] On 13 April, after a heavy aerial and naval bombardment, a modified Landing Ship Medium (LSM) with a bridging arm came alongside the fort. U.S. troops used the extended arm to run directly from the ship onto the fort quickly gaining control of its top deck and confining the Japanese garrison below.[14]

Company F of the 2nd Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, 38th Infantry Division and a detachment of the 113th Combat Engineer Battalion were chosen to lead the attack on Fort Drum because they had earlier led the successful assault on a mortar battery at Fort Hughes on Caballo Island.[15] Rather than attempting to break into the battery, they had used white phosphorus mortar rounds to ignite a Шаблон:Convert mixture of two parts diesel fuel and one part gasoline that had been pumped into the battery through a vent. This method was repeated twice on subsequent days.[14]

At Fort Drum, the combat engineers modified the technique they had used at Fort Hughes. After the gasoline mixture had been pumped in through air vents on the top deck, a timed fuse of TNT was used to detonate incendiary grenades.Шаблон:Sfn Several U.S. Army film crews filmed the entire operation from around Manila Bay.[16][17] The explosion ejected a 1-ton hatch Шаблон:Convert into the air and blew out parts of the fort's reinforced concrete walls.[18] U.S. troops had to wait five days before the fortress could be examined because of the heat and internal fire that raged for several days; all 68 Japanese soldiers were killed (six were found to have suffocated in the upper floors of the fort, while the charred remains of the remaining 62 were found in the fort's boiler room).[13] With the capture of Fort Drum and the other Manila Bay forts, Japanese resistance in the Bay area ended.[15]

Present status

The ruins of Fort Drum, including its disabled turrets and Шаблон:Convert guns, remain at the mouth of Manila Bay, abandoned since the end of World War II.Шаблон:Sfn[13] In the 1970s, looters started removing scrap metal inside the fort for resale.[13] This activity was ongoing according to a report in 2009.[19]

An automated light, approximately 6 m (20 ft) on a hexagonal white concrete post with gallery was installed in 2001[20] by the Philippine Coast Guard on the top deck for guiding ships entering the South Channel of Manila Bay.[19]

In fiction

During one of the final chapters of Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon, lead character Sgt. Robert "Bobby" Shaftoe parachutes to Fort Drum and pulls the fuel-oil hose and nozzle from the LSM up to the air vents atop the fort. He subsequently meets his demise after pumping all the fuel, dropping a live white phosphorus grenade into the vent and diving in afterwards.[21]

See also

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References

Шаблон:Reflist


Sources

Further reading


External links

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  1. ↑ Шаблон:Cite news
  2. ↑ U.S. Army (1916). "United States Military Reservations, National Cemeteries, and Military Parks", pg. 344. Government Printing Office, Washington.
  3. ↑ Philippine forts at American Forts Network
  4. ↑ Battle of Manila Bay at SpanAmWar.com
  5. ↑ 5,0 5,1 Kingman, Brigadier General John J. (2010-11-12). "The Genesis of Fort Drum". Concrete Battleship.org. Retrieved on 2014-09-06.
  6. ↑ Johnsen, Rich (2011-05-06). "Fort Drum, El Fraile Island". United States Coast Artillery of Manila and Subic Bay, 1941. Retrieved on 2014-09-06.
  7. ↑ Berhow 2015, pp. 160-163
  8. ↑ Berhow 2015, pp. 102-103
  9. ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
  10. ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
  11. ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
  12. ↑ Fort and Battery Names in the Philippines at Corregidor.org
  13. ↑ 13,0 13,1 13,2 13,3 Шаблон:Cite web
  14. ↑ 14,0 14,1 Smith 1963, pp. 352-354
  15. ↑ 15,0 15,1 Smith 1963, pp. 355-356
  16. ↑ Шаблон:YouTube
  17. ↑ Шаблон:YouTube
  18. ↑ Abandoned Engineering, series 3, episode 5, broadcast on Yesterday, 31 January 2020.
  19. ↑ 19,0 19,1 Moffitt, John (2010-12-13). "John Moffitt's Visit – 14 August 2009". Concrete Battleship.org. Retrieved on 2014-09-06.
  20. ↑ Шаблон:Cite rowlett
  21. ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
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