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Fort Drum (El Fraile Island), also known as "the concrete battleship," is a heavily fortified island situated at the mouth of Manila Bay in the Philippines, due south of Corregidor Island. The reinforced concrete fortress 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 captured and occupied by the Japanese during World War II, and was recaptured by the U.S. after igniting oil and gasoline in the fort, leaving it permanently out of commission. The now abandoned fort was named after Brigadier General Richard C. Drum, who served with distinction during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War and died on October 15, 1909, the fort's year of construction. The island and the other former harbor defenses of Manila Bay fall under the jurisdiction of the City of Cavite in Cavite province.〔U.S. Army (1916). ("United States Military Reservations, National Cemeteries, and Military Parks" ), pg. 344. Government Printing Office, Washington.〕 == Planning and design == 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. Consequently, El Fraile Island was fortified and incorporated into the harbor defenses, Manila and Subic Bays. Initially Fort Drum was planned as a mine control and mine casemate station. However, due to inadequate defenses in the area, a plan was devised to level the island, and then build a concrete structure on top of it armed with two twin guns. This was submitted to the War Department, which decided to change the guns to guns mounted on twin armoured turrets. The forward turret, with a traverse of 230°, was mounted on the forward portion of the top deck, which was 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 . Secondary armament was to be provided by two pairs of guns mounted in armoured casemates on either side of the main structure. There were two mobile AA guns on "spider" mounts for anti-aircraft defense. Overhead protection of the fort was provided by a thick steel-reinforced concrete deck.〔Kingman, Brigadier General John J. (2010-11-12). ("The Genesis of Fort Drum" ). Concrete Battleship.org. Retrieved on 2014-09-06.〕 Its exterior walls ranged between approximately thick, making it virtually impregnable to enemy naval attack.〔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.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fort Drum (El Fraile Island)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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