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| Fort Drum |
Fort Drum, also known as El Fraile Island or the "Concrete Battleship," was a heavily fortified U.S. military installation at the mouth of Manila Bay in the Philippines, constructed between 1909 and 1914. Named after Brigadier General Richard C. Drum, it was designed to protect Manila Bay from naval attacks. Shaped like a battleship, the fort was built with reinforced concrete, featuring two turrets with four 14-inch M1909 guns, four 6-inch guns and later a 3-inch anti-aircraft gun. Its thick walls (25–36 feet) and 20-foot-thick deck made it nearly impregnable. The fort was manned by approximately 200 personnel from E Battery, 59th Coast Artillery Regiment, under U.S. Army control.
After Pearl Harbor, Japan launched a rapid invasion of the Philippines to secure strategic control of Southeast Asia. Manila Bay was a critical target due to its importance as a naval and commercial hub. Fort Drum, guarding the southern channel of the bay, was a priority for neutralization to ensure Japanese control over the area.
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| Location of Fort Drum |
The siege
On 2 Jan 1942, Fort Drum became the target of Japanese bombing in an attempt to invade Manila Bay. The fort’s concrete structure withstood the bombings, but the anti-aircraft gun sustained damage, limiting its effectiveness.
Yet defenders managed to repel a Japanese vessel on 13 Jan using its damaged anti-craft gun. This revealed that to the Japanese that Fort Drum was still a significant threat on the map.
In early February, the Japanese occupied the north island of Luzon and used artillery to shell the fort. One 6-inch gun in a casemate was damaged by artillery fire, but the fort’s primary 14-inch guns remained operational due to their heavy armor and retractable turrets.
The Japanese and the Americans continued to exchange fire in the following months. The garrison of roughly 200 Americans lived in cramped, humid conditions within the fort’s concrete interior. Constant shelling and bombing strained morale, but the fort’s design protected the crew from significant casualties. Supplies were delivered by small boats from Corregidor under cover of darkness, though these runs became increasingly dangerous as Japanese air and naval presence grew.
Final engagements
By early May 1942, Japanese forces had overrun most of Luzon and were preparing to assault Corregidor, the last major U.S. stronghold in Manila Bay. On May 5, 1942, Fort Drum played a critical role when its 14-inch guns, coordinated with Corregidor’s artillery, sank several Japanese troop-laden barges attempting to land on Corregidor’s beaches. This action inflicted heavy casualties (estimated in the hundreds) and delayed the Japanese assault temporarily.
However on May 6, 1942, following the fall of Corregidor, Lieutenant General Jonathan M. Wainwright, commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines, ordered the surrender of all forces, including Fort Drum. Before surrendering, the garrison disabled the fort’s 14-inch and 6-inch guns by removing critical components and damaging mechanisms to prevent their use by the Japanese. Amazing no deaths were reported by the crew through the siege.
The crew was eventually taken prisoner, and many endured the brutal conditions of Japanese POW camps, including the infamous Bataan Death March survivors.
After capturing Fort Drum, the Japanese occupied the fort but made limited use of it due to the disabled artillery. They installed lighter anti-aircraft guns and used the fort as an observation post to control Manila Bay. The fort’s concrete structure remained largely intact, serving as a defensive strongpoint until the U.S. liberation campaign in 1945.
In the present day, Fort Drum is equipped with lights and is used by the Philippine Coast Guard.
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