Malinta Hill

[fots2]

Oozlefinch was not dreaming when he thought that the power plant for Searchlight #8 was in the old Land Defense Magazine. The Report of Completed Works (RCW) for SL#8 clearly states that.

Some information that we now know is:
- SL#8 was transferred to the Army on October 1, 1935
- The 25-KW generator set was (at the time of initial construction) located in the old Land Defense Magazine.
- The Land Defense Magazine was part of IV-S-1 (Sector 4, Siege Gun, Position #1)
- The power cable distance from the SL to the generator was 338’.
- The SL #8 controller was in G-IV-3 which is further south along the ridge top.
- The control cable distance from the SL to G-IV-3 was 522’.
(The quoted cable lengths seem excessive but we do not know the route of the conduits, not direct for sure).





During WWII, 1st Platoon of Battery M (Mobile), 60th Coast Artillery was stationed on top of Malinta Hill. The historical log of that battery was written by Lt. Col. E.L. Barr. Here is his text describing the shell blast and resulting fire that killed Lt. Friedline and four other men.

“Malinta Hill was being worked over by 240's. The report of the guns was deafening, very similar to our 12 inch mortars at Ft. Hughes. The shells made a long lazy somewhat erratic whine then hit Malinta Hill with a great flash of fire and a cloud of dust. The report, a few second later, gave us an idea of the hell it must have been up there. About mid morning we saw that a good sized fire was raging atop the hill near where the pompom was located. We felt a keen anxiety for our men up there but figured that they had one of the safest shell proofs that any of our positions had, in the sea coast searchlight tunnel there.

We learned from some of our men in Malinta Tunnel that the pompom had been blasted out and that Lt. Friedline and some of our men had been burned to death in the fire that had swept through the searchlight tunnel. A 240 mm shell came down a ventilation shaft and exploded the gas tank of the 25 KV generator and the fire swept all through the tunnel. Lt. Friedline and four men died of burns that afternoon and four other men were seriously burned.

We went up to inspect the damage immediately. The pompon and the other machine gun pit were totally destroyed. A crew of engineers was working to extricate some of the bodies caught in the wreckage of the SL tunnel”.

The SL#8 tunnel was described in the RCW as being constructed of concrete. I notice that the large rear ventilation shaft is not mentioned in the report. Perhaps it was added later for some unknown reason.

The 25-KW generator set powering SL#8 was originally installed in the old IV-S-1 Land Defense Magazine. By 1942 it appears to have been moved into the newly constructed ventilation shaft at the rear of SL#8. I can only speculate but perhaps it was thought that the power cables were vunerable to shell fire if the Searchlight power source was remote from the searchlight. The old Land Defense Magazine may have been taken over as a shelter and magazine for the pompom which is was mounted nearly on top of it.

[oozlefinch]

Fots - Good info, but I do have one nit. As I stated before here, the original plans show a 6 foot square shaft at the rear of the shelter turned 45 degrees to the tunnel, so it was always planned that way, but apparently never finished. My fading memory sez I read somewhere that it was originally to be similar to SL No. 1, in that it had a mirror setup to give it wider arc, but could also be rolled out like a normal light. In as much as this SL shelter tunnel is nearly 50 feet long, this was no ordinary SL shelter. I've never seen another one like it, either in the Philippines, or here on the mainland, so I think it had to be an experiment of some sort.

[fots2]

Hi ozzlefinch,

Yes I agree about the square shaft drawn at the end of the shelter on a sketch. I was just suggesting that it was not part of the original project that was completed in 1935. RCWs are quite detailed, some even have additional info penciled in.

You bring up an interesting point though, what was this large vertical shaft to be used for?

One thing that the SL#8 shelter (tunnel) did not have was a ventilation shaft. It probably did not need one as the power supply was at a remote location and the light was operated outside the tunnel . Deciding to put the 25-KW generator set at the rear of the tunnel may have created a requirement for ventilation and this is one possible explanation for the shaft.

I have never read that SL#8 was to have a similar design to SL#1 but you may be correct. SL#1 had a unique design in that it could be operated in either of two modes. First was a conventional mode where the light was wheeled outside on a little ramp. Second, the ‘L’ shaped tunnel had a vertical shaft where two mirrors were installed. The light was turned on inside the tunnel and shone horizontally toward a mirror angled at 45 degrees. This mirror reflected the light straight up the shaft. At the top of the shaft was another mirror mounted on a turntable. The upper mirror could rotate and elevate resulting in the light being reflected up into the sky in any direction. Sounds good.

The SL#1 ‘mirror’ mode was an experiment. Now here is the interesting part, I have not read the reason but the experiment was a failure. The decision was made to remove the mirrors and only operate SL#1 similar to all the other lights. SL#1 was put in-service in 1918. By May of 1930 a note on the RCW said the mirror configuration had already been dismantled.




RCW for Searchlight #1

Why would this experiment be repeated years later when SL#8 was to be built? The drawings for SL#1 shows the mirror arrangement but I have never seen any such arrangement for SL#8. For me the SL#8 shaft is still a bit of a mystery. If you find some details on any experiments being conducted at SL#8, let us know please.

[chadhill]

Wow fots, great finds!

[oozlefinch]

Fots - Will do. I've queried several people and have come up empty, so far. The plans show a rather flat looking four cornered peaked top covering the shaft, unlike the usual concrete cover most ventilation shafts. That, together with the length of the shelter tunnel brings me to the conclusion that I don't have the foggiest idea what they were thinking.

[fots2]

Thanks oozlefinch, we are both in the fog.     Hopefully more information will surface. 

[chadhill]

The 4th Marines R-2 Journal has many references to a USMC observation outpost atop Malinta Hill. I've wondered where it was, thinking that it should have been situated on the northern side where clear views of Bataan would be possible. But I have not seen any charts depicting its location.


Here is page 193 from the Journal, dated 29 April 42, Hirohito's birthday, when a terrible barrage was unleashed on The Rock:



At time 1955 the Malinta Hill O.P. reported: Powerplant #8 light and Pom-Pom completely out of commission. B prime 23 out of commission. 2-75s temporarily out. 4 killed & one missing. Siren tower knocked down. No communications at Malinta O.P.


Here are excerpts from the following day, 30 April:



At time 0949 a report was received from source RED, which was the code name for the 1st Battalion, occupying the eastern half of Corregidor. It says: The top of Malinta Hill was heavily shelled and bombed today. Ammo for the 1.1 (pom-pom gun-CH) & 75mm guns was burned. As result there are several small fires smoldering along top of Malinta Hill, particularly the north corner.

 I'm SWAGGING that the USMC hilltop outpost was abandoned, explaining why RED issued the report.



In 2005, MM2 Earl Anderson USN wrote his memoirs, "Never Surrender", assisted by author Shawn Davis. Anderson had served aboard the USS Canopus and was later attached to the 4th Battalion, 4th Marines on Corregidor. Three days after the surrender, he wandered on top of Malinta Hill in search of food and came upon the outpost:


Third day. I found a canteen full of water. Now, I, too, had some water. Four of us stuck together and would stay together while on Corregidor. There was no sign that we were going to receive food. So, I suggested we go look for some. There were no guards around at the moment, so we took off. We wandered up Malinta Hill and stopped near the top, where we located four well-equipped beds. They had nets and canvas to protect them from rain. It turned out to be a command post of Col. Howard’s of the Fourth Marines.

All the luxuries of home. We couldn’t find any food, but we located lots of scotch and whiskey. I immediately filled both canteens with scotch. No food, so we all got drunk and fell asleep on the beds that were very comfortable. This spot was well-located. From this location, they could see all over the former combat zone. Also, there was a vent that went down to the Manila tunnel in case of shelling. How nice.


After so many years, I think Anderson's memory may possibly have caused him to mistakenly confuse the Searchlight 8 tunnel and its ventilation shaft with Malinta Tunnel. But all the above info leads me to SWAG that the USMC outpost was on the north side of Malinta Hill, near the pom-pom gun and SL 8.


Here's a link to memoirs by Anderson, it's an interesting read:

as9.larryshomeport.com/html/anderson.html

[okla]

Hey Chad...As per usual, an excellent piece of Detective work. On second thought, are you due the credit or your loyal assistant, Patty? Anyhow, methinks that you have come to the correct conclusion as to the location of the 4th USMC Observation Post. Postscript....I am pleased to know that, during those dismal days, that the good guys were able to put that booze to good use. The Japs had the "Rock", but they missed Colonel Howard"s "medicinal spirits". Thanks for posting this anecdote. Postscript....I am pleased to see you back on the Forum. I, honestly, had started to think that you were ill or had gone AWOL.

[pdh54]

Nahhhh,  Okla, it's all Chad. I've been tied up teaching 9th grade Algebra I since August. Haven't had the energy to really look into anything. I just listen to Chad and say uh huh, no, maybe, sounds good, sounds screwy, explain again?

If you want to learn all about y=mx+b, I am your person. I love the graphing.

Hope the area over in the Philippines starts drying out soon. Are the storms gone for now?  A friend/colleague of our son Chuck has been sent to Manila for a year.  We had hoped, kind of, that  Chuck would get to go.  It would give us a perfect reason to visit. 

Take care,
Patty

[fots2]

Hi Chad,

I agree with you and okla. Good job. It does sound like the outpost was at the north end of the hill just above SL#8. You certainly can see the “former combat zone” from there and his mentioning of the “vent” is a great clue. It is not unusual to find booze bottles lying around but if I see any scotch and whiskey bottles on or around Malinta Hill, I’ll be wondering if Mr. Anderson ever had his hands on any of them.

Hey Patty, having your son’s friend living in Manila sounds like a good enough reason for a visit. Any excuse will do. I’ll meet you two on the Rock.

Another typhoon may be in the country sometime this weekend. The rainy season lasts for another month or so. Here is some trivia for you; in mid August the meteorological station in Cavite City recorded 1,120mm (over 3.6 ft) of monsoon rain over a five day period. No problems where I live but the grocery store we used to shop at had flooding up to waist level. It is still closed.