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Post by Registrar on May 27, 2014 8:57:55 GMT 8
I am posting this for "Pagoda" who has recently joined us from somewhere in Kansas. In his (or her) intro, he (or she) writes:
Hello..I am registering to inquire about the missing main guns on FORT DRUM. I just viewed a recent photo and the guns from the upper turret have disappeared. These were large (12"-14") and while were sitting out of battery, they were easily visible & could not have been moved or taken by casual thieves. A CRANE seems to have been used. As this is so easily seen from shore, this undertaking must have been seen by someone in authority. Is there no one down there assuming the responsibility for the protection of these historical artifacts (Ft Drum guns being the last to be fired before the surrender) I write this on Memorial Day, which just peeves me even more.
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Post by oozlefinch on May 28, 2014 4:38:10 GMT 8
The last I heard, both gun tubes had fallen back into the barbette. Does anyone have any different thoughts?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 23:42:12 GMT 8
Hello All....
The incentive for me posting the comments above were based on a photo released on MSN last month. (I have the photo saved but couldn't find a way to post it here) In this fairly good image, the 14" barrels are now totally out of view, as opposed to slightly sticking out of the turret raceways. I haven't done the math on the interior dimensions of the gun house and barbette vs. the length of an intact barrel, but the question arises, could they both have completely slipped to a vertical angle, with nothing showing from outside ?
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Post by oozlefinch on Jun 9, 2014 13:12:46 GMT 8
This is a SWAG, as I haven't been on Drum since '06, but if scrappers had wanted to cut up the gun tubes, it would have been much easier to do it with the gun tubes still in battery. The reason the gun tubes fell back into the turret, and then into the barbette, is the weight of the gun tube, and the amount of rusting away of the supports within both the turret and the barbette. I would further SWAG that attempting to cut up the gun tube while probably in a vertical configuration would be very difficult.
Has anyone been inside Drum lately to confirm whether the gun tubes are still present?
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Post by domack on Jun 9, 2014 13:38:11 GMT 8
. I haven't done the math on the interior dimensions of the gun house and barbette vs. the length of an intact barrel, but the question arises, could they both have completely slipped to a vertical angle, with nothing showing from outside ? Pictures from 2009 I think, off this site? Here's shot so you can see how they have fallen in the turret. I have no idea if they are there or not. corregidor.proboards.com/thread/542/el-fraile-island-fort-drum
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2014 13:32:36 GMT 8
Would anyone be willing to send a letter of inquiry? We could then send it through official channels. Better than nothing at all.
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Post by Registrar on Dec 11, 2014 15:52:09 GMT 8
MLQ, the very people who are likely to be called to investigate are those who already know the most about what's going on. Remember the old joke "The PNP are the most efficient police force in the world, because whenever there is a crime, the PNP are already there."?
The most effective means of protecting Drum may well be to take MORE paying tourists there, not discourage them.
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Post by The Phantom on Dec 12, 2014 7:28:59 GMT 8
Could Fort Drum be off limits to tourists for the same reason Carabao island is now off limits to tourists? Or it's just all that pesky dangerous, high quality, Bethlehem steel still dangling precariously on the Drum that could fall and hurt someone?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2014 22:16:07 GMT 8
We were told that Fort Frank and Fort Drum are live fire areas for the Marines and it was not permitted to visit. Supposedly you even need a permit to approach and circle Fort Drum.
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Post by Registrar on Dec 17, 2014 20:50:50 GMT 8
I speculate that tourists are not being allowed to approach these places because: - tourists take photographs,
- photographs of heavy metal things end up here,
- recent photos can be compared with former photos,
- the continuation of scrapping becomes noteworthy
- scrapping is thus a proven fact
- foreigners make inferences
The obvious way to stop officially sanctioned scrapping, particularly under the guise of making the facilities safe, is to have regular tourist visits. This will discourage officials from using their cloak of invisibility.
Taking tourists to these spots would stop scrapping, there is no doubt of it. It will earn honest dollars for honest operators.
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