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Post by batteryboy on Aug 4, 2009 18:53:50 GMT 8
hey batts...wonder if you would straighten me out on a small matter here. dont mean to question a feller who has beat the bushes all over bataan, but didnt the abucay line run from mt natib to abucay area on the manila bay shore on the east and the western line (for lack of a better name), stretch from the south china sea at mauban to the slopes of mt natib? ?this being the point where genl wainwright's I corps right flank was turned and the reverse was true in II corps where parker's left flank was turned on those easterm slopes of mt natib? the way i have it morong was further to the north and actually not part of the abucay-mauban line (if that is what i might call it). just another little tidbit about bataan/corregidor that continually nag at me, but make my "golden years" more interesting and not as boring as many of my ancient buddies are experiencing. thanks for anymore enlightenment you so kindly have showered upon your inquisitive old goat of a friend way out in oklahoma. Hey Okla my friend, To answer your questions quickly. On the II Corps, At Barrio Mabatang, the MLR (Mail Line of Resistance) technically reached the shores of Manila Bay as it cut through a gap of two big fish ponds of brackish water. However, what was manned by the Scouts were 500 yeards before the waters edge as the ponds served as a a barrier for advancing Japanese. On the I Corps side, technically,Mauban, Bayandati and even Nagbalayong, where the present mothballed Nuclear Power plant is located is part of Morong, Bataan. The original name of Morong is actually Bayandati (where the OPLR was anchored). The MLR was at Mauban. Its spelling was changed from Moron to Morong in the mid 50s. Below is a sketch of my 1986 exploration of the area with seven other friends. Forgive me for the handwriting. The places of interest: - Found remains of outpost shed at Bayandati that anchored OPLR. Dictches and log stregthen earth position. - Three (3) trenches in the MLR at Mauban line going East toward mountain vicinity. Vegetation thick at most areas. Trenches can approx hold 3 - 4 men, est. 3-4 feet deep. - Found 2 earth berms approx 20 - 30 yards inside Mauban ridge that was a position for two (2) 155mm GPFs guarding the beaches of Morong. - Approximate site of Japanese roadblock in old highway where they cut off retreat of Phil Army troops. Defilade area yielded some spent shells identified as Japanese cartidges by my colleague. Probadly a hastily formed Japanese MG position. So the naming of the defense lines (can become confusing) but all of those places on the left side where the I Corps was anchored at that time is part of Moron (old name of Morong). The Moron-Abucay line is the general name. The specific names were the Mauban line on the west, the Abucay Line in the east. The middle part was called the Center which was centered on Mt. Natib and the other mountains around it. To continue this discussion, I will post the my sketches during my so called "summer vacation" in Bataan in 1986 in the Bataan section of this forum. Regards,
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Post by okla on Aug 4, 2009 23:53:41 GMT 8
hey batts...the handwriting aint so bad. many thanks for filling me in on I Corps layout. those names have confused me for more than a little while when reading accounts of the actions, movements,etc of the units taking part in the first attempts by the japs to break our initial MLR. with a map, or course, one can trace the movements of the troops of both sides, but when reading the narrative in written accounts those names sometimes blow my feeble mind. your sketches are clear to me and should be to most who are "ate up" with the 1942 campaign. i cant think of a better way to spend one's "summer vacation" than crawling thru the brush of bataan and corregidor. do you guys do this as part of a research project,etc or just for the shear enjoyment of being on historic (and sacred to some of us) ground. i will say it once again, "how i envy you fellers" living so near to where all this took place or in the case of others, having the means to venture to the philippines to pursue your fascination with events of the early months of the conflict with japan.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2010 22:09:37 GMT 8
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Post by fots2 on Mar 30, 2010 0:54:32 GMT 8
That is good information there tiyoalan, thanks for posting it.
I still have not found the *@ bolts for the gun mount yet. Thick grasses there as the area is mostly open. Someday...
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Post by batteryboy on Mar 31, 2010 23:43:24 GMT 8
There were eight (8), (some say 7) 8-inch guns of M1888 model that were sent to the Philippines before the outbreak. Originally the request was an additional 12-inch guns for the inland seas project but no guns were available for shipment to the PI without stripping the ones already deployed in the US. So they sent the 8-inch guns instead together with a number of 155mm GPFs. Two of the 8-inch guns were destined for Bagac at Saysain Point but upon completion of the concrete mount, one of them had its bolt emplacement mis-aligned so the other gun was shipped to Corregidor instead thus becoming RJ-43.
There are some inconsistencies on the article posted on the conditions of the guns. On the retreat to Bataan and even when the retreat was completed, an 803rd engineer was foraging for supplies and his party made it all the way past Lubao thru the sugar cane field and upon reaching an old sugar railway siding, he witnessed that a number of the 8-inch tubes were still on their flatbeds in tarps, unscathed or undamaged. No effort was made to recover the guns and it was deemed "lost' during the retreat.
The gun at Saysain point,Bagac was MOUNTED and was NOT DESTROYED by Japanese or disabled by crew on January 42.. It continued to serve until Bataan fell. I have the official report of Capt. Alfred De Arezzo on this gun including its action report and its firing diaries. It was only destroyed on April 9, 1942. Capt. De Arezzo was the only American officer of the unit and the crew was composed of Filipinos. My coasty buddies were able to interview Capt. De Arezzo before he passsed away and I also have a transcript of the session.
FWIW, B-boy
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Post by Deleted on Apr 2, 2010 22:50:48 GMT 8
Thanks BatteryBoy,
That does seem to answer my question. Since they were all wrapped up and ready to move, they were probably the the first things sent to the foundrys in Japan.
It's too bad that the second gun wasn't made operational, it could have helped.
-Alan
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Post by batteryboy on Apr 3, 2010 13:15:34 GMT 8
The second gun became RJ-43 in Corregidor Island. It was mounted, proof fired but never against any enemy targets.
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Post by Karl Welteke on Jul 31, 2019 11:32:06 GMT 8
8 Inch Gun Battery at Saysain Pt, 2019-02-27
Tony Feredo, a Filipino Patriot, wrote this great story about an 8 Inch Gun at Saysain in WWII and that got me interested. This is the URL and you should read it: shellwings.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-big-one-at-bataan/ .Several friends and I took a trip to Saysain to soak in the geography of this historical site. The pictures without a date were shot by my friend Harald Klose. Here are two short paragraphs from Tony Feredo’s Report in the above URL:
The commander assigned to the 8-inch gun was Captain Alfred J. D’Arezzo of the 92nd Coast Artillery (PS). He arrived on February 15 and immediately took command of the battery. The crew were all Philippine Nationals, Philippine Scouts.
On April 2 at 3:30pm the gun fired 5 rounds at a range of 21,000 yards at three oil tankers going into Subic Bay and a mine sweeper operating off Bagac bay.
On April 3, at 4:00pm, the gun fired 5 rounds at a range of 20,000 yards at two freighters into Subic Bay. This was the last time that the gun fired against an enemy target.
We arrived at the battery location but the area has already been bulldozed to make way for improvements so the concrete base was buried underneath another layer of soil. We surveyed the area a bit took some photos and being there on the location was more than enough for us.
I established 2 albums in different picture accounts with 53 images, the links are at the bottom!
For this Forum presentation I chose 12 images.
U274. This is 1 of 6 images (in the albums) of the Saysain River,-Valley,-Beach & old Saysain Village, south and next to the Saysain Point where the 8 Inch Gun was located. These shots were shot from the point ridge from left to right on 2019-02-27.
U275. This is 1 of 2 historical images from this webpage written By the Filipino Patriot Tony Feredo: shellwings.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-big-one-at-bataan/ .You really should read his story.
U276. This is 1 of 2 historical images from this webpage written By the Filipino Patriot Tony Feredo: shellwings.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-big-one-at-bataan/ .You really should read his story.
U277. This is 1 of 9 images (in the albums) showing the geography, the GPS track, the walking data transcribed from my handheld Garmin device into my Garmin account and into Google Earth. This was a walk to remember the 8 Inch Gun Saysain Battery and crew.
U278. This is 1 of 2 images (in the albums) of us walking thru fenced and wooded areas on the Saysain Point Ridge, trying to get to the point where the 8 Inch Battery was located. Finally we were able to get on to the grassy area and reach the point.
U279. This is 1 of 4 images (in the albums) us walking thru the grassy area of the Saysain Point Ridge line. We had an open vista and enjoyed the view as we approached Saysain Point.
U280. This is my friend Harald with some bananas’ found on the ground, we didn’t take them. We were very close to the Saysain Point here and I would have liked to explore more but my friends were getting bored. He is 79, 2 years older then I and he retired from the German Army; and he can walk better then I do!
U281. This is 1 of 8 images (in the albums) walking from New Saysain to Old Saysain Village and thru it. It has beach resorts! This is in the Saysain River Valley and we are walking just inland from beach establishments along the beach.
U282. This is 1 of 8 images (in the albums) walking from New Saysain to Old Saysain Village and thru it. It has beach resorts! This is in the Saysain River Valley and we are walking just inland from beach establishments along the beach.
U283. This is 1 of 6 images (in the albums) at a private property at the mouth of the Saysain River; there was even a hanging bridge. We talked to the people but I failed to take a picture.
U285. This is one of 5 images (in the albums) of us walking to along the Saysain Beach to the next point. At the next point we noticed a road coming down from the Bataan West Road. We took off our shoes to ford the river but later we experience very hot sand!
U286. This is 1 of 2 images (in the albums) of the bare area, south side of the Saysain Point Ridge line; we walked on it three times coming and going. I don’t know why it is bare but it reminded me at a WWII airfield.
Uploaded 53 images to Facebook: www.facebook.com/karlwilhelm.welteke/media_set?set=a.10216746892098360&type=3
Uploaded 53 images to Photobucket: s74.photobucket.com/user/PI-Sailor/library/Manila%20Bay%20Forts-Other/Bataan%20Defense/8%20Inch%20Gun%20Saysain%20Pt%202019-02-27?page=1
URLs Battery Saysain Point, Bataan 8 Inch Gun & Tony Feredo
The Big One of Bataan, Tony Feredo, via shellwings his Blog shellwings.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-big-one-at-bataan/
Prewar Gun Batteries on Bataan, forum corregidor.proboards.com/thread/520/pre-war-gun-batteries-bataan
Manila Bay Batteries, forum corregidor.proboards.com/thread/1051/manila-bay-batteries
I came across an article in the “WWII Journal #5, War in the Philippines” online, that describes that 8 inch gun in Bataan. Here is the link: books.google.com.ph/books?id=utbD8wwF91kC&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=rj43+bataan&source=bl&ots=PGAI_GkpNn&sig=g-vdTTJHisDS2V6z34zPaUXz7Kg&hl=en&ei=uQqoS8wHiuSzA7vnmeYD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=rj43&f=false
books.google.com/books?id=utbD8wwF91kC&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=rj43+bataan&source=bl&ots=PGAI_GkpNn&sig=g-vdTTJHisDS2V6z34zPaUXz7Kg&hl=en&ei=uQqoS8wHiuSzA7vnmeYD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CAoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=rj43 bataan&f=true
The article, “The Philippine Inland Seas Defense Project”, starts on Page 34. Now, of course, I wonder what happened to those remaining 5 guns. I doubt there was enough time to do anything other than just disabling them.
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