The Concrete Battleship: Fort Drum, El Fraile Island, Manila Bay

Located at the mouth of Manila Bay, Fort Drum on El Fraile Island is unique in the development of U.S. coastal fortifications. The Fort is part of a chain of forts built across the entrance of Manila Bay in the Philippines to defend Manila from attack. Construction began in 1909 by reduc­ing tiny El Fraile Island to the low water mark. Over the next ten years a multi-deck concrete island was built to mount two twin 14-inch guns in superimposed armored turrets.