Editing Fort Frank

{{Short description|WW2-era fort in the Philippines}}
{{Infobox military installation
|name=Fort Frank
|native_name=Carabao Island, [[Philippines]] 
|image=Map of Corregidor 1941.jpg
|image_size=260px
|caption=Manila Bay forts in WWII (inset)
|partof = [[Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays]]
|location =
|type=
|built=completed 1913
|builder=[[United States Army Corps of Engineers]]
|materials=
|used=
|controlledby=United States
|garrison=*[[91st Coast Artillery (United States)|91st Coast Artillery]]
*[[92nd Coast Artillery (United States)|92nd Coast Artillery]]
*[[60th Coast Artillery (AA)]]
|commanders=
|battles=[[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)]]
}}

[[File:CarabaoIsland.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Fort Frank (Carabao Island).]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12860, San Diego, Küstenverteidigungsgeschütz.jpg|thumb|right|260px|{{convert|14|in|0|adj=on}} M1910 gun fires at Fort MacArthur, San Pedro, California.<ref>''Coast Defense Journal'', Vol. 31, Issue 2, May 2017</ref>]]
[[File:Fort Greble, R.I. (4515412788).jpg|thumb|260px|right|{{convert|12|in|0|adj=on}} mortars, similar to those of Battery Koehler.]]
'''Fort Frank''' ('''Carabao Island''', the [[Philippines]]) was one of the defense [[fort]]s at the entrance to [[Manila Bay]] established by the United States.  The entire island was designated as Fort Frank, in honor of [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Royal T. Frank]], as part of the [[Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays]] built by the [[Philippine Department]] of the [[United States Army|US Army]] in the early 1900s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGovern |first1=Terrance |last2=Berhow |first2=Mark A. |title=American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945 (Fortress, 4) |publisher=Osprey Publishing (UK) |year=2003 |isbn=1-84176-427-2 }}</ref><ref name="Bobart">Bogart, Charles. [http://corregidor.org/chs_bogart/bogart2.htm "Carabao Island's Fort Frank"]. The Corregidor Historical Society. Retrieved on 10 March 2018.</ref><ref name=CorrNames1>[http://corregidor.org/btty_histories/control/names_text.htm Fort and Battery Names in the Philippines at Corregidor.org]</ref>

==Geography==
Carabao Island  is located near the southern end of the entrance to [[Manila Bay]] about {{convert|0.5|mi|km}} off the coast of [[Maragondon]] in the [[Provinces of the Philippines|province]] of [[Cavite]].  The long, narrow island is surrounded by sheer cliffs over {{convert|100|ft|m}}. The whole island and fort has an area of {{convert|44.5|acre|ha}} with the highest elevation at {{convert|185|ft|m}}.<ref name="Bobart"/>

==History==

===Construction===
The establishment of the islands of Manila Bay as military reservations was requested by the US Army and enacted by Executive Order of President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] on 11 April 1902.

All but two of the fort's batteries were completed in 1913. These included Batteries Greer and Crofton, each with one [[14-inch gun M1910|{{convert|14|in|0|adj=on}} gun M1910]] on a [[disappearing carriage]]. Battery Koehler had eight [[12-inch coast defense mortar|{{convert|12|in|0|adj=on}} mortars]], and Battery Hoyle had two [[3-inch gun M1903|{{convert|3|in|0|adj=on}} seacoast guns]] on pedestal mounts. Circa 1940 Battery Hoyle was disarmed (one gun went to defend the "stern" of [[Fort Drum (Philippines)|Fort Drum]]), and Battery Frank (or Frank North) was added, with four [[Panama mount]]s for [[155 mm gun M1918|{{convert|155|mm|1|abbr=on}} mobile guns]]. In 1941 the [[antiaircraft]] Battery Ermita was added, with four [[3-inch gun M1918|{{convert|3|in|0|adj=on}} AA guns]] on mobile mounts. Three {{convert|75|mm|2|abbr=on}} [[field gun]]s (possibly the [[75 mm Gun M1917|{{convert|75|mm|2|abbr=on}} gun M1917]] also used by a Philippine Scouts regiment) for beach defense were also on the island.<ref name="Bobart" /><ref>[http://cdsg.org/the-harbor-defenses-of-manila-and-subic-bays-the-philippines/ Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays at the Coast Defense Study Group]</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Berhow |editor-first=Mark A. |title=American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide |edition=Third |page=222 |location=McLean, Virginia |publisher=CDSG Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-9748167-3-9}}</ref>

Battery Greer was named for Col. John E. Greer, an [[United States Army Ordnance Corps|Ordnance Corps]] officer. Battery Crofton was named for Captain William Crofton, an infantry officer. Battery Koehler was named for 1st Lt. Edgar F. Koehler, killed in the [[Philippine–American War]]. Battery Hoyle was named for Brigadier General [[Eli D. Hoyle]], a Spanish–American War veteran who was an administrator in World War I.<ref name=CorrNames1 />

Battery [[Ermita]] was probably named for the district in Manila. Battery Frank North was possibly named for Major [[Frank North]], commander of the Pawnee Scouts.

===World War II===
The fort's design included little protection against air and high-angle artillery attack except camouflage. Also, most of its heavy ammunition was armor-piercing, intended for use against battleships, rather than the high explosive type that would be more useful against enemy troops and artillery.<ref name="Bobart"/>

Fort Frank was heavily engaged in the [[Imperial Japan|Japanese]] [[Philippines campaign (1941–1942)|invasion of the Philippines]]. On 31 January 1942 the fort's mortar battery bombarded mainland positions in the [[Pico de Loro]] Hills that the Japanese were emplacing artillery in. The 75&nbsp;mm guns were also able to engage mainland targets. The Japanese began bombarding [[Fort Drum (Philippines)|Fort Drum]] and Fort Frank on 6 February 1942. Fort Frank was vulnerable in another way: its normal water supply was from a dam's reservoir on the Japanese-held mainland. On 16 February the Japanese discovered this and removed part of the pipeline near the dam. Although the fort also had a [[distillation]] plant to provide fresh water, this consumed fuel that was also needed for the gun batteries' generators that powered the ammunition hoists. The fort's commander ordered the distillation plant started, but also directed a 15-man team to attempt to restore the pipeline on the 19th. They successfully engaged a Japanese patrol but could not get to the pipeline. Eventually another party repaired the pipeline on 9 March.<ref>Morton, pp. 485-486</ref> On 20 March 1942, thirty-four soldiers were killed by Japanese artillery when a round ricocheted into a tunnel at Battery Crofton.<ref name="Bobart"/>

Fort Frank was surrendered, along with all other US forces in the Philippines, on 6 May 1942, after destruction procedures were executed on its guns to prevent their use by the enemy.<ref name="Bobart"/>

During their occupation the Japanese were reportedly able to repair the {{convert|14|in|0|abbr=on}} gun of Battery Crofton and add three {{convert|100|mm|2|abbr=on}} guns. In April 1945, during the [[Philippines Campaign (1944–1945)|American liberation of the Philippines]], Fort Frank was heavily bombarded with {{convert|1000|lb|abbr=on}} bombs and [[napalm]] (among other ordnance) in preparation for recapture. On 16 April 1945 the 1st Battalion, [[151st Infantry Regiment (United States)|151st Infantry Regiment]] and Co. C, 113th Engineer Battalion landed on Fort Frank to find that the Japanese had successfully evacuated the island.<ref name="Bobart"/>

==See also==
{{portal|Islands|Philippines}}
* [[Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays]]
* [[Military History of the Philippines]]
* [[Military History of the United States]]
* [[List of islands in the Greater Manila Area]]
* [[List of islands of the Philippines]]
* [[Manila Bay]]
* [[Seacoast defense in the United States]]
* [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* {{cite book | last = Lewis | first = Emanuel Raymond | title = Seacoast Fortifications of the United States | publisher = Leeward Publications | year = 1979 | location = Annapolis | isbn = 978-0-929521-11-4 }}
* {{cite book | last = Morton | first = Louis | year = 1953 | title = The Fall of the Philippines | series = U.S. Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific | publisher = [[United States Army Center of Military History]] | location = Washington, D.C. | id = CMH Pub 5-2 | url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm | ref = {{sfnRef|Morton}} | access-date = 2018-03-23 | archive-date = 2012-01-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120108061554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/5-2/5-2_Contents.htm | url-status = dead }}

==External links==
* [http://www.northamericanforts.com/West/pi.html Forts in the Philippines at American Forts Network]

{{coord|14|16|00|N|120|36|52|E|display=title|region:PH_type:landmark}}

[[Category:Military facilities in Cavite|Frank]]
[[Category:Forts in the Philippines|Frank]]
[[Category:United States military in the Philippines|Frank]]
[[Category:Former installations of the United States Army]]
[[Category:History of Cavite]]
[[Category:Cavite City]]
[[Category:Islands of Cavite]]
[[Category:Islands of Manila Bay]]