|
#1
●
02-17-2014, 06:56 PM
| ||||||||
 idiot savant with a ban stick Poster Rank:24 Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54,339
Contributions: 29
Mentioned: 62 Post(s) Quoted: 237 Post(s)
| ||||||||
|
Fort Drum: The Concrete Battleship on El Fraile Island
Fort Drum (El Fraile Island), also known as the “concrete battleship,” is a heavily fortified island fortress situated at the mouth of Manila Bay in the Philippines, due south of Corregidor Island. Built by the United States, it was occupied by the Japanese in World War II, and was recaptured by the U.S. after igniting oil and gasoline in the fort, leaving it permanently out of commission. Fort Drum was named for Brigadier General Richard C. Drum.  Known as Fort Drum, but commonly referred to as the “concrete battleship,” this heavily fortified structure roughly resembles a concrete ship. Fort Drum stands on an originally barren rocky island called El Fraile that was leveled by the U.S Army between 1909 and 1914, and built up with thick layers of steel reinforced concrete into a massive fortress, 350 feet long, 144 feet wide, and rising 40 feet above the water.       At the mouth of Manila Bay just off the coast of Philippines lies a huge battleship-shaped immovable concrete structure that was built in the early twentieth century to defend Manila.          Fort Drum was never 'taken' or silenced during the Manila Bay campaign, it wasn't until after the Corregador surrender did the Fort strike its colors. Fort Drum surrendered to Japanese forces following the fall of Corregidor on 6 May 1942 and was subsequently occupied by them until 1945. No U.S. personnel on Fort Drum were killed during the siege and only five were injured. The surrender of the Manila Bay forts marked the end of U.S. resistance in the Philippines. I highly recommend the book "Fighting for MacArthur" by John Gordon, A very readable history of the US Navy and USMC in the the defense of the Philippines. Here is a clip of a recent lecture given by the author of the mention book above.
__________________ "Knowledge is often mistaken for intelligence. This is like mistaking a cup of milk for a cow" |
|
#4
●
02-19-2014, 12:06 AM
| ||||||||
 ★ Legacy Member ★ Poster Rank:638 Female Join Date: Nov 2013 Posts: 1,393
Contributions: 1
Mentioned: 8 Post(s) Quoted: 159 Post(s)
| ||||||||
|
Re: Fort Drum: The Concrete Battleship on El Fraile Island
Excellent bit of history. Very interesting talk on YouTube and your Thread. The bit about Darwin, the USS Quail (Lt.Cdr. J.H. Morrill) I had never heard or read about before. Hero’s, Amazing accomplishment.
|
|
#5
●
02-21-2014, 01:29 PM
| ||||||||
| idiot savant with a ban stick Poster Rank:24 Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54,339
Contributions: 29
Mentioned: 62 Post(s) Quoted: 237 Post(s)
| ||||||||
|
Re: Fort Drum: The Concrete Battleship on El Fraile Island
Thanks..... Here is some actual video footage you might like with Fort Drum at the end.
__________________ "Knowledge is often mistaken for intelligence. This is like mistaking a cup of milk for a cow" |
|
#10
●
03-28-2014, 11:14 PM
| ||||||||
 ★ ★ GENERAL ★ ★ Poster Rank:41 male Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 36,741
Contributions: 35
Mentioned: 2203 Post(s) Quoted: 21064 Post(s)
| ||||||||
|
Re: Fort Drum: The Concrete Battleship on El Fraile Island
That place is awesome
__________________ Support the site and our continued existance by upgrading to a Green Name |
