#corrigedor

Corrige-door to the past...

The idea of Fort Drum was created after the Spanish–American War in 1898 when the Board of Fortifications decided that the United States needed to better fortify overseas territories, especially harbors. One of the primary areas that the Board of Fortification decided to focus on was Manila Bay in the Philippines. Originally, the fort was to be the control center for a mine network across the Bay. However, due to inadequate defenses in the area, a plan was devised to level the island and then build a massive fortification.

14-inch turret for Fort Drum undergoing tests a Sandy Hook proving ground.

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. 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.

Bomb blast #corrigedor #bomb #explosion #destruction #damage

Photo by: Miguel Grande