| BATTERY SMITH | No. Guns | Cal. | Type | Troop | Range Yards | |
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1 | 12-in | BCLR | F-59 | 29,000 |
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Construction of Battery Smith commenced
in 1919 and was completed in 1921 at a cost of $143,832. This made
the battery the last large caliber seacoast artillery emplaced on
Corregidor. It was named in honor of Brigadier General Frank G. Smith,
an artillery officer who received two citations during the battle of
Stone River, Tennessee and Chicamauga, Georgia during the American Civil
war.
Battery Smith administratively speaking, had three guns: Smith No.1, Smith No. 2 and a 155mm GPF. I believe that the 155mm gun may have been Battery Monja, but I have never been able to confirm it. Smith No.1 and No.2 were so far apart (1000 ft) that they operated tactically as two separate batteries. Thus, they were eventually split up into two batteries. Smith No. 2 would be renamed Battery Hearn and Battery Monja was transferred to the control of the 92d Coast Artillery. . Smith's armament, at war's commencement, was one 12-inch (305 mm) M1895A2 gun on a Barbette Carriage Model 1917 capable of ranging to 30,000 yards (nearly 17miles). At firing elevations down to 35 degrees the gun could cover a full 360 degree field of fire. From 35 degrees down to zero degrees the field of fire was progressively reduced by the surrounding terrain. The 1,000 lb armor piercing (454.5 kg) shell or the 670 lb High Explosive shell required a 270 lb (122.7 kg) bagged charge. Rate of fire was one round every 55 seconds, and the standard complement was one officer and 33 enlisted men, of whom 4 were stationed in the well beneath the carriage. In 1941-1942 the battery was manned by troops from Battery F, 59th Coast Artillery, under Captain Donald FR. Snoke. Together with Battery Hearn, Smith was in action towards Bataan from 6:00 AM 8 April to 5:10 PM 9 April. No documents of which this website is aware have been found that indicate any other action before or after this period. On 6 May, the gun was disabled by the textbook means of the Coast Artilery - firing the gun with a projectile rammed in the muzzle. This blew off a section of the muzzle's outer jacket. Powder charges dropped into the well under the carriage were then ignited, rendering both gun and carriage unusable. Later, the Japanese required American POW's to strip the carriage to obtain parts to rebuild Battery Hearn. |
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Gun: Watervliet No. 1,
built 1898; Carriage Engineering Machinery Co. No. 30, no date built.
Spare gun No. 10, no data on either manufacturer of date built. The spare barrel is no longer on site. |
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Battery Smith can be found by following
the trail which leads off the tour tram-turning pad near Battery Grubbs. Follow the trail
downhill a few hundred yards and you'll come to a tunnel entrance. When exploring the
tunnel, be aware that it's on more than one level, and watch for the the trapdoors in the
floor, which lead down to lower levels.
Bill Calhoun recalls "The 1st platoon was given the mission of capturing one of the Batteries far out on the western end of the island. I now know it as Battery Smith." See THE NIGHT OF A THOUSAND HOURS |
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