Karl’s Corregidor Trips.

[fortman]

K-W,

You have put in a massive amount of work to explore and describe Corregidor. We stay-at-homes are greatly indebted to you and Fots2

Regards,

fortman

[Karl Welteke]

WITH CDSG TO CORREGIDOR 2015-04-10 TO 15; FOURTH DAY


It is a pleasure to visit the ex Fort Mills on Corregidor Island with knowledgeable people. They are with the Coastal Defense Study Group (CDSG) and have an extensive web page (http://cdsg.org/). It was only two people this time and we done things in a slow pace, not hectic. They knew what they wanted to see and I was helpful because I know my way around after over 40 plus visits to Corregidor.


I established this album in my Photobucket account with 25 images:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20at%20Random/CI%202015-2016%20Random%20Albums/2015-04-13%20w%20CDSG%20B-Morrison%20etc?sort=9&page=1
Or
tinyurl.com/nokhoj2



As I have done with all my Corregidor visits, I write a brief diary about each visit and this is the entry for this day:


Corregidor Diary with Glen, Karl, Tony (from CDSG) 2015, April 10th to 15th

APRIL 13TH , DAY 4, MONDAY

Boat driver Edmon was here this morning and I talked with him about leaving Corregidor with him Wednesday morning.

At 8am we drove to Battery Grubbs, the CDSG folks went there, I scouted the way to G1 via the entrance area of B-Smith. A lot of cutting had to be done but I found it and the GPS was a lot of help.

I returned towards B-Grubb, met Glen and together we returned to G1. The view slit of G1 in front has sagged down and one side was blown open and we entered that way. Inside G1 we went thru the phone booth space, descending a stair way we entered the large plotting room and from there via different steps exited G1.

Glen and I then marched to B-Hearn thru the woods. Karl (CDSG) already had taken the jeepney there. hospital, slightly left and spotted one corner of the 2nd floor.

Glen and Karl (CDSG) went to the Lighthouse area and I walked to the First Flag Marker. It is almost finished and of course I took pictures. I met with the others and we drove down to the Diesel Powerhouse because Karl (CDSG) was interested in that. Then we called it quits for the morning.

In the afternoon we briefly met an Australian from Brisbane but who was here only on a day tour. Glen expected him and they exchanged some items, he gave me a CD about the Kadoka Campaign. He also dropped off some material for the Corregidor Resident Kwiecinski family. I heard from Glen that he has visited Corregidor pretty much on a regular basis and I learned he is from Brisbane. The Kwiecinski family is not here during our visit because they are engaged with the Valor Tour presently.

Then Glen and I proceeded to B-Morrison (6 inch battery), Karl (CDSG) did not go along. Glen wanted to take pictures inside and outside. B-Morrison is grown over badly and I took pictures only outside of the battery. We also looked into the plotting room but not at the fire control station up and behind the battery, it is hard to get to it now.

On the ride departing from B-Morrison and maybe 200 meters or so from the intersection with James Ravine road we saw a cable connection station on the right side of the road (3 meter distance from the road). It certainly was unique a stairway let down to it , two cable holes went in and out but thru an attached space, IT IS UNIQUE. In the attached space is an opening to the top where one can look down like in many other cable connection stations. Afterwards I learned it is on the map and is Cable Hut No. 11.

B-Wheeler was our next place; Glen wanted to take pictures of many of the major batteries. I looked for and marked the Observation Station behind B-Wheeler. After that I showed Glen the metal base frame of one of the B-Boston AA Guns. We called it a day then.

The weather like all 3 previous days was blue skies, little NE wind and calm seas. It was hot of course and I did not forget to drink a lot of fluid.

In the evening Karl (CDSG) was not up to it again so Glen chose to join me at Mc Arthur Café. Today he presented me with 3 sections of the 1936 Corregidor map.

Here are 16 sample pictures from the above album but are much smaller:



X691 typical morning scene on the North Shore, Bottomside, Corregidor Island; this time it was a woman fishing and she got a few, small though.



X692 two of the leading men on the island having a cup of coffee and are making sure the work day is starting on time. The right man, Ron, looks like he had a bad dream last night.



X693 G1 was our main goal this morning. While my friends looked over Battery Grubbs I scouted the way and prepared by cutting a path thru the thick and thorny underbrush.



X694 G1 Gun Control, the observation station is badly damaged and as you can see one cannot look out anymore. It is covered separately in this thread with this URL:
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1824/battery-position-finder-stations-manila



X695 G1 Gun Control, this is the large plotting room, it had to be big to handle 360 degrees of Battery Smith and Hearn. It is covered separately in this thread with this URL
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1824/battery-position-finder-stations-manila



X696 while Topside on Corregidor I took the opportunity to check on the progress of the new marker to remember the raising the 1st US Flag in 1945. It is covered separately at this URL: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1766/flag-pole-monument



X697 this map shows you where the 1st US Flag was flown and where the marker has been placed. While topside I also noticed that a new structure is being erected. I was told it is for the purpose to provide another dining area.



X698 this is the construction area for the new dining area, lunch as part of the day tour tourist package. This is a Sun Cruises project.



X699 Then we went to Battery Morrison, can you spot the spare gun barrel? Well the battery is grown over and it does not get visited.



X700 Battery Morrison is a 6 inch battery.I started my visit by going up those steps and bridge.

I established an album of Battery Morrison, with my pictures, shot only outside the battery. The battery does not get visited anymore and therefore it does not get cleared of scrub and grass that is taking over the battery. This is the URL with 22 images; the picture are numbered G1 to G24:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Batteries-Coastal%20Artillery/Batt-Morrison?sort=9&page=1


It is also covered separately in this thread with this URL:
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1381/fort-mills-ca-batteries-all



X701 No 1 Gun of the 6 Inch Battery Morrison on Corregidor Island.



X702 Leaving Battery Morrison by jeep we noticed this considerable size Concrete structure to our right and checked it out well, we had never noticed it before. It turned out to be Cable Hut #11.



X703 location map to Cable Hut #11.

It is an elaborate structure which deserves some mentioning. I made an album with those pictures from that day. 12 images are in this URL:
s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Morrison%20Hill/Cable-Hut%20No%2011?sort=9&page=1
or
tinyurl.com/o66xb96



X704 from the main space of Cable Hut #11 leads a narrow passage into this space and it is open to the top. This shot is from the opening on top down to this 2nd space of Cable Hut #11.



X705 Glen wanted to go to Battery Wheeler because on this visit he wanted to get more shots from inside the Batteries. I wanted to go thru the drill of finding the important AA Height and Direction Finder located at the rear of Battery Wheeler.



X706 our last goal for today before we call for Miller-Time was to have a look at the last metal pedestal base for the 3 inch AA guns on Corregidor. This lone survivor is at one of the 4 Battery Boston AA guns.

Glen then took some pictures inside the B-Hearn Magazines.
Then we proceeded to the Hospital because Karl (CDSG) had seen on a picture what looked like a ceremonial gun at one of the corners, front of the station hospital. We did not see anything, so search results were negative. While there we talked about the Stewart Quarters in front of middle of the

[Karl Welteke]

WITH CDSG TO CORREGIDOR 2015-04-10 TO 15, FIFTH DAY


It is a pleasure to visit the ex Fort Mills on Corregidor Island with knowledgeable people. They are with the Coastal Defense Study Group (CDSG) and have an extensive web page (http://cdsg.org/). It was only two people this time and we done things in a slow pace, not hectic. They knew what they wanted to see this time and I was helpful because I know my way around after over 40 visits to Corregidor.

I established this album in my Photobucket account with 37 images:


s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20at%20Random/CI%202015-2016%20Random%20Albums/2015-04-14%20w%20CDSG%20Monstrosity%20Bldg-J%20%20M-Hill?sort=9&page=1
or
tinyurl.com/o4onn3s




As I have done with all my Corregidor visits, I write a brief diary about each visit and this is the entry for this day:

Corregidor Diary with Glen, Karl, Tony (from CDSG) 2015, April 10th to 15th


APRIL 14TH, DAY 5, TUESDAY

On this day Glen chose not to have a jeepney and we walked into the Engineering Ravine. CFI charged the CDSG 2500 pesos, per day for the jeepney and driver. We had a thorough look at the former Coal Power Plant and Ice Plant.

At the new Biomass Power Plant we noticed that workers by hand produced woodchips as fuel. That seems to be a laborious effort and I wonder what the cost will be.

Next I showed Glen the US Engineer Dynamite Magazine (Building “J”) and an active water source nearby in the Eng. Ravine. That magazine was brought to my attention by the daughters of the Paratrooper Adams when they visited a few years ago. Then I looked for what I call “The Train Tunnel”. I found it and marked it.

Glen called it quits then and we had a few cold refreshments at Mc. After that I ate a soup I tried to find the Malinta Hill Tunnel south entrance but failed; I am convinced it is buried under the many Malinta Hill rock slides. I noticed some new construction on top of the first MG Emplacement, south side of Malinta Hill. I also noticed some kind of concrete project at the end of the South Dock.

Later I found out from Ron that they are going to be part of the tsunami alarm or research system. The tsunami buoys in the San Jose Cove at the Bottomside south shore are gone, it seems they vanished or did not work out or they were there just a short tem test.

The Malinta Hill west slope was my next target. I climbed up between the 2nd and 3rd Navy Tunnel entrance, counting from the south. I found the Half Moon Shelter and the concrete sections about 20 feet north of it in short order. That shelter has holes in one end that allow electric or communication cables to be led in an angle. That end also has a door opening and is pointing against the slope and dirt is falling in that way. It does have damage at the other end, down slope and I took pictures that way. All this is located between the two Navy Tunnel entrances, mentioned earlier in this paragraph, but a little higher.

Then I continued a little higher to the road cut above and walked north and then cut right and up to find the SW Malinta Hill ventilation shaft opening. I tried but I failed to find it. Then I also called it a day and started packing for my return trip tomorrow morning.

In the evening I met with my CDSG friends at the hotel shared a couple of beers, stories and said good bye. It was an enjoyable visit less exhausting walking, straight to the goals with wheels and we had not too many. And even I seen a few things that I did not see before.

Last night the wind picked up, I noticed, when I woke up for a toilet call and indeed in the morning there was a strong NE breeze. During the day it calmed again then in the evening the wind shifted to the SE and was so strong that we vacated the veranda at the hotel and sit down inside the dining area. This is the 3rd day I noticed the wind shifting to the SE in the late afternoon to evening.

Next morning I left for Bataan with a prearranged boat and was home by 11 am. The sea was choppy but the boat crew had the gear protected and gave me a board to fend off most of the sea spray.
END


Here are 17 sample images but they are smaller than the images in the album above:



X769 these trees between the Mc Arthur Café (left) and the Skipper Hill at right (out of the picture) seem to struggle in the dry season. The Corregidor Chapel is in back.



X770 this Google Earth map is marked up with most of the subjects shown in the album for you orientation.



X771 The morning supply boat has arrived already and is taking passengers (Corregidor worker residents) back to Cabcaben in Bataan for personal busines. The last people stepping on board are Edith and the tour guide who bought the Kwiecinski jeep.
There are more morning routine images of Corregidor in the album.



X772 the main objective for Glen and I was to have a real close look at the Fort Mills coal powered power plant and cold storage. It is covered separately in this URL: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1839/fort-mills-power-storage-plant
This is the Boiler Room of the Fort Mills coal powered power plant and cold storage.



X773 this is an evening view on Bottomside. It is at the end of the rainy season and somehow that real dry grass at the shoreline towards Battery Point caught fire.



X774 this is the bldg.340, the Instrument Storehouse Casemate at Bottomside; these Sea Mine objects were recently dug up near this building. It is covered in this forum with this URL: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1572/buried-objects-uncovered



X775 at the new Bio-Power Plant in the engineering Ravine workers were producing wood chips as fuel. That process seems to be a most labor intense affair and I don’t see any real practical benefit.



X776 here is the new Bio-Power Plant in the engineering Ravine. Workers have produced, by hand, wood chips as fuel. The black and light colored bags contain those chips. As far as I can tell the Bio Mass Power Plant has not been in operation yet.



X777 this is Building J in the Engineering Ravine it is called the Post Engineer Dynamite Magazine. We got aware of this structure when the daughter’s of Paratrooper Dick Adams pointed it out.



X778 Glen Williford, CDSG, is standing in front of Post Engineer Dynamite Magazine, Building J, in the Engineering Ravine, ex Fort Mills on Corregidor Island.



X779 then I showed Glen Williford, CDSG, a water hole deep in the Engineering Ravine, Corregidor Island; perhaps is has been dug in WWII.



X780 I wanted to find the Malinta Hill Tunnel South Entrance and at the first Machine gun casemate on the south road I found this. It seems to be part of a new tsunami warning system.
This monstrosity is covered in this URL: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1810/monstrosity-37mm-bunker-south-access



X781 that is the present largest rock slide on the south access road around the Malinta Hill. The Malinta Hill Tunnel South Entrance should be just passed it.
Somewhere in this forum fots2 said that the Malinta Hill Tunnel South Entrance is still visible. I don’t think so and wanted to check. I estimate the south entrance to be there and didn’t see it.



X782 I call these things Half-moon Shelters; there are 4 on the island and 2 on Malinta Hill. I estimate this one to be just about above the middle one of 5 Navy tunnel exits.



X783 I wonder whether this Half-moon Shelter, so close to the middle Navy tunnel exit was used for radio purposes.



X784 outside view of the Half-moon Shelter, so close to the middle Navy tunnel exit in Malinta Hill.



X785 about 20 feet north of the Half-moon Shelter, so close to the middle Navy tunnel exit, is this concrete block. If you look close you can see the top of the Half-moon Shelter

[oozlefinch]

Karl, where's the "train tunnel"?, and did you take any pictures of it?

[Karl Welteke]

THE NAME “TRAIN TUNNEL” IN THE ENG. RAVINE IS KARL’S IMAGINATION AT WORK.

Hello ooxlefinch



X800 the tunnel is a “H” shaped tunnel, the side one can still can get in is concrete lined. It has a parallel tunnel (to the west) that is not lined and the opening is buried shut. A short shaft connects both to form that “H”.

I am imagining since the Eng Ravine is an industrial zone maybe it was used to drive a contraption in for repair. So, I call it a train tunnel!

I have visited it in 2005 with the Coasties (CDSG) and in 2007 with EXO. And one of these years I will establish an album with pictures of that tunnel. Meanwhile you only get to see the above picture for right now.

It is located on the south side of the Eng. Ravine, directly behind the new Bio-Mass Power Plant, about 20 feet up to get to the opening, hid now by underbrush.

There is another tunnel, east of it, between 70 to 100 feet from “Train Tunnel”. That one is not lined, it is shorter, has no parallel tunnel, is high (you can walk straightened-up) and the opening is also still wide and high. The opening is also hid from the underbrush.

[westernaus]

You have done it again Karl you never cease to come up with something new and interesting. Thank you .

And before I forget A Happy Birthday to OKLA on the 24 TH of JULY

[oozlefinch]

Karl - Thanx. In '89 I spent a couple hours looking in that area for the Engineer Tunnel that I had read about, but never found anything, but then I was looking at ground level. These are apparently up the side of the hill where I wasn't looking. How deep is your "train tunnel"? Your half-moon structures are unusual for Corregidor, and two of them being part-way up Malinta is stranger still.

[Karl Welteke]

KARL CORREGIDOR VISIT 2015-09-17 WITH JAMES SCOTT 1ST DAY

On the 17th Sep. 2015 I visited Corregidor to team up with James Scott who as an author wrote the story of the USS Liberty which got severely attacked by Israel. I had a list to check things topside before James Scott arrival, he will arrive the next day, take detailed images of the Corregidor flagpole, the new messing hall near the Spanish flagpole (that is a Corregidor Inn project and is not finished yet.) The new Communication tower near the 4 water tanks and the two Comfort Rooms, near the light house, that project has stopped. The souvenir shops at the lighthouse are all on the north side now only. The multiple sign with distances to cities on the earth has been moved near the Spanish Marker flagpole etc.


Here is my diary entry for this day:

Corregidor Diary to meet James Scott 2015, Sep. 17th to 20th

Sep.17th, DAY 1, THURSDAY

James Scott will arrive tomorrow.

Carried out the plan to go with car to Cabcaben and with the arranged boat to Corregidor. The boat left Cabcaben pier at 0515. This turned out to an experience one has to deal with in the Philippines. The boat operator said to be there at 6 am, not trusting that I showed up at 0500. 4 other people were waiting already, so we left at 0515. I could have been sitting on the pier forever if I had showed up at 0600.

Long time hotel employee Mary lives in Cabcaben and now at the reduced schedule to Corregidor she goes to Corregidor on Thursday and returns on Sunday; she was one of the passengers.

The ocean was calm surprisingly and we had very light NE wind, there were very wide slow rolling ocean swells, maybe 3 feet. The light NE wind did not cause any white caps and we did not get one drop of spay on us. The whole day turned to be sunny and the wind remained blowing light from the NE.

I had a list to check things topside, take detailed images of the Corregidor flagpole, the new messing hall near the Spanish flagpole (that is a Corregidor Inn project and is not finished yet.) The new Communication tower near the 4 water tanks and the two Comfort Rooms, near the light house, that project has stopped. The souvenir shops at the lighthouse are all on the north side now only. The multiple sign with distances to cities on the earth has been moved near the Spanish Marker flagpole.

The elder tour guide was running a shop, he is retired now, he said. He is the one who bought Steve Kwiecinski’s jeep. He also said that he had trouble with a tire and the alternator on that jeep. He gave me some old coins, very nice, thank you.

Took pictures of the AGGI Muster memorial and the Marker of the first flag pole the Paratroopers raised the US Flag on, the 16th Feb. 1945. Lt.Col. Artibag visited the island today and I met him and his staff topside. He said they would fly the flag on the pole they planted next to the Marker, that is in the works.

Visited the position finder station B-III-14, the one above the Geary Trail, to determine how the missing metal strap got cut off. It most likely was a strap to aid in closing the view slit, it was so rusty at the connection that it was just broken off by hand. Looked at both cable connection, inspection holes and learned that the upper one is locked up on the west side and the lower one on the north side. So now I know to keep them apart
Walked thru the woods from the 503d flagpole marker to Battery Hearn via Radio 1 and seen the other 4 Radio 1 antenna bases again, the NCO Club area and had a look at the 2 of the 3 NCO quarters between B-Hearn and the rail cut.

I was heading to Battery Grubbs to determine whether a picture we got of a manned position finder station is of Battery Grubbs and not Battery Morrison. The station is almost completely blown away but I can tell that the center line of the station point towards Sisiman Bay and so most likely the picture we got is from that station.

Then I walked to Batteries Geary and Crockett to see whether anything changed, the grass at B-Geary is high. I took some pictures of Battery Geary.
From there I walked to the O-Swimming Pool, passed the O-Club and had a look at the post war communication set-up near the O-Club. It does not get easier to walk thru that grass and bush. Nature took over the swimming pool again and one cannot see much.

In the museum the back room was lighted and I took some pictures there.

My next goal was to make myself more familiar of the area between the last SOQ unit 12B and the five QM ware houses. Took some pictures of position finder station G-II-3. One thing I got convinced of that the SOQ unit 12B, the last east one, is completely blown away.

Then I headed home via the hospital to check whether I can find the spot a decorative artillery piece was located it. In the picture we have, it sits on a round concrete base. I belief I found it but it requires some digging to confirm it; tomorrow.

On the way to Middleside I used the shortcut from the hospital; the short cut is still in good shape to be walked.
I wanted to have one more look at the Spanish American War Veteran Marker near Battery Ramsey, I did and then I called it a day.



I uploaded 45 images into this album:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20at%20Random/CI%202015-2016%20Random%20Albums/2015-09-17%20w%20J%20Scott%201st%20Day?sort=9&page=1



In this forum page I present 28 images of that walk. This presentation is different because I added many links to explore the subjects further. The pictures are much smaller than in the album.



W246 (F1) this is view in the morning when one steps out of the McArthur Café (new name) on Corregidor Island. After I had breakfast I asked the sweeper Jeepney to take me along to Topside.



W247 (F2) I started out the Aggie Muster Marker which is now completed; my pictures and others are presented in the links listed in the below description box.

These are links to the Aggie Muster Marker:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Death%20March%20Markers%20Death%20Camps%20and%20Memorials/Memorials%20and%20Markers-any%20other?sort=9&page=1

steveandmarciaontherock.blogspot.com/2015/04/texas-aggie-muster-on-corregidor-2015.html



W248 (F3) is a Google Earth image with my GPS track and I marked in the not so obvious places I visited on this walk in Fort Mills on Corregidor Island.



W249 (F5) this is a memorable place Topside on Corregidor; this is the Philippine American Friendship Park and it has stone plates all around that lists all the major Commands that fought in the defense of the Philippines.



W250 (F6) the so called Spanish Flagpole in Fort Mills on Corregidor Island was on one of my projects the get a good set of images. Some links about this flagpole are listed in the description box.

These are links to the Corregidor Flagpole:
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1797/origins-spanish-flagpole-corregidor-myth

corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1101/flying-flag-16-february-2012



W251 (F7) another project was to get a better picture of these windows of the pump house at the 3 Million Gallon Water Reservoir Topside on Corregidor in connection with the continuing scrapping problem. Links are below.

These are links about the scrapping:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/CI%20Subalbum%20No%201/Scrapping%20continuous%20even%20today%202010?sort=9&page=1

corregidor.proboards.com/thread/641/scrapping-continues



W252 (F8) B-III-14 was for Battery Crofton at one time. Here was another piece of metal that was on an image 4 or 5 years ago but is gone now; that brought me here. The link about this is below in the description box.

The link is below:
s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Battery%20Controls/B-III-14%20Crofton?sort=9&page=1



W253 (F9) I had a look at Battery Geary; this is a good link:

corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1012/battery-geary




W254 (F11) the Officer swimming pool, a few years ago it was cleaned up but it is completely grown over again.




W255 (F13) I battled my way past the Officer Club thru the heavy undergrowth to find the ex Philippine post war communication field just behind the Officer Club and below the Senior Officer Quarters. It has containers with equipment.



W256 (F18) one change that has occurred since April this year is that the south side of souvenir shops have closed and the have been consolidated in the north side building near the lighthouse, Topside, Corregidor Island. (F19) at each east end of the two souvenir shops wings, in April this year two toilette facilities were started to be added but in Sep, this year the work has stopped and they are not completed.



W257 (F20) also in April, Sun Cruses started a project of building a lightly built dining building near the Lighthouse, Topside on Corregidor Island. In Sep the work was still in progress.



W258 (F23) the Spanish Museum is still located in the ground floor of the Corregidor Lighthouse.



W259 (F24) this picture gives you the clue where the new dining building is located. Also the sign with the multiple distances to very distance cities has been moved to here this year.



W260 (F25) the relative new Manila Harbor radar tower is a dominant feature near the lighthouse, Topside on Corregidor Island.



W261 (F27) this is a new communication tower among the water tanks, near the Lighthouse, Topside on Corregidor Island. I think it might be Globe.



W262 (F30) the remaining souvenir shops have been consolidated in the north side building near the lighthouse, Topside, Corregidor Island. The add-on new toilette facility at this wing is also at stop.



W263 (F31) this shop is owned by that gentleman, he was on of the senior tourist guides but is now retired. He had bought the jeep of the Kwiecinski family. And as a very friendly gesture he gave some old and small collector coins.



W264 (F32) hello Steve and Marcia, there is your old jeep, it is still kicking. The new owner told me that he did have some trouble with a tire and the alternator. There is that new Sun Cruises dining building.



W265 (F33) I wanted to visit G-II-3 Geary to make myself a little more familiar with that area. Links are in the description box below.

Here are some links:

corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1824/battery-position-finder-stations-manila

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Battery%20Controls?sort=9&page=1




W266 (F35) the Pacific War Memorial Museum, the backroom on Corregidor Island with an assortment of weapons.

Here are some links:

s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Corregidor%20Topside/Museum-Pacific%20War%20Memorial?sort=9&page=1

corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1875/pacific-war-memorial-museum-corregidor




W267 (F36) the pole that the paratrooper used to raise the US Flag on the 1st day of landing and they did it under fire. We found it and a marker with a new flagpole have been placed here. I visited it again.


Here are two links:
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/771/visit-2010-july-first-flag
corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1766/flag-pole-monument



W268 (F37) my next goal was Battery Grubbs and I was going there the hard way thru the bushes. I wanted to see whether I could find the 4 concrete bases of the NW Ft. Mills radio Tower. And here is one.



W269 (F39) this is the Battery Grubbs gun control and position finder station, not much is left. But we very much interested in this place because of a prewar picture from this place with Philippine Scouts manning the station.

Here are some links:
s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Corregidor%20by%20subject/Batteries-Coastal%20Artillery/Battery%20Grubbs?sort=9&page=1

corregidor.org/ca/btty_grubbs/grubbs.htm



W270 (F40) this is an old interesting image of an ancient artillery piece in front of the Fort Mills Hospital on Corregidor Island. This picture came from Karl Schmidt, CDSG. I tried to find the place where it was placed.



W271 (F41) this place, very well, could be the place where the artillery piece in front of the Fort Mills Hospital on Corregidor Island was located. The gun is long gone, I don’t know where to.



W272 (F42) on my way back I stopped by this Japanese machine gun frame, to see, whether anything changed, this is one of the rare left over’s from WWII on Corregidor Island. It is still there and did not get touched.



W273 (F43) then I walked passed Battery Ramsey, down the road to the Government Ravine to check on the Filipino Veterans Marker of the Spanish American War. I happened to be on Corregidor when they posted this marker years ago. (F44) the Filipino Veterans Marker of the Spanish American War is only about 10 feet from the Government Ravine Road and is only about 20 feet passed the about 5 ton concrete clump from Battery Geary, which landed here.

F45 the Filipino Veterans Marker of the Spanish American War, here is our link to it: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1808/spanish-war-veterans-plaque .It got moved.

[Registrar]

Karl,

Another great "tour", those sure aren't easy to put together and I really appreciate your keeping the spark alive.

I am adding this to your commentary, to try and fill in a little bit more about the ex Philippine communication field just behind the Officer Club and below the Senior Officer Quarters.

There's something about this "abandoned radio site" already on the forum (dating back to 2010) , but most people who are new wouldn't necessarily have gone looking for it, so I am just going to touch upon it briefly, and give them the link to pursue further investigation.

Of course, as  a newbie back in the 1970's, I got told a lot of things, with no way of knowing how to verify whether they were true or not.  I was told, for instance,  that the installation was the control point for an experimental navigation aid which was to be used to improve inter-island and harbor navigation throughout the Philippines. The project was said to have been funded by Libya, and that when the Libyan money stream dried up, the project was abandoned.  

What I believe to be true actually takes us back into the deep dark Marcos-as-military-strongman days, during which Marcos was spending big dollars developing the country's self-reliant posture. (Self-Reliance is a traditional political game, for any number of players, in which the object is to obtain vast amounts of overt and covert funding from a foreign government by playing off that government’s defense department against the possibility of another potential competitor attaining influence in the immediate socio-political arena. The winner gets something to put in a Swiss Bank Account.) During the 1970's, there was a lot of stray Libyan money around, and the US was still supporting (funding) Marcos.

The Philippines was developing their own "self-reliant" missile capability. There were all sorts of projects – for example, a 106mm surface to surface battlefield rocket of the Philippine Navy was being developed during the 1970's, and later, a bigger 180mm version was developed for launch from a truck. There was also a rocket project called "Project Santa Barbara" which was intended for ASW use. One of the rockets/missiles was also known as the ”BongBong” which, coincidentally, also happens to be the name of Marcos’ son.  

Whatever weapons system it might have been, we do know as a matter of certainty that some of the development work was being done on Caballo.

These were the days that the military also controlled comings and goings on Corregidor. (US Marine radar units out of Japan also used to be set up on Corregidor from time to time, as "exercises". I know this as I discovered it from a photograph which contained two celebrity faces together - John Wayne, and Lee Harvey Oswald.) Oswald was a radar operator in a unit which was stationed in Japan, and which tracked the U-2 flights out of Japan. But that's another story see Corregidor Trivia at: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/861/corregidor-trivia

My SWAG is that this Corregidor installation was some form of radio net which was tied into the command and control structure of whatever it was that was really going on over at Caballo.  When the Libyan money dried up, the Libyans went home. Eventually,  Marcos (Snr.) totters and falls, and the history trail of where and how that money got spent dried up, and now no one really knows why the  junk on Corregidor was abandoned.  

Whatever the truth is, the installation is a dump, an example to all of how governments and their grandiose spending binges burden subsequent generations with unwanted inheritances. I for one would welcome its scrapping – but only upon the condition that the entire installation, even the concrete pad on which it stands and the road which leads to it should be removed from the island. Like this is going to happen, eh? 

It remains a blight upon Landing Field "B".


Link for more reading (and pictures by Fots in 2010, see: corregidor.proboards.com/thread/587/miscellaneous-travels-on-corregidor?page=3

[fots2]

Registrar guesses "radio net" and he wins the prize! To be specific, it was a MBC (Meteor Burst Communications) radio site.

First, have a look at what MBC actually is.

"Meteors are lumps of rock which are floating about in space. There are always meteors which are entering the earth’s atmosphere. They
normally burn up in the atmosphere. A few very large ones that hit the earth are called 'meteorites'. Most meteors are only tiny specks of dust. As they enter the atmosphere the heat made by air friction rips off electrons. This produces an ionized trail. This trail can reflect radio waves in the same way that a wire would. The meteors that are used for meteor burst communication are between one thousandth and one hundredth of a gram. Meteors which are smaller than this are too weak to be used. Larger ones are not frequent enough". (Wikipedia)


"Meteor scatter or meteor burst communications use a form of radio communications system that is dependent on radio signals being scattered or reflected by meteor trails.

Meteor scatter communications is a specialized form of propagation that can be successfully used for radio communications over paths that
extend up to 1500 or 2000 km.

Meteor scatter or meteor burst communication provides form of radio propagation that can be used when no other form of radio propagation
may be available. While data has to be transmitted in bursts and there may be delays, it provides a very useful form of non-real-time
communications that can be used in many circumstances". (Radio-Electronics.com)


There have been and still are military applications of this technology. Here is some text from www.ronaldelliott.com.

"For decades, ionized trails left by tiny particles, similar to grains of sand, bombarding the Earth's atmosphere have stimulated the imagination of communicators. Following expanding interest in the 1940s, a number of definitive studies in the 1950s and 1960s explored the manner in which those trails could be used as a telecommunications medium. These meteor burst communications (MBC) studies included inquiry into trail lifetimes and intervals of occurrence, variations in their radio frequency (RF) spectrum responses, bandwidths supported and information transfer capacity predictions.

In the 1960s and 1970s, actual systems were put into use, applying lessons learned from earlier studies. Canadians were pioneers with an
experimental system called JANET. Other early experiments (with a point-to-point system called COMET) were conducted by NATO's Supreme
Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Technical Center to improve efficiency in using MBC. In the 1970s, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture established a netted system called SNOTEL to collect data from hundreds of unmanned remote sites spread over several western
states. Subsequently, another group of. governmental agencies jointly initiated the Alaska Meteor Burst Communications System (AMBCS),
composed of scores of nodes in Alaskan wilderness areas to both collect aeronautical and environmental data and provide message
communications service among remote manned camps. During the 1980s, the U.S. military implemented specialized low data rate applications,
and several vendors marketed similar systems for commercial applications.

From knowledge gained by the early studies and observations of the subsequent live systems, a wealth of data on MBC was collected and
applied. As computers became more powerful and affordable in the 1970s and 1980s they were used to build models of the links and systems
to predict with considerable accuracy the performance of potential applications, permitting increased channel efficiency through design changes indicated by model predictions.

Also in the 1980s, the application of solid-state microelectronics from very large scale integrated (VLSI) microprocessors was effective in improving the capacity and reliability of MBC communications services. That technology enabled production of affordable equipment with more powerful signal processing capabilities to manage the medium more efficiently. The improved channel management capabilities significantly increased information throughput. The higher throughputs, considered with inherent reliability/survivability characteristics of the medium, offered potential value to support command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions and functions in national security operations".

Examples where meteor burst communication are used are: (1) Military applications, (2) Ham radio operators using VHF bands, (3) remote
unattended mountain snow level monitors, (4) earthquake monitors, (5) remote weather stations, (6) ocean buoy tsunami monitors plus many
more.

OK, enough theory, so how does all this apply to Corregidor? As mentioned before, the site in question which occupies part of the former golf course was a Meteor Burst Communications radio site.



Map of the radio site including the antenna farm


I cannot say who funded the site or its exact purpose but I can give you some details.

- engineering for the project was done by companies in England and the USA with design completion in 1993.
- site clearing and physical installation and was in 1994.
- radio site commissioning and turn-up was in 1995.
- Station ID: 00001 - Corregidor was a "Master" station with 1 transmitter & 16 receivers. The transmit bit rate was 4kb/s, Full Duplex mode.
- Station ID: 00002 - Puerto Princesa was a "Master" station with 2 transmitters & 2 receivers. The transmit bit rate was 4kb/s, Full Duplex mode.
- Mini master station #3 was at San Gali.
- Mini master station #4 was at Poro Point.
- un-named "Remote" stations were in Half Duplex mode.
- "Relay" stations were at Zamboanga and San Fernando.
Unrelated to the radio equipment, there was also a mention of Navigation Beacons so this may have had something to do with ship navigation.

There certainly is more to this story such as exactly what it was used for and by whom. Why was this site eventually abandoned? Unfortunately I have no answer for those questions. I have to agree with Registrar though, removing such an orphan to everything else that exists on Corregidor seems like a great idea.



P.S. Karl, great work with your reports. Thank-you. You sure cover a lot of territory on your treks. We will get back there together again someday.