Fort Drum is a fortified islet, originally named El Fraile, located at the mouth of Manila Bay, south of Corregidor Island, Philippines.
The reinforced concrete fortress is shaped like a battleship and was built by the United States in 1909, as a coastal artillery battery as part of the harbor defenses of the South Channel, during the American occupation of the Philippines. As its main artillery, it had two double barrel turrets of 14-inch gun ( M1907 – caliber 356 mm ) , the only ones of this model installed on land, guided by a fire control tower 18 meters high.
Today ,the ruins of Fort Drum, with its inoperable gun turrets, still lie at the entrance to Manila Bay. The fort has been looted since the 70s to recover metals and metal objects for resale. However, today it houses a lighthouse, the Fort Drum Lighthouse, to prevent any ship collisions.
Access : Coordinates: 14.305, 120.630556 /
Highlights :
- The set is crowned by two steel armored turrets, each with two 14-inch cannons. Lighthouses and anti-aircraft batteries completed this defense. The walls, 25 to 36 feet thick, protected ammunition magazines, engine rooms, and living quarters for a garrison of 200 men.
Go next : Corregidor , an important island . It hosted Fort Mills and its fortifications as well as its landscape made of rocks earned it the nickname The Rock.
