Corregidor is a small tadpole shaped rocky island located at the mouth of Manila Bay. It is about 48 kilometers west of Manila. The Spanish, American and Japanese colonizers/invaders converted it into an island fortress especially during the American occupation. It is also known a “The Rock” and was a key bastion of the Allies during the Second World War.
Today, Corregidor stands as a monument to the courage, valor, and heroism of Filipino and American defenders who valiantly held their ground against the great number of invading Japanese forces during World War II. General Douglas MacArthur retreated to this island for his delaying action at Bataan and the island became the headquarters of the Allied forces and the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth government.
As a fortress, Corregidor boasts a lot of big guns used for the defense of the island and Manila Bay.
There were 23 batteries installed on Corregidor, consisting of 56 coastal guns and mortars. In addition, Corregidor had 13 anti-aircraft artillery batteries with 76 guns (28 3-inch and 48 .50-caliber) and 10 60-inch Sperry searchlights.
The longest-range coastal pieces were the two 12-inch (305 mm) guns of Batteries Hearn and Smith, with a horizontal range of 29,000 yards (27,000 m). Although capable of an all around traverse, these guns, due to their flat trajectories, were not effective for use against targets on Bataan.
During the siege, the island had ample armor-piercing ammunition but very little of the anti-personnel type, which then was of greatest demand for use against land targets on Bataan. In fact, most of the anti-personnel shells were only for the 12-inch mortars of Batteries Way and Geary.
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