Battery Way was a battery of four 12-inch mortars located on the island of

Corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

. Battery Way was one of two ( Battery Geary the other) mortar batteries at

Fort Mills Fort Mills ( Corregidor, the Philippines) was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays in early World War II, and was the largest seacoast for ...

that, with Fort Hughes,

Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. ...

Fort Frank Fort Frank (Carabao Island, the Philippines) was one of the defense forts at the entrance to Manila Bay established by the United States. The entire island was designated as Fort Frank, in honor of Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier ...

and Fort Wint formed the

Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays The Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays ("Coast Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays" until 1925) (a.k.a. CD/HD Manila Bay) were a United States Army Coast Artillery Corps harbor defense command, part of the Philippine Department of the U ...

. Battery Way was named for Lt. Henry N. Way of the 4th U.S. Artillery.

Construction and design

Battery Way was constructed as part of the

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s program initiated by the Taft Board. Constructed between 1908 and 1914, it was the only single-pit mortar battery built as part of the program. Its four coast defense mortars, M1890MI guns on M1896MI carriages, were designed to loft armor-piercing shells in a high

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete tra ...

onto the decks of warships threatening

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

. Advances in naval gunnery and

ship design A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

rendered these weapons mostly obsolete by the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

World War II

Battery Way played a very limited role during the Philippines Campaign in the spring of 1942, only becoming active in the last week of the battle. The battery had been out of service for several years, but three of the four mortars were returned to service with a crew from Battery E, 60th Coast Artillery (AA), recently evacuated from Bataan, by 28 April. These were fired for the first time on that day against Japanese positions on nearby

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of 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 entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. Its exposure to Japanese artillery, air attack, and its limited supply of high explosive shells greatly diminished its effectiveness. By the time of the Japanese landings on Corregidor island on 5–6 May 1942, only one mortar tube of Battery Way remained serviceable, the other two having been damaged beyond repair by Japanese artillery.Morton, p. 540 The battery was manned by the Japanese after the fall of Corregidor in 1942. The guns were permanently damaged during the retaking of Corregidor by U.S. forces in early 1945.

Post-war

Corregidor Island, its surviving fortifications, and associated war relics are presently maintained as a national park. Daytime and overnight tours are available. The entire island is now maintained by the Cavite Foundation Institute (CFI) of Cavite, Philippines, and the Department of Tourism. Aside from the tours, trekking, hiking, and swimming has become a part of visitors' activities.

Battery Way in popular culture

* In an episode of the Filipino television show Strangebrew, Tado and Erning are looking for some batteries for Tado's flashlight when a ghost appears to them and tells them to go to

where there are many batteries (actually the ''Battery Way'').

Photo gallery

Image:12-inch_Mortar.jpg , 12-inch mortar Image:Battery_way_Ordnance_Storage2.jpg, Ammunition magazine of Battery Way Image:Battery_Way_Three_mortars_and_command_center2.jpg, Three mortars and battery commander's station Image:Battery_Way.jpg , Battery Way View Image:Shot_showing_the_Barrel.jpg , Open breech of a 12-inch mortar Image:Viewed_from_the_Battery_Command_Center.jpg, One of the mortars as viewed from the battery commander's station

References

Sources

* * * * McGovern, Terrance C. and Mark A Berhow ''American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898-1945''.

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

. * – full text *

External links

{{Commons category, Battery Way
Corregidor Island: Battery Way

Buildings and structures of the Philippines destroyed during World War II United States military in the Philippines World War II sites in the Philippines World War II sites of the United States World War II sites of Japan 1942 in the Philippines Military facilities in Cavite History of Cavite Corregidor 1914 establishments in the Philippines