Malinta Tunnel
| Type | 94 Army Base | |
| Historical Name of Location | Corregidor, Cavite, Philippines | |
| Coordinates | 14.387525000, 120.590764000 |
Contributor: C. Peter Chen
ww2dbaseThe Malinta Tunnel, located in the hill by the same name on the eastern side of the Philippine island of Corregidor, was constructed between 1922 and 1932. The construction was oversaw by the US Army Corps of Engineers using the labor of 1,000 convicts from the Bilibid Prison of the city of Manila. The main tunnel, running east to west, was 253 meters (831 feet) long, 7.3 meters (24 feet) wide, and 5.5 meters (18 feet) high. There were 24 lateral tunnels branching off of the main tunnel; these lateral tunnels were each about 49 meters (160 feet) long and 4.6 meters (15 feet) wide. In early 1942, the tunnel network concurrently served as the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur, the seat of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, a 1,000-bed military hospital, a warehouse for food and ammunition, and an air raid shelter. It became among the final strongholds of the US Army in northern Philippine Islands, surrendering only on 6 May 1942. When the Americans returned in 1945, some of the Japanese troops on Corregidor sought shelter in Malinta Tunnel from US aerial and naval bombardment, and on 23 Feb 1945 the last of the surviving Japanese in the tunnel committed suicide by detonating explosives in order to avoid being captured.
ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia
Last Major Update: Aug 2014
Malinta Tunnel Interactive Map
Photographs
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Malinta Tunnel Timeline
| 30 Dec 1941 | Sergio Osmeña was sworn in as the Vice President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines at the west entrance of the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor, Philippine Islands. |
| 30 Dec 1941 | Manuel Quezon was sworn in as the President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines at the west entrance of the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor, Philippine Islands. |
| 25 Apr 1942 | The final US-Filipino stronghold on the island of Luzon in the Philippine Islands, Corregidor, while already under daily bombardment for the past two weeks, began to be subjected to night-time bombardment as well. At 2200 hours, two 240-millimeter shells hit the opening of a tunnel leading into the underground command center, killing 15. |
| 6 May 1942 | Before dawn, US and Filipino defenders in the East Sector of Corregidor, Philippine Islands fought against the Japanese amphibious assault launched just prior to midnight, killing 1,200 men of the 2,000-strong first wave of attack. At 0930 hours, the Japanese began to gain a beachhead and began landing tanks to support the invasion. The US 4th Marine Regiment reserve companies and the US 4th Marine Battalion (reserve) launched an unsuccessful counterattack. Acknowledging the hopelessness of the situation, Major General Jonathan Wainwright ordered his troops to surrender at 1030 hours. To prevent capture, US Marines Colonel S. L. Howard ordered all regimental and national colors of the 4th Marine Regiment burned to prevent capture, while other US and Filipino personnel scuttled gunboats and destroyed ammunition stores. |
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| WW2-Era Place Name | Corregidor, Cavite, Philippines |
| Lat/Long | 14.3875, 120.5908 |
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James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, 23 Feb 1945
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