United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was a treaty signed during 1922 among the major Allies of World War I, which agreed to prevent an arms race by limiting naval construction. It was negotiated at the Washington Nav ...
. Fort Wint was located on Grande Island at the entrance of Subic Bay, approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Manila Bay. The fort was named for Brigadier General Theodore J. Wint. As specified in the National Defense Act of 1935, this was one of the locations where
coastal artillery
Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications.
From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form o ...
Fort Wint was armed with fourteen Taft-Endicott period coast artillery pieces mounted in five batteries. Battery Warwick contained the fort's most powerful weaponry, two M1895
disappearing gun
A disappearing gun, a gun mounted on a ''disappearing carriage'', is an obsolete type of artillery which enabled a gun to hide from direct fire and observation. The overwhelming majority of carriage designs enabled the gun to rotate back ...
s on Buffington-Crozier carriages. Batteries Hall and Woodruff each mounted two M1905 guns, also on disappearing carriages. Batteries Flake and Jewell were armed with M1903 guns on pedestal mounts.
As with other forts of the same period, the weaponry of Fort Wint was obsolete at the outbreak of hostilities with Japan in 1941.
World War II
In July 1941 minefields were laid at the entrance to Subic Bay. These included an Army controlled minefield operated from Fort Wint as well as
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an ...
Bataan
Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...
peninsula, Fort Wint was ordered abandoned and its crews reassigned to other American positions in Manila Bay. This was reportedly due to a mistake by the commander of the Northern Luzon Force. Consequently, the fort played no part in the subsequent siege of the island forts. Fort Wint was recaptured by U.S. forces in March 1945. The fort suffered substantial damage during the campaign to retake the Philippines .Powers (June 1968) pp.114-115
Post-war
Grande Island and the remains of Fort Wint were incorporated into the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay. The two disappearing guns of Battery Warwick were dismantled by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in the 1960s and shipped to
Fort Casey
Fort Casey State Park is located on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington state. It is a Washington state park and a historic district within the U.S. Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve.
Admiralty Inlet was considered so strat ...
in Washington state for renovation and display. The four guns of Batteries Flake and Jewell were removed and divided between Forts Flagler and Casey in Washington state where they remain on display. The guns of Battery Hall remain in place (pictures right). Grand Island was operated for many decades after WW II by Subic Bay US Navy Special Services as an on base resort for US Military and Civilians stationed throughout the Philippines. It was accessible via a small landing craft type boat shuttle service at the pier adjacent to the Alava Carrier Pier in front of the HQ building at Naval Station Subic Bay. During Operation New Life, in 1975, thousands of Vietnamese refugees were sheltered and processed on Grande Island after the fall of Vietnam to
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...
. After that rescue mission, which lasted about six months, Grande Island was rehabilitated and was restored to its Special Services resort configuration until 1991. At that time the lease on US military bases expired, and the US bases were closed about the same time they were damaged by the eruption of
Mount Pinatubo
Mount Pinatubo is an active stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, located on the tripoint boundary of the Philippine provinces of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga, all in Central Luzon on the northern island of Luzon. Its eruptive histor ...
volcano. Grande Island was restored as a resort after repairs following damage from the Mount Pinatubo volcano eruption. It was restored by the civilian Philippine Subic Bay Free Port Zone Authority following the closure of the Subic Naval Base in 1992.
Geography of the Philippines
The Philippines is an archipelago that comprises 7,641 islands with a total land area of . It is the world's fifth largest island country. The eleven largest islands contain 95% of the total land area. The largest of these islands is Luzon ...
Seacoast defense in the United States
Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, many of America's enemies could only reach it from the sea, making coastal forts an economical alternative to standing armies o ...
*
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...