United States Far East Air Force
Encyclopedia
The Far East Air Force (FEAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States Army
in the Philippines
just prior to and at the beginning of World War II
. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force
of the United States Army Air Forces
and United States Air Force
.
Initially FEAF also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps
. It was largely destroyed during the Philippines Campaign of 1941–42. When 14 surviving B-17 Flying Fortresses and 143 personnel of the heavy bombardment force were withdrawn from Mindanao
to Darwin, Australia in the third week of December 1941, Headquarters FEAF followed it within days. The B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction.Two B-18s used as transports and the Philippine Air Depot C-39, used to evacuate personnel from Mindanao in April 1942, also escaped.
FEAF, with only 16 P-40 Warhawks and 4 Seversky P-35
fighters remaining of its original combat force, was broken up as an air organization and moved by units into Bataan
24–25 December. 49 of the original 165 pursuit pilots of FEAF's 24th Pursuit Group
also evacuated during the campaign, but of non-flying personnel, only one of 27 officers and 16 wounded enlisted men were evacuated. Nearly all ground and flying personnel were employed as infantry at some point during their time on Bataan, where most surrendered on 9 April 1942.
The surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on 5 February 1942 redesignated as the Fifth Air Force
. With most of its aircraft based in Java
, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward.
was the nation's air service, recommended the establishment of an air station in the Philippines. Military aviation began there on 12 March 1912,Civil aviation preceded military in the Philippines by more than a year. Three Americans, airplane designers Thomas Scott Baldwin
and Tod Shriver, and barnstormer James C. "Bud" Mars
, visited the Philippines in early 1911 as part of a 30,000-mile world demonstration tour. Their aircraft were the Skylark, Shriver's 1910 biplane, flown by Mars, and the Red Devil
, designed and flown by Baldwin. Both planes had been built by Glenn Curtiss
. Baldwin made the first cross-country flight in the Philippines in Red Devil in February 1911, and sold it to an American resident of the Philippines, who later crashed it. when 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm of the 7th Cavalry, detailed to the Division, opened the Philippine Air School on the polo
field of Fort William McKinley
, using a single Wright B
airplane to train pilots. Ultimately attriting four of the Army's first 18 airplanes, aviation went temporarily out of business when the last plane crashed into Corregidor
's San Jose Bay on January 12, 1915. The first U.S. aviation unit stationed overseas was the 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron
, sent to Corregidor in January 1916. It used four Martin S seaplanes to adjust battery fire for Fort Mills
, but was demobilized at the end of World War I
.The 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron was activated on 12 May 1915 but not organized until December, and sailed from San Francisco on 5 January 1916. It expanded to a full squadron of two companies in July 1917. A new 2d Aero Squadron returned in December 1919, and a permanent military aviation presence was established with the organization on 20 March 1920 of the 1st Observation Group of the United States Army's Air Service
at Fort Stotsenburg
, consisting of the 2nd Squadron on Corregidor and the 3rd Squadron at Fort Stotsenburg. An additional squadron, the 28th
, was activated on 1 September 1922 at Nichols Field
, and the group, now at Clark Field, was redesignated the 4th Composite Group on 2 December 1922. On 25 January 1923 the three squadrons were redesignated, respectively, the 2nd Observation, 3rd Pursuit, and 28th Bombardment Squadrons.
The air forces in the Philippines were a component of the Army's Philippine Department
, and like the Air Corps
in the continental United States, operated under split authority. Their nominal head was the Air Officer, Philippine Department, a staff member who did not exercise command of any operational units. Actual command of the operational forces (the 4th Composite Group) resided with the group commander, who reported through the chief of staff to the commanding general of the Philippine Department, and also through the Air Officer to the Chief of the Air Corps. Installations and airfields were maintained by service forces assigned to the Philippine Department, over which neither officer had any authority. Maintenance of a defensive status quo
of the Philippine Department was mandated by provisions of the 1922 Conference on the Limitation of Armament
, although air power was not specifically mentioned in its terms.
On 31 May 1940, Maj. Gen. George C. Grunert
, a mustang officer
who had entered the Army during the Spanish-American War
, took command of the Philippine Department. From the first he was dissatisfied with the staffing, equipment, and level of training of the department, but in particular the air forces, and intensively lobbied the War Department
for modernization and reinforcements. Of thirteen fields available for use throughout the islands, only Clark Field was considered a first rate facility, and the small number of total fields made dispersal during wartime impossible. The 4th Composite Group was a "dumping ground" for aircraft that had become obsolete or worn out, discarded by units in both the Continental United States and the Hawaiian Department. Grunert's air force in July 1940 consisted of 28 Boeing P-26A "Peashooter" fighters (out of 34 originally shipped to the Philippines in 1937), 17 Martin B-10
bombers, 10 Douglas O-46 observation planes (the newest planes in the department), five 1920s-vintage Thomas-Morse ZO-19E
observation craft (the "Z" modifier indicated they were unfit for front-line duty and could only be used as trainers), and three fabric-covered biplanes used for liaison, transport, and courier duties. The group had only 26 of the 51 pilots authorized it by its table of organization and equipment
.
The senior Air Corps officer in the Philippines was Col. Harrison H.C. Richards, the Department Air Officer. Col. Lawrence S. Churchill, commanding the 4th Composite Group, was a year his junior in rank. Cooperation and approval by Richards, a West Pointer
, was necessary to accomplish support tasks for the 4th Group, but many officers felt he withheld information from Churchill and deliberately sabotaged group operations. While both colonels were fifty-one years old in 1941, neither had the confidence of Gen. Grunert, possibly because of open animosity each displayed against the other. In March 1941, Grunert wrote Army Chief of Staff
Gen. George C. Marshall requesting that a general officer be transferred to Manila to command the Department's air force.Third in seniority was Lt. Col. Charles M. Savage, who was on the promotion list to colonel, but he also lacked favor with Grunert, possibly because Savage's command background was in airship
s, not airplanes.
s, radio communications, and interceptor forces, Brig. Gen. Henry B. Clagett arrived on 4 May to command the PDAF and set up air defenses. Clagett also had been given a top-secret mission by Marshall to go to China in mid-May for a month of observing and assessing tactics used by the Japanese.The general was known in the service as "Sue" Clagett. The PDAF's one major unit, the 4th Composite Group, consisted of five squadrons (two of which had arrived in November 1940) based at two grass fields: Clark and Nichols. A third field, Nielson
, lacked facilities and was used primarily as an auxiliary strip for nearby Fort McKinley. An isolated sod strip at Iba
on the west coast was used for gunnery training. PDAF's materiel was centrally located in the Philippine Air Depot at Nichols Field, easily targeted from the air and highly inflammable. The only existing antiaircraft defenses were a single battery of guns and a searchlight platoon at Fort Wint
at the entrance to Subic Bay
.
In May 1941 its aircraft situation was only marginally better than a year before: only 22 P-26 fighters, 12 "utterly obsolete, ancient, vulnerable as pumpkins" B-10s, 56 Seversky P-35As diverted from a sale to Sweden in November 1940, 18 Douglas B-18 Bolos still in crates after disassembly and shipment from the Hawaiian Department in March, nine North American A-27
s seized in January from a shipment intended for Siam and distributed to the pursuit squadrons as instrument trainers, several Douglas C-39 transports, and a small number of varied observation planes. Its only modern aircraft were 31 Curtiss P-40B fighters, assigned to the 20th Pursuit Squadron. Although assembled in mid-May, they were not operational for lack of engine coolant. PDAF Headquarters was located at Fort Santiago
near Manila; the majority of the planes were at either Clark or Nichols. Except for one small commercial firm in Manila
, no oxygen
-producing plants existed in the Philippines, severely limiting the service ceiling
of all aircraft, but particularly the fighters.
Clagett immediately undertook an administrative "shakeup" of the existing organization, marginalized Richards, relieved Churchill of command of the 4th Composite Group (he retained the position of base commander at Nichols Field), created new channels of command, and because of a lack of qualified staff officers, drew senior (but administratively untrained) officers from the squadrons to fill his staff. The last move further aggravated a problem created when experienced pilots of the two newly arrived squadrons had been shifted to fill the understrength 4th Group. A lack of cohesion and confidence in command resulted that continued into the war.The 4th CG, for example, had three commanders between May and August, then was dissolved. Richards and Churchill both responded with "obstructionist tactics" that exacerbated the already poor command situation.
In July, the P-40s became operational, but Nichols Field was closed to replace its east-west runway with one made of concrete, and to regrade the north-south runway, both to correct drainage deficiencies that made the entire field inoperable in the wet season. On the morning of 2 July (ironically, delayed five days by a typhoon),The pursuit squadrons, unable to move their aircraft, were forced to remove propellers, lower the aircraft to the ground with their landing gear
raised, then tie down and weight the wings with sandbags to prevent their being lifted by the high winds. all three fighter squadrons transferred the FEAF's 39 P-35s and 20 P-26s to Clark and Iba, where the 17th PS moved for gunnery training. Construction of two new fields intended to support heavy bomber operations, at Rosales on the Lingayen Plain and Del Carmen
near Clark Field, proceeded slowly.
On 26 July 1941, Gen. Douglas MacArthur
was recalled to active duty from retirement and the United States Army Forces in the Far East
(USAFFE) was created by the War Department to reorganize the defenses of the Philippines against a Japanese invasion. The PDAF was renamed Air Force, USAFFE on 4 August 1941, and incorporated into its ranks the newly inducted Philippine Army Air Corps on 15 August 1941. Its headquarters moved to Nielson Field, and although intended to increase the urgency in air expansion, precious time had been lost that was never re-gained.
, Major General Henry H. Arnold
, allocated 340 heavy bomber
s (not yet manufactured) and 260 modern fighter planes for future reinforcement of the Far East Air Force. Work at Nichols continued slowly in the second half of the year, but the 17th PS was forced to return there to accommodate the planned arrival of the heavy bombers, and a high accident rate ensued.
By 2 October, 81 P-40s had been shipped to the islands,Fifty crated P-40Es, the most current model, arrived at the Philippine Air Depot on 29 September. and a new organization, the 24th Pursuit Group, was constituted on 16 September to control the three pursuit squadrons.The 24th PG stood up operationally on 1 October. The 4th CG continued a paper existence until the 28th Bomb Squadron was absorbed into the 19th BG, then was disbanded, with the 2nd Observation Squadron assigned directly to FEAF headquarters. Since 10 February 1941, FEAF had received 203 new pilots (140 of which became pursuit pilots), but all but 28 were fresh from flight schools and required further individual training, which cut into needed unit tactical training.The AAF decided to use its experienced pilots in the United States as training cadre for newly created units rather than reinforce overseas units. As a result FEAF pilots were unusually young and inexperienced when war began. The 1941 pilot levies were: 10 February: 24 from Class 40H; 8 May: 39 from Class 41B; 24 June: 96 from Classes 41C and 41D; 23 October: 16 from Class 41G. While 22 of the 28 pilots of the 21st and 34th Pursuit Squadrons, who arrived 20 November, were from these same classes, they had experience flying P-40 aircraft before deployment to FEAF. Arrangements were made with the oxygen-producing plant in Manila, which supplied the U.S. Navy's shipyard at Cavite
, to buy any surplus for pursuit units, but output was so small that only the squadron at Nichols (which reopened on 17 October) could be supplied, and on a limited basis.
Nine B-17s of the 14th Bombardment Squadron
pioneered an air ferry route from California to the Philippines. Two squadrons of the 19th Bombardment Group
followed in October–November. The 14th and 28th Bomb Squadrons (the latter a longtime part of the 4th Composite Group, which disbanded on 16 November 1941) were attached to the 19th BG and a total of 35 B-17 Flying Fortresses constituted the FEAF's heavy bombardment force.
Arnold wrote on 1 December 1941, "We must get every B-17 to the Philippines as soon as possible." The War Department
scheduled 165 heavy bombers and 240 fighters to be based in the Philippines by March 1942. B-17s of the 7th Bombardment Group
staged in California and its 88th Reconnaissance Squadron was in transit at the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
.
The personnel of two squadrons of the 35th Pursuit Group
(the 21st and 34th, their pilot rosters at half strength), and three of the 27th Bombardment Group (Light)
, moved by a convoy of two transports escorted by the cruiser Louisville
, but without their airplanes, and disembarked at Manila on 20 November 1941. The pursuit squadrons were attached to the 24th Pursuit Group and acquired P-35s from the other squadrons for training purposes. A shipment of 24 crated P-40Es arrived in Manila by freighter on 25 November, the first of those intended for the 35th Pursuit Group, and were trucked to the Philippine Air Depot at Nichols Field for assembly.
MacArthur held the position that Japan would not attempt an invasion of the Philippines before April 1942. Clagett (described by one historian of the campaign as lacking "the necessary elasticity of mind and body for realistic preparation for total war") had twice been hospitalized during mid-1941 and was not meeting the demands of even this scenario. At the beginning of September Marshall met with Arnold to identify a replacement for Clagett who would infuse the necessary urgency into the Philippine buildup.
Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton arrived in the Philippines to command FEAF on 4 November 1941. Bomber, fighter, and service commands for the FEAF became effective on 16 November 1941, with Clagett placed in command of the provisional 5th Interceptor Command
, and Churchill made commander of Far East Air Service Command. When a war warning from Gen. George C. Marshall was received in the Philippines on 28 November (Philippine time), the next day FEAF began dispatching two B-17s a day on reconnaissance flights of the sea lanes north of Luzon, but with orders not to overfly Japanese territory on Formosa
. Units worked to complete protective and dispersal measures, while interceptors were armed and placed on alert status.
The arrival of National Guard units at the end of September provided the first ground defenses for Clark Field. Two battalions of light tanks were positioned at Fort Stotsenburg
in late November to protect Clark against seizure by Japanese airborne troops, while the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (AA) provided limited antiaircraft artillery defense with 50-caliber machine guns and a dozen 3-inch guns.
The "Pensacola convoy"
of seven transport vessels gathered at Honolulu and sailed for Manila on 29 November, transporting the 52 A-24 dive bombers of the 27th BG, 18 P-40s intended for the 49th Pursuit Group
, 48 pilots of the 35th PG, 39 recent flight school graduates on "casual" status, and the ground echelons of five squadrons, all escorted by the USS Pensacola
. The remainder of the 35th Group (the remaining pilots, two pursuit squadrons, and group headquarters) sailed aboard the USAT President Garfield for Honolulu on 6 December to join another convoy.
strength of 25 aircraft, including spares, but because of accidents and other factors, none had that total and decided to use 18 in tactical commission, regardless of the number in their inventory. The 22nd of the 21st PS's P-40s was delivered 7 December and many not yet had their engines slow-timed. None of its other aircraft had more than three hours of flying time. All of the P-35As had been over-used for gunnery training and needed engine changes (none were available, and the Far East Air Depot had neither facilities or personnel for large-scale engine maintenance), while their guns were wholly unreliable from poor maintenance. 54 P-40s and 32 B-17s were actually fit for combat on 8 December. The Japanese committed 288 first-line combat aircraft in fully trained units of the Navy's 11th Kōkūkantai and Army's 5th Hikōshidan (108 land-based naval
bombers, 54 army bombers,27 each of Mitsubishi Ki-21 (Army Type 97) "Sally"
and Kawasaki Ki-48 (Army Type 99) "Lily"
90 Mitsubishi A6M Zero carrier fighters, and 36 Nakajima Ki-27 (Army Type 97) "Nate"
army fighters) to support its Luzon operations.The Imperial Japanese Navy also employed 12 Mitsubishi A5M (Navy Type 96) "Claude"
carrier fighters and 13 Nakajima B5N (Navy Type 97) "Kate"
carrier attack bombers off the aircraft carrier Ryūjō
for its Mindanao operations, which were unopposed by interceptors or land-based antiaircraft weapons.
The numbers below in italicized brackets indicate the number of aircraft in commission on 8 December. If no figure is listed, the number of usable aircraft is unknown.
There were 60 additional aircraft in the Philippine Army Air Corps, including one Keystone ZB-3A
bomber. 42 were Stearman 76DC trainers of varying serviceability and utility.
, the Army had six airfields, two of which were auxiliary strips nearing completion. Another four auxiliary strips were begun in November: O'Donnell
and San Fernando near Clark, San Marcelino
northwest of Subic Bay
, and Ternate west of Cavite (Ternate and San Fernando were never finished). No strips were planned on Bataan
, despite its prominence in strategic war planning. In August and October 1941, the War department allocated US$9,273,000 to construct and improve airfields, most of which was spent constructing a concrete runway at Nichols Field (the only hard-surfaced runway in the Philippines), and adding and extending graded strips at Clark Field, with the rest going to the auxiliary fields. The auxiliary strips were dirt-surfaced and without maintenance, servicing, communications, or control facilities. The dust clouds generated by takeoffs at all strips except Nichols seriously hampered flight operations, with numerous mishaps that destroyed many aircraft, killed pilots, and reduced the assigned strength of already tiny combat missions. The use of expedients to cut down the dust, including a molasses
mixture deposited by a tank truck, was unsuccessful.
Clark Field was originally the only base that could support heavy bomber
s, but its all-grass field could not withstand heavy operations when wet, making dispersal nearly impossible. MacArthur and his chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
, favored new bomber bases in the Visayas
but recognized that selected sites at Cebu
and Tacloban would not support bomber operations without significant and expensive construction of runways. As a compromise, on 25 November 1941 the newly arrived 5th Air Base Group was hurried 800 mi (1,287.5 km) south to Mindanao by inter-island steamer to begin work 27 November on a second bomber base, Del Monte Field, so named because it was situated on pineapple plantations owned by the Del Monte Corporation
. Construction required only cutting of grass to create a hard, all-weather sod runway, and Del Monte No. 1, the first of seven planned strips on Mindanao, was ready for limited operations by 5 December. A much smaller strip situated on a small golf course nearby was designated Del Monte No. 3. Sixteen B-17s were dispersed from Clark to Del Monte No. 1 on the morning of 6 December (5 December in the United States), but neither maintenance facilities nor barracks had been built, and only a single radio was operating when war commenced. Two understrength ordnance companies arrived 3 December and constructed their own camp a mile away, but the remainder of their personnel and all the materiel required, particularly aviation gas, were not scheduled to leave Luzon until 10 December.
On 15 December 1941, a 3600 ft (1,097.3 m) fighter strip was completed in sugarcane
fields seven miles west of Lubao
, along Highway 7 near the entrance to Bataan. The 21st Pursuit Squadron moved a detachment into the field to complete construction of revetments and taxiways in preparation of basing a dozen P-40s and five P-35s there, flown by a mixed assortment of experienced pursuit pilots from all the squadrons. Lubao Airfield began operations on 26 December and was superbly camouflaged. The 21st PS flew reconnaissance and other missions from Lubao until 2 January 1942, when the field was evacuated. On 29 December, three pursuits (two P-40s and a P-35) were salvaged at the last minute at Clark Field in the face of advancing Japanese units by a volunteer group of mechanics and flown to Lubao, where they were evacuated with the others.
Another camouflaged dirt strip at Orani
(2800 ft (853.4 m)) also opened operations on 26 December. The 34th PS received its transfer orders on Christmas Day and conducted twice daily reconnaissance flights using five P-40s. The field was camouflaged using rice straw and movable haystacks, and was not attacked before it too was abandoned, on 4 January. The withdrawing aircraft from both fields were flown to an airfield on Bataan near Pilar
, which had been graded by Filipino hand labor in rice fields, with revetments built and camouflaged in one day on 26 December by the 17th PS. Operations at Pilar began on 1 January using the final three new P-40Es of the 25 November shipment, which were assembled in the last week of December at the Philippine Air Depot, relocated to Quezon City
. The last mission from Pilar was flown 8 January, after which its nine P-40 aircraft displaced to Del Monte Field, Mindanao (only six arrived).
Bataan Field
was originally graded in early 1941 as a 2000 ft (609.6 m) dirt strip running uphill from a coastal road, and was dubbed "Richards' Folly" after the Department Air Officer, who had ordered its construction. Located three miles north of Cabcaben on the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula, it was widened and lengthened after 24 December to 5100 ft (1,554.5 m) by the 803rd Aviation Engineers in anticipation of future operations. The first aircraft, two P-35s and an A-27 displaced from Lubao, arrived on 2 January, and on 4 January the nine P-40s at Orani were sent down. Combat operations began on 8 January, the aircraft concealed in hidden revetments until they could be launched between raids made by Japanese dive bombers. The P-35s were flown to Mindanao on 11 January after the A-27 was lost in a landing accident. Maintenance and operation of the field was assigned to the plane-less 16th Bombardment Squadron (27th Bomb Group), and damage to the runways from raids was repaired by Company C, 803rd Aviation Engineers.
Two other fields were constructed at the end of January 1942 to provide dispersal for aircraft from the often-bombed Bataan Field. 2.5 mi (4 km) south, a strip 3900 ft (1,188.7 m) in length was hastily graded by civilian contractors at Cabcaben and was operational on 6 February. The 21st PS was recalled from infantry duties on 12 February to operate and maintain both Bataan and Cabcaben airfields. The previous liaison dirt field at Mariveles
was abandoned on 7 January, but a road adjacent to the field was extended and widened to provide a strip 65 ft (19.8 m) in width and 3800 ft (1,158.2 m) long. Its orientation to the overlooking heights was such that once a pilot was committed to landing, he had no choice but to continue, and was subject to severe tail-winds. The 20th Pursuit Squadron was also recalled on 12 February to complete defensive position preparations, camouflage revetments, and maintain the field, which became operational on 23 February.
, and civilian companies in the provinces. Interpreters were required for the many dialect
s used by the observers. Message processing encountered significant delays between the time of observation and time of report.Edmunds stated that in a pre-war exercise, 46 minutes elapsed before sightings were reported, plotted, and orders relayed to interceptors to take off to "protect" Clark Field.
On 4 May 1941, the Warning Service was shifted to the new PDAF as the "Air Warning Service". A newly trained 194-man Signal Corps air warning company arrived by transport on 1 August to operate two SCR-271C fixed-location air tracking radar
s planned for deployment on Luzon, each with a range of 150 mi (241.4 km). Campbell immediately prepared a study for Clagett recommending 24-hour operations and modern aircraft detection equipment, specifically two mobile SCR-270B units and nine SCR-271s, allotting eight units to Luzon and three to Mindanao, and expanding the force to a 915-man battalion. He also suggested that radars be established at some future time on the islands of Lubang
, Samar
, Palawan
, Jolo
, Basilan
, Tablas
, Panay
, and Negros.
His specific recommendation was in line with the one SCR-270/seven SCR-271 recommendation of the Air Defense Board just received by the War Department, and was endorsed by MacArthur on 8 September with a recommendation for funds. MacArthur was notified by wire the next day that an SCR-270 and two SCR-271s were already in transit to the Philippines by ship for use by the air warning company, with three more SCR-270s to follow in October. However by 15 November, when the AWS was integrated into the new 5th Interceptor Command, plans for the fixed-location radar sites were only five percent complete and no date to begin construction had been set. The 557th Air Warning Battalion was designated to provide the expanded early warning defense, and was at its port of embarkation at San Francisco on 6 December.
The AWS received seven SCR-270 mobile units but only two were operating on 8 December: one in full operation at Iba, Zambales
, and a Marine Corps
unit training at Nasugbu, Batangas
. The latter was assigned to the Air Warning Detachment of the 1st Separate Marine Battalion
in late November to provide protection to the Navy base. The Iba unit had been operating since 18 October and was fully functioning. Three Army detachments with mobile units and the Marine detachment were ordered into the field on 3 December to be in operation by 10 December. Of the Army detachments, one had just reached position at Burgos, Ilocos Norte
, in northwest Luzon; another was at Tagaytay, Cavite, with a damaged set; and the third was newly established at Paracale, Camarines Norte
, in southeastern Luzon, where it had just completed calibration
tests. The two fixed-location SCR-271s were in storage.
USAFFE also received 11 sets of SCR-268 antiaircraft radar
s, a searchlight
-control radar that could also be used for gun laying of AA weapons.Six had been shipped to the 60th CA, three to the 200th CA, and two to the 1st Separate Marine Battalion. After the FEAF was forced to withdraw into Bataan to continue operations, its primitive fields were subject to frequent attack from Luzon-based aircraft of the Japanese Army. An SCR-268 of the 200th Coast Artillery was placed in operation on the hillside above Cabcaben Airfield. Used in conjunction with the sole surviving SCR-270B unit,The radar set of the Marine detachment was the sole survivor. hidden in the jungle a mile from Bataan Field, it served as an early warning system and was linked to headquarters of the 5th Interceptor Command at Mariveles. Takeoffs and landings by the Bataan Field Flying Detachment required towing of P-40s off the runways to and from hidden revetments, and were vulnerable to strafing. The ad hoc system facilitated coordination of field operations, and while imperfect, no aircraft were lost during takeoffs or landings.
Japanese air operations against FEAF airfields on Luzon were scheduled to take off from their Formosan bases beginning at 1:30 am on 8 December, with attacks to commence 21 minutes after dawn (and approximately four hours after offensive operations began in Hawaii), at 6:30 am. However, reconnaissance flights dispatched to check weather conditions between Formosa and Luzon neither returned nor reported as launch time approached, and a thick fog over southern Formosa set back the timetable by 90 minutes. The commanders of Japanese units were disturbed when monitoring of American radio traffic indicated that the weather flights had been detected despite the darkness and attempts were made by Iba-based P-40s to intercept. Although all the interceptions failed, Iba Field was then substituted as a target in place of Nichols (where it was assumed that two squadrons of B-17s had dispersed) to deal with the new interceptor threat. Further radio monitoring revealed to the Japanese that the U.S. Asiatic Fleet had been alerted at 4:00 am of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and they expected attacks on their own bases by B-17s (bombing through the fog undercast) at any time after 7:00 am The air defense weaknesses of the FEAF were mirrored by those of the Japanese, who had prepared only for offensive operations, but no attack came before a final revised plan was issued at 7:50 am, ordering the main attack force of Japanese land-based aircraft to launch at 9:15 am and attack at 12:30 pm
Brereton attempted in person to obtain authorization for such attacks soon after word of events in Hawaii reached Manila, but was twice prevented from speaking with MacArthur by Sutherland. An authorization to attack Formosa was refused, apparently a misinterpretation of standing orders not to make "the first overt act. P-40 squadrons at Clark, Iba, and Nichols moved to alert takeoff positions at 6:00 am as news of war spread among the units. A large force of aircraft was detected flying south towards Luzon, and at 8:30 am 15 of the 19 B-17s at Clark took off, ordered to patrol within communications range of its control tower, while the 24th Pursuit Group ordered the three P-40 squadrons on alert and the P-35 squadron at Del Carmen to patrol central Luzon for intruders. At 8:50 am and 10:00 am, telephone attempts to obtain authorization from USAFFE headquarters for a B-17 attack was also rebuffed by Sutherland. However MacArthur himself called Brereton at 10:15 am and released the bomber force to employ at his discretion. Brereton immediately ordered two bombers to conduct reconnaissance flights and recalled the rest to prepare for a late afternoon bombing mission. They and the P-40s, low on fuel, all landed by 11:00 am to refuel and prepare for afternoon operations.
Japanese naval bombers and fighters took off according to their revised schedule and approached Luzon in two separated forces, both of which were detected by the Iba radar detachment just before 11:30 am. Despite this hour's warning, only the P-40 squadron at Iba took off, and it ran low on fuel in futile responses to confusing instructions from the 24th PG as it altered its analysis of Japanese intents. The remainder of the aircraft at Clark and Iba were caught on the ground when the Japanese attack began at 12:35 pm. 107 two-engined bombers80 Mitsubishi G4M (Navy Type 1) "Betty"
and 27 Mitsubishi G3M (Navy Type 96) "Nell"
. divided into two equal forces bombed the airfields first, after which 90 Zero fighters conducted strafing attacks until 1:25 pm (the fighters strafing Iba concluded at 1:05 pm, after which they flew to Clark and resumed attacks). Nearly the entire B-17 force, one-third of the U.S. fighters, and its only operational radar unit were destroyed. The Japanese lost only seven fighters and a single bomber to combat.The Japanese also lost three "Claude" carrier fighters and a "Kate" attack bomber in its attacks at Mindanao.
Followup attacks on Nichols, Nielson, and Del Carmen fields followed in the next two days, destroying both the offensive and defensive operational capability of the FEAF, and a decision was made late on 10 December to save the surviving fighters for reconnaissance and avoid direct combat. Fourteen surviving B-17s, after just three days of small and unsuccessful attacks on Japanese amphibious forces, were transferred to Batchelor Field, Australia, for maintenance between 17 and 20 December, bringing Clagett with them. Brereton evacuated FEAF headquarters on 24 December to Darwin, Northern Territory
by way of the Netherlands East Indies, leaving the new head of the 5th Interceptor Command, Col. Harold H. George (promoted to brigadier general 25 January 1942) in command of units in the Philippines. Reduced to a single squadron-sized composite force, his pursuit fighters were carefully husbanded for reconnaissance duties and forbidden to engage in combat until forced to evacuate to fields hurriedly built on the Bataan peninsula, to which the entire USAFFE withdrew by 6 January 1942.
Combat and accidents reduced but did not eliminate the P-40 complement, and a muster of approximately a dozen pursuit pilots, called the "Bataan Field Flying Detachment," continued to fly missions until the last day of the campaign, employing mainly 30-pound fragmentation bombs and machine gun fire as ordnance. Four of the six P-40s sent to Del Monte on 8 January were recalled to Bataan two weeks later, but only three arrived, leaving the detachment still with just seven P-40Es and two P-40Bs.The Japanese Army by 22 January had 36 Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Army Type 97) "Ann"
dive bombers, 11 Nakajima Ki-27 (Army Type 97) "Nate"
fighters, and 15 Mitsubishi Ki-15 (Army Type 97) "Babs"
reconnaissance aircraft based near Bataan. The small detachment, gradually attrited, had a few notable successes:
A single flyable P-40E remained at Bataan Field, although by 5 March mechanics had repaired the damaged P-40B at Cabcaben using P-40E parts, facetiously calling the composite a "P-40 something". Occasional individual reconnaissance flights were made in the following month by the two craft.Only six sorties were flown between 3 and 27 March, at which time flight surgeons instituted a nutrition "training table" for 25 pilots of three full meals a day. Missions resumed 2 April. Brig. Gen. George was evacuated by PT boat
on 11 March, ending the effective usefulness of the detachment, whose pilots were severely debilitated by starvation and disease. Churchill eventually succeeded to nominal command 12 days before the surrender, but was unable to evacuate and became a prisoner of war
.
Accidents put all three P-40s based on Mindanao out of commission by 9 February, leaving just two P-35s that had escaped from Bataan. Transfer of a propeller put a P-40 back in commission two days later, and shipment to Cebu by submarine of parts taken from wrecks on Bataan put another back in operation by mid-March, when a fire destroyed one of them on the ground. Three new P-40Es, still in crates, were shipped from Brisbane, Australia, by blockade runner
on 22 February but ran aground on 9 March on a reef between Bohol
and Leyte
. Carefully hidden and moved by barge at night, the crates reached Mindanao on 26 March, where a makeshift air depot had been established in a coconut
grove at Buenavista Airfield
using mechanics of the 19th Bomb Group and the 440th Ordnance Company. By 2 April, all three P-40s were assembled and flight-tested, making the Mindanao P-40 force twice as large as that on Bataan.
The two P-40s on Bataan both flew out on 8 April, the P-40E to Iloilo City
on Panay
, where it landed wheels up, and the P-40B to Cebu. The two P-35s on Mindanao flew to Bataan Field on 4 April, and they also evacuated three pursuit pilots in their baggage compartments. A Navy Grumman J2F Duck
that the 20th Pursuit Squadron raised from Mariveles Bay and placed in service again on 24 March evacuated five officers.Those rescued included Filipino Col. Carlos Romulo. One of the P-35As landed wheels up just off a beach on Leyte
. Bataan surrendered the next morning. The P-40B reached Mindanao but crashed on 14 April trying to land at Del Monte No. 3 in a heavy rain. The three new P-40Es and the sole remaining P-35 operated out of Maramag Field in central Mindanao until 3 May. The P-35 was transferred to the Philippine Army Air Corps and two surviving P-40Es were ultimately captured intact by the Japanese army on 12 May.
Against the overall loss from all causes of 108 P-40s and 25 P-35s, FEAF pilots were credited by USAF Historical Study No. 85, USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, with 35 aerial victories between 8 December 1941 and 12 April 1942.The total includes two victories credited to the 6th Pursuit Squadron, PAAC. 33 pursuit pilots were killed in the campaign and 83 surrendered to become prisoners of war, with 49 of those dying in captivity. 95% of enlisted men became POWs, and 61% of those died before they could be repatriated.The figures are for the 1,144 enlisted men of the 5th Interceptor Command, but are representative of the FEAF as a whole.
on Java
. The 19th BG flew its next combat mission on 4 January against Japanese shipping off Davao
, utilizing Samarinda Airfield
, Borneo
, as a staging base, but on 11 January, when the first aircraft of the 7th Bomb Group arrived, FEAF conducted its operations solely for the defense of the Netherlands East Indies
. FEAF became a part of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
created to unify forces in the defense of the NEI. On 18 January, FEAF headquarters moved to Bandoeng.
The Pensacola convoy for the Philippines was diverted on 13 December to Brisbane, where it disembarked its Air Corps personnel on 23 December, then continued to Darwin with field artillery reinforcements on 29 December. The pursuit and partially trained pilots began training as assembly of the crated aircraft went forward at Archerfield
and Amberley
airdromes. 21 pilots of the 27th Bomb Group and 17 from the 24th Pursuit Group were flown to Australia in the last two weeks of December to ferry back the aircraft, but no engine coolant had been sent for the fighters and the guns of the dive bombers were missing key electrical and mounting components, hampering not only reinforcement of FEAF but limiting flight training of the new pilots. The President Garfield, 500 miles at sea en route to Honolulu, reversed course after receiving word that war had begun in Hawaii and returned to San Francisco. The USAT President Polk, a cargo liner impressed into service as an Army transport, embarked 55 P-40s, an equal number of pilots and ground crews gathered from four groups based in California (including 27 pilots off the President Garfield), and sailed without escort on 18 December, reaching Brisbane on 13 January 1942. There the President Polk embarked the ground echelons of two squadrons of the 7th Bomb Group (based at Jogjakarta) and continued to Java, escorted by the heavy cruiser USS Houston
, arriving in Surabaya
on 28 January.
By mid-January, Japanese advances southward cut the anticipated aircraft ferry routes to the Philippines and reinforcement was no longer feasible. Instead, using aircraft and personnel at hand, provisional fighter squadrons were organized in Brisbane to assist the Royal Netherlands Indies Air Force
(ML-KNIL) in defending the NEI. The 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) was established on 14 January, and 13 of its 17 pilots had previously been with the 24th PG. With 17 P-40s delivered by the Pensacola convoy (assembly of the 18th could not be completed because of a lack of parts), it flew across northern Australia from Brisbane to Darwin, then to Java via Penfoie Airdrome at Koepang
and Den Pasar Field on Bali
between 16 and 25 January. Only 12 Warhawks arrived at the designated FEAF fighter base at Ngoro Field
, the others lost to accidents, combat, and pilot illness.Also known as Blimbing, Ngoro Field had been an emergency strip first used in 1939. The ML-KNIL upgraded it to a full fighter strip and camouflaged it so expertly it was not discovered by the Japanese until the final day of the campaign. The 20th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional), incorporating pilots of the 35th PG, took off from Darwin in 25 P-40s on 2 February, but only 17 reached Java, the remainder shot down over Bali or damaged on the ground by air raids. Likewise, 25 P-40s of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) departed Brisbane, but because of accidents involving novice pilots, only 18 reached Darwin on 8 February. Just nine eventually reinforced Ngoro; an entire flight of eight was lost when it exhausted its fuel after its LB-30 navigation guide aircraft became lost in a storm trying to find Koepang. Survivors of both the 3rd and 20th provisional squadrons were integrated into the 17th PS. The 33rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) was en route to Java at Darwin when it was nearly annihilated by a Japanese air raid on 19 February. Of 83 P-40s assembled and flown from Brisbane, only 37 arrived at Ngoro Field, and by 15 February less than 20 could be mustered for operations.
The 91st Bombardment Squadron was re-manned in Brisbane with pilots from the 27th BG, and dispatched eleven A-24s to Java on 11 February, but the Japanese threat to Timor prevented the other two squadrons of the 27th from following. Inadequate facilities at its new airfield near Malang
delayed maintenance of the dive bombers and prevented their operational use until 19 February. 32 assembled P-40s were collected at Maylands Airfield
near Perth, Western Australia
, towed to Fremantle
on the night of 19–20 February, and loaded on the flight deck of the seaplane tender
USS Langley
. The Langley sailed at noon 23 February for Java and all the aircraft were lost when it was sunk on 27 February. 31 of the 33 pilots of the 13th and 33rd Pursuit Squadrons (Provisional) also perished. The next day 27 other P-40s destined for the 51st Pursuit Group
and shipped in crates on the freighter MS Sea Witch were destroyed in Tjilatjap harbor to keep them from being captured by the Japanese.
On 3 February the Japanese opened a series of air attacks on ABDA bases on Java, and the 19th BG was again caught on the ground, losing five of its B-17s in a raid on Singosari, four of them on the ground. On 20 February, just back from a mission to bomb the invasion force at Bali, seven B-17s of the 19th BG were caught on the ground by Zero strafers while re-arming and five were destroyed. Although 38 of the more capable B-17E Flying Fortresses and a dozen LB-30 Liberators incrementally reinforced the FEAF, losses were severe and the slow rate of reinforcement was unable to keep pace. Despite dispersal and elaborate camouflage, a lack of antiaircraft artillery and poor warning/communication systems resulted in the loss of 65 FEAF aircraft on the ground alone.
Evacuations of personnel from Java and diversion of resources to India and Australia began 20 February. By 24 February only ten heavy bombers, four A-24 dive bombers, and 13 P-40 fighters remained flyable against Japanese forces. ABDA Command was officially dissolved the next day. The ground echelons of both heavy bomb groups began evacuation by sea on 25 February, while the bombers, carrying up to 20 passengers each, made daily six-hour flights to Broome, Western Australia
, an intermediate evacuation point for all aircraft fleeing Java. Malang/Singosari closed on 28 February and Jogjakarta the next night, following the final bomber sorties. 260 men, including the remnants of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, were evacuated by five B-17s and three LB-30s. 35 passengers crammed the final LB-30 that took off at 12:30 am of 2 March. On 3 March, nine Japanese fighters attacked Broome
, destroying two of the evacuated B-17s.
Of 61 heavy bombers based on Java, only 23 escaped: 17 B-17Es, three LB-30s, and three of the original B-17Ds of the 19th BG. Only six had been lost in aerial combat, but at least 20 were destroyed on the ground by Japanese attacks. Every fighter (39) and dive bomber (11) that arrived on Java was destroyed. Against these losses, the provisional pursuit squadrons were credited with the destruction of 45 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat.Edmunds credits 46. However, Bartsch states that only eight aerial victories by the provisional squadrons can be substantiated. Heavy bombers had flown over sixty missions and at least 300 bomber sorties, but 40% of the bombers turned back or otherwise failed to find their targets. Brereton's evacuation to India on 23 February 1942 effectively ended existence of the Far East Air Force, which had been re-designated "5 Air Force" on 5 February. Its headquarters was not re-manned until 18 September 1942 in Australia, when it was designated Fifth Air Force
.
(35th Pursuit Group headquarters never arrived in the Philippines and is not listed for that reason.)
The numbers in italicized brackets indicate the number of personnel, as of 30 November.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
just prior to and at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
of the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
and United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
.
Initially FEAF also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps
Philippine Army Air Corps
The Philippine Army Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly's National Defense Act of 1935. By 1940, the corps had around 40 aircraft and 100 pilots, 500 personnel, and six squadrons...
. It was largely destroyed during the Philippines Campaign of 1941–42. When 14 surviving B-17 Flying Fortresses and 143 personnel of the heavy bombardment force were withdrawn from Mindanao
Mindanao
Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country, which consists of the island of Mindanao and smaller surrounding islands. The other two are Luzon and the Visayas. The island of Mindanao is called The...
to Darwin, Australia in the third week of December 1941, Headquarters FEAF followed it within days. The B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction.Two B-18s used as transports and the Philippine Air Depot C-39, used to evacuate personnel from Mindanao in April 1942, also escaped.
FEAF, with only 16 P-40 Warhawks and 4 Seversky P-35
Seversky P-35
The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S...
fighters remaining of its original combat force, was broken up as an air organization and moved by units into Bataan
Bataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
24–25 December. 49 of the original 165 pursuit pilots of FEAF's 24th Pursuit Group
24th Pursuit Group
The 24th Pursuit Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was wiped out in the Battle of the Philippines . The survivors fought as infantry during Battle of Bataan and after their surrender, were subjected to the Bataan Death March, although some did escape to Australia. The unit was...
also evacuated during the campaign, but of non-flying personnel, only one of 27 officers and 16 wounded enlisted men were evacuated. Nearly all ground and flying personnel were employed as infantry at some point during their time on Bataan, where most surrendered on 9 April 1942.
The surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on 5 February 1942 redesignated as the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
. With most of its aircraft based in Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward.
Army aviation in the Philippines
In August 1911, the United States Army's Chief Signal Officer, whose Aeronautical DivisionAeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps was the world's first heavier-than-air military aviation organization and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S...
was the nation's air service, recommended the establishment of an air station in the Philippines. Military aviation began there on 12 March 1912,Civil aviation preceded military in the Philippines by more than a year. Three Americans, airplane designers Thomas Scott Baldwin
Thomas Scott Baldwin
Thomas Scott Baldwin was a pioneer balloonist and U.S. Army major during World War I. He was the first American to descend from a balloon by parachute.-Early career:...
and Tod Shriver, and barnstormer James C. "Bud" Mars
James C. Mars
James Cairn Mars , also known Bud Mars and the Curtiss Daredevil, was an aviation pioneer. He was the eleventh pilot licensed in the United States...
, visited the Philippines in early 1911 as part of a 30,000-mile world demonstration tour. Their aircraft were the Skylark, Shriver's 1910 biplane, flown by Mars, and the Red Devil
Baldwin Red Devil
The Baldwin Red Devil was a series of early pusher configuration aircraft employing steel tube construction. The aircraft were designed by Thomas Scott Baldwin, an early pioneer of airships.-Development:...
, designed and flown by Baldwin. Both planes had been built by Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
. Baldwin made the first cross-country flight in the Philippines in Red Devil in February 1911, and sold it to an American resident of the Philippines, who later crashed it. when 1st Lt. Frank P. Lahm of the 7th Cavalry, detailed to the Division, opened the Philippine Air School on the polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
field of Fort William McKinley
Fort William McKinley
Fort William McKinley, was established in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War in 1901 when the whole land south of Pasig River down to Alabang was declared a U.S. Military Reservation. During the World War II era, it was where USAFFE had its headquarters for the Philippine Department...
, using a single Wright B
Wright Model B
|-See also:-References:* * * * * * -External links:* *...
airplane to train pilots. Ultimately attriting four of the Army's first 18 airplanes, aviation went temporarily out of business when the last plane crashed into Corregidor
Corregidor
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is a lofty island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of...
's San Jose Bay on January 12, 1915. The first U.S. aviation unit stationed overseas was the 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron
2d Air Refueling Squadron
The 2d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. It operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft conducting aerial refueling missions....
, sent to Corregidor in January 1916. It used four Martin S seaplanes to adjust battery fire for Fort Mills
Fort Mills
Fort Mills was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. This was one of the locations at which, under the National Defense Act of 1935, coastal artillery training was conducted.-References:*McGovern,...
, but was demobilized at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.The 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron was activated on 12 May 1915 but not organized until December, and sailed from San Francisco on 5 January 1916. It expanded to a full squadron of two companies in July 1917. A new 2d Aero Squadron returned in December 1919, and a permanent military aviation presence was established with the organization on 20 March 1920 of the 1st Observation Group of the United States Army's Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
at Fort Stotsenburg
Fort Stotsenburg
Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment, 86th Field Artillery Regiment, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 24th Field Artillery Regiments...
, consisting of the 2nd Squadron on Corregidor and the 3rd Squadron at Fort Stotsenburg. An additional squadron, the 28th
28th Bomb Squadron
The 28th Bomb Squadron is part of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. It operates B-1 Lancer aircraft providing strategic bombing capability...
, was activated on 1 September 1922 at Nichols Field
Nichols Field
Nichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay City and Parañaque City, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. During the World War II era, it was the location of the Far East Air Force's U.S. 20th Air Base Group. Also, based here was Troop F of the U.S. 26th Cavalry...
, and the group, now at Clark Field, was redesignated the 4th Composite Group on 2 December 1922. On 25 January 1923 the three squadrons were redesignated, respectively, the 2nd Observation, 3rd Pursuit, and 28th Bombardment Squadrons.
The air forces in the Philippines were a component of the Army's Philippine Department
Philippine Department
The Philippine Department was a regular US Army unit, defeated in the Philippines, during World War II. The mission of the Philippine Department was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army...
, and like the Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
in the continental United States, operated under split authority. Their nominal head was the Air Officer, Philippine Department, a staff member who did not exercise command of any operational units. Actual command of the operational forces (the 4th Composite Group) resided with the group commander, who reported through the chief of staff to the commanding general of the Philippine Department, and also through the Air Officer to the Chief of the Air Corps. Installations and airfields were maintained by service forces assigned to the Philippine Department, over which neither officer had any authority. Maintenance of a defensive status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
of the Philippine Department was mandated by provisions of the 1922 Conference on the Limitation of Armament
Washington Naval Treaty
The Washington Naval Treaty, also known as the Five-Power Treaty, was an attempt to cap and limit, and "prevent 'further' costly escalation" of the naval arms race that had begun after World War I between various International powers, each of which had significant naval fleets. The treaty was...
, although air power was not specifically mentioned in its terms.
On 31 May 1940, Maj. Gen. George C. Grunert
George Grunert
George Grunert was a United States Army cavalry officer who retired as a Lieutenant General in a 47 year career that extended from the Spanish-American War to the end of World War II.-Education and early career:...
, a mustang officer
Mustang (military officer)
A Mustang is United States Military slang for a commissioned officer who began his or her career as an enlisted service member. Mustangs are older and more experienced than their peers-in-grade who earned their commissions from one of the service academies , Officer Candidate...
who had entered the Army during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, took command of the Philippine Department. From the first he was dissatisfied with the staffing, equipment, and level of training of the department, but in particular the air forces, and intensively lobbied the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
for modernization and reinforcements. Of thirteen fields available for use throughout the islands, only Clark Field was considered a first rate facility, and the small number of total fields made dispersal during wartime impossible. The 4th Composite Group was a "dumping ground" for aircraft that had become obsolete or worn out, discarded by units in both the Continental United States and the Hawaiian Department. Grunert's air force in July 1940 consisted of 28 Boeing P-26A "Peashooter" fighters (out of 34 originally shipped to the Philippines in 1937), 17 Martin B-10
Martin B-10
The Martin B-10 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber to go into regular use by the United States Army Air Corps, entering service in June 1934...
bombers, 10 Douglas O-46 observation planes (the newest planes in the department), five 1920s-vintage Thomas-Morse ZO-19E
Thomas-Morse O-19
|-See also:-References:* John Andrade, U.S.Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909, Midland Counties Publications, 1979, ISBN 0-904597-22-9...
observation craft (the "Z" modifier indicated they were unfit for front-line duty and could only be used as trainers), and three fabric-covered biplanes used for liaison, transport, and courier duties. The group had only 26 of the 51 pilots authorized it by its table of organization and equipment
Table of Organization and Equipment
A table of organization and equipment is a document published by the U.S. Department of Defense which prescribes the organization, staffing, and equippage of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'....
.
The senior Air Corps officer in the Philippines was Col. Harrison H.C. Richards, the Department Air Officer. Col. Lawrence S. Churchill, commanding the 4th Composite Group, was a year his junior in rank. Cooperation and approval by Richards, a West Pointer
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, was necessary to accomplish support tasks for the 4th Group, but many officers felt he withheld information from Churchill and deliberately sabotaged group operations. While both colonels were fifty-one years old in 1941, neither had the confidence of Gen. Grunert, possibly because of open animosity each displayed against the other. In March 1941, Grunert wrote Army Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
Gen. George C. Marshall requesting that a general officer be transferred to Manila to command the Department's air force.Third in seniority was Lt. Col. Charles M. Savage, who was on the promotion list to colonel, but he also lacked favor with Grunert, possibly because Savage's command background was in airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
s, not airplanes.
Philippine Department Air Force
The Philippine Department Air Force was formed on 6 May 1941 as the United States hurriedly attempted to expand its air defenses in the Philippines. After completing a three-week air defense course taught at Mitchel Field, New York, to familiarize him with current concepts of integrating Signal Corps radarRadar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
s, radio communications, and interceptor forces, Brig. Gen. Henry B. Clagett arrived on 4 May to command the PDAF and set up air defenses. Clagett also had been given a top-secret mission by Marshall to go to China in mid-May for a month of observing and assessing tactics used by the Japanese.The general was known in the service as "Sue" Clagett. The PDAF's one major unit, the 4th Composite Group, consisted of five squadrons (two of which had arrived in November 1940) based at two grass fields: Clark and Nichols. A third field, Nielson
Nielson
Nielson is a surname. It refers to:*Claire Nielson , British television actress*Howard C. Nielson , American politician from Utah; U.S. Representative 1983–91...
, lacked facilities and was used primarily as an auxiliary strip for nearby Fort McKinley. An isolated sod strip at Iba
Iba, Zambales
Iba is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Zambales. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,344 people in 7,260 households....
on the west coast was used for gunnery training. PDAF's materiel was centrally located in the Philippine Air Depot at Nichols Field, easily targeted from the air and highly inflammable. The only existing antiaircraft defenses were a single battery of guns and a searchlight platoon at Fort Wint
Fort Wint
Fort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Washington Naval Treaty...
at the entrance to Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
.
In May 1941 its aircraft situation was only marginally better than a year before: only 22 P-26 fighters, 12 "utterly obsolete, ancient, vulnerable as pumpkins" B-10s, 56 Seversky P-35As diverted from a sale to Sweden in November 1940, 18 Douglas B-18 Bolos still in crates after disassembly and shipment from the Hawaiian Department in March, nine North American A-27
North American A-27
|-See also:-References:...
s seized in January from a shipment intended for Siam and distributed to the pursuit squadrons as instrument trainers, several Douglas C-39 transports, and a small number of varied observation planes. Its only modern aircraft were 31 Curtiss P-40B fighters, assigned to the 20th Pursuit Squadron. Although assembled in mid-May, they were not operational for lack of engine coolant. PDAF Headquarters was located at Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago is a defense fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the walled city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned in the fort before his execution in 1896...
near Manila; the majority of the planes were at either Clark or Nichols. Except for one small commercial firm in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, no oxygen
Oxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
-producing plants existed in the Philippines, severely limiting the service ceiling
Service ceiling
With respect to aircraft, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions.The word ceiling can also refer to the height of the lowest obscuring cloud layer above the ground.-Service ceiling:...
of all aircraft, but particularly the fighters.
Clagett immediately undertook an administrative "shakeup" of the existing organization, marginalized Richards, relieved Churchill of command of the 4th Composite Group (he retained the position of base commander at Nichols Field), created new channels of command, and because of a lack of qualified staff officers, drew senior (but administratively untrained) officers from the squadrons to fill his staff. The last move further aggravated a problem created when experienced pilots of the two newly arrived squadrons had been shifted to fill the understrength 4th Group. A lack of cohesion and confidence in command resulted that continued into the war.The 4th CG, for example, had three commanders between May and August, then was dissolved. Richards and Churchill both responded with "obstructionist tactics" that exacerbated the already poor command situation.
In July, the P-40s became operational, but Nichols Field was closed to replace its east-west runway with one made of concrete, and to regrade the north-south runway, both to correct drainage deficiencies that made the entire field inoperable in the wet season. On the morning of 2 July (ironically, delayed five days by a typhoon),The pursuit squadrons, unable to move their aircraft, were forced to remove propellers, lower the aircraft to the ground with their landing gear
Landing Gear
Landing Gear is Devin the Dude's fifth studio album. It was released on October 7, 2008. It was his first studio album since signing with the label Razor & Tie. It features a high-profile guest appearance from Snoop Dogg. As of October 30, 2008, the album has sold 18,906 copies.-Track...
raised, then tie down and weight the wings with sandbags to prevent their being lifted by the high winds. all three fighter squadrons transferred the FEAF's 39 P-35s and 20 P-26s to Clark and Iba, where the 17th PS moved for gunnery training. Construction of two new fields intended to support heavy bomber operations, at Rosales on the Lingayen Plain and Del Carmen
Basa Air Base
Basa Air Base , is a Philippine Air Force base located at Floridablanca, Pampanga in the Philippines....
near Clark Field, proceeded slowly.
On 26 July 1941, Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
was recalled to active duty from retirement and the United States Army Forces in the Far East
U.S. Army Forces Far East
USAFFE included the Philippine Department, Philippine Army , and the Far East Air Force. USAFFE Headquarters was created on July 26, 1941, at No.1, Calle Victoria, Manila, Luzon, the Philippines, with Major General MacArthur as commander. The Chief of Staff was Lieutenant General Richard K...
(USAFFE) was created by the War Department to reorganize the defenses of the Philippines against a Japanese invasion. The PDAF was renamed Air Force, USAFFE on 4 August 1941, and incorporated into its ranks the newly inducted Philippine Army Air Corps on 15 August 1941. Its headquarters moved to Nielson Field, and although intended to increase the urgency in air expansion, precious time had been lost that was never re-gained.
Creation of the FEAF
In July 1941, Chief of the Army Air ForcesUnited States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
, Major General Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, allocated 340 heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s (not yet manufactured) and 260 modern fighter planes for future reinforcement of the Far East Air Force. Work at Nichols continued slowly in the second half of the year, but the 17th PS was forced to return there to accommodate the planned arrival of the heavy bombers, and a high accident rate ensued.
By 2 October, 81 P-40s had been shipped to the islands,Fifty crated P-40Es, the most current model, arrived at the Philippine Air Depot on 29 September. and a new organization, the 24th Pursuit Group, was constituted on 16 September to control the three pursuit squadrons.The 24th PG stood up operationally on 1 October. The 4th CG continued a paper existence until the 28th Bomb Squadron was absorbed into the 19th BG, then was disbanded, with the 2nd Observation Squadron assigned directly to FEAF headquarters. Since 10 February 1941, FEAF had received 203 new pilots (140 of which became pursuit pilots), but all but 28 were fresh from flight schools and required further individual training, which cut into needed unit tactical training.The AAF decided to use its experienced pilots in the United States as training cadre for newly created units rather than reinforce overseas units. As a result FEAF pilots were unusually young and inexperienced when war began. The 1941 pilot levies were: 10 February: 24 from Class 40H; 8 May: 39 from Class 41B; 24 June: 96 from Classes 41C and 41D; 23 October: 16 from Class 41G. While 22 of the 28 pilots of the 21st and 34th Pursuit Squadrons, who arrived 20 November, were from these same classes, they had experience flying P-40 aircraft before deployment to FEAF. Arrangements were made with the oxygen-producing plant in Manila, which supplied the U.S. Navy's shipyard at Cavite
U.S. Naval Station Sangley Point
Naval Station Sangley Point was a communication and hospital facility of the United States Navy which occupied the northern portion of the Cavite City peninsula and is surrounded by Manila Bay, approximately eight miles southwest of Manila, the Philippines. The station was a part of the Cavite...
, to buy any surplus for pursuit units, but output was so small that only the squadron at Nichols (which reopened on 17 October) could be supplied, and on a limited basis.
Nine B-17s of the 14th Bombardment Squadron
14th Bombardment Squadron
The 14th Bombardment Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The 14th Bomb Squadron fought in the Battle of the Philippines , much of its aircraft being destroyed in combat against the Japanese...
pioneered an air ferry route from California to the Philippines. Two squadrons of the 19th Bombardment Group
19th Air Refueling Group
The 19th Airlift Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas...
followed in October–November. The 14th and 28th Bomb Squadrons (the latter a longtime part of the 4th Composite Group, which disbanded on 16 November 1941) were attached to the 19th BG and a total of 35 B-17 Flying Fortresses constituted the FEAF's heavy bombardment force.
Arnold wrote on 1 December 1941, "We must get every B-17 to the Philippines as soon as possible." The War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
scheduled 165 heavy bombers and 240 fighters to be based in the Philippines by March 1942. B-17s of the 7th Bombardment Group
7th Operations Group
The 7th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 7th Bomb Wing, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas...
staged in California and its 88th Reconnaissance Squadron was in transit at the time the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
.
The personnel of two squadrons of the 35th Pursuit Group
35th Operations Group
The 35th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 35th Fighter Wing. It is stationed at Misawa Air Base, Japan, and is a part of Pacific Air Forces ....
(the 21st and 34th, their pilot rosters at half strength), and three of the 27th Bombardment Group (Light)
27th Special Operations Group
The 27th Special Operations Group is the flying component of the 27th Special Operations Wing, assigned to the Air Force Special Operations Command...
, moved by a convoy of two transports escorted by the cruiser Louisville
USS Louisville (CA-28)
USS Louisville — a Northampton-class heavy cruiser — was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the city of Louisville, Kentucky...
, but without their airplanes, and disembarked at Manila on 20 November 1941. The pursuit squadrons were attached to the 24th Pursuit Group and acquired P-35s from the other squadrons for training purposes. A shipment of 24 crated P-40Es arrived in Manila by freighter on 25 November, the first of those intended for the 35th Pursuit Group, and were trucked to the Philippine Air Depot at Nichols Field for assembly.
MacArthur held the position that Japan would not attempt an invasion of the Philippines before April 1942. Clagett (described by one historian of the campaign as lacking "the necessary elasticity of mind and body for realistic preparation for total war") had twice been hospitalized during mid-1941 and was not meeting the demands of even this scenario. At the beginning of September Marshall met with Arnold to identify a replacement for Clagett who would infuse the necessary urgency into the Philippine buildup.
Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton arrived in the Philippines to command FEAF on 4 November 1941. Bomber, fighter, and service commands for the FEAF became effective on 16 November 1941, with Clagett placed in command of the provisional 5th Interceptor Command
5th Interceptor Command
The 5th Interceptor Command was a temporary command organization of the United States Army Air Forces. It was wiped out in the Battle of the Philippines...
, and Churchill made commander of Far East Air Service Command. When a war warning from Gen. George C. Marshall was received in the Philippines on 28 November (Philippine time), the next day FEAF began dispatching two B-17s a day on reconnaissance flights of the sea lanes north of Luzon, but with orders not to overfly Japanese territory on Formosa
Formosa
Formosa or Ilha Formosa is a Portuguese historical name for Taiwan , literally meaning, "Beautiful Island". The term may also refer to:-Places:* Formosa Strait, another name for the Taiwan Strait...
. Units worked to complete protective and dispersal measures, while interceptors were armed and placed on alert status.
The arrival of National Guard units at the end of September provided the first ground defenses for Clark Field. Two battalions of light tanks were positioned at Fort Stotsenburg
Fort Stotsenburg
Fort Stotsenburg, during the World War II era, was the location of the Philippine Department's 26th Cavalry Regiment, 86th Field Artillery Regiment, and 88th Field Artillery Regiment; along with the Philippine Division's 23rd and 24th Field Artillery Regiments...
in late November to protect Clark against seizure by Japanese airborne troops, while the 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (AA) provided limited antiaircraft artillery defense with 50-caliber machine guns and a dozen 3-inch guns.
The "Pensacola convoy"
Pensacola Convoy
The Pensacola Convoy is a colloquialism for a United States military shipping convoy that took place in late 1941 as the Pacific War began. The name was derived from that of its primary escort ship, the heavy cruiser . It was intended that the convoy, dispatched in peacetime, would reinforce the...
of seven transport vessels gathered at Honolulu and sailed for Manila on 29 November, transporting the 52 A-24 dive bombers of the 27th BG, 18 P-40s intended for the 49th Pursuit Group
49th Operations Group
The 49th Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 49th Fighter Wing. It is stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, and is a part of Air Combat Command ....
, 48 pilots of the 35th PG, 39 recent flight school graduates on "casual" status, and the ground echelons of five squadrons, all escorted by the USS Pensacola
USS Pensacola (CA-24)
USS Pensacola of the United States Navy was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruiser. The third Navy ship to be named after the city of Pensacola, Florida, she was nicknamed the "Grey Ghost" by Tokyo Rose. She received 13 battle stars for her service.She was laid down by the New York Navy Yard...
. The remainder of the 35th Group (the remaining pilots, two pursuit squadrons, and group headquarters) sailed aboard the USAT President Garfield for Honolulu on 6 December to join another convoy.
Aircraft inventory
All five pursuit squadrons had a Table of Organization and EquipmentTable of Organization and Equipment
A table of organization and equipment is a document published by the U.S. Department of Defense which prescribes the organization, staffing, and equippage of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'....
strength of 25 aircraft, including spares, but because of accidents and other factors, none had that total and decided to use 18 in tactical commission, regardless of the number in their inventory. The 22nd of the 21st PS's P-40s was delivered 7 December and many not yet had their engines slow-timed. None of its other aircraft had more than three hours of flying time. All of the P-35As had been over-used for gunnery training and needed engine changes (none were available, and the Far East Air Depot had neither facilities or personnel for large-scale engine maintenance), while their guns were wholly unreliable from poor maintenance. 54 P-40s and 32 B-17s were actually fit for combat on 8 December. The Japanese committed 288 first-line combat aircraft in fully trained units of the Navy's 11th Kōkūkantai and Army's 5th Hikōshidan (108 land-based naval
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
bombers, 54 army bombers,27 each of Mitsubishi Ki-21 (Army Type 97) "Sally"
Mitsubishi Ki-21
The was a Japanese bomber during World War II. It began operations during the Second Sino-Japanese War participating in the Nomonhan Incident, and in the first stages of the Pacific War, including the Malayan, Burmese, Dutch East Indies and New Guinea Campaigns...
and Kawasaki Ki-48 (Army Type 99) "Lily"
Kawasaki Ki-48
The Kawasaki Ki-48, 九九式双発軽爆撃機 'Sokei', Army Type 99 Twin-engined Light Bomber, was a Japanese twin-engine light bomber that was used during World War II. Its Allied reporting name was "Lily".-Development:...
90 Mitsubishi A6M Zero carrier fighters, and 36 Nakajima Ki-27 (Army Type 97) "Nate"
Nakajima Ki-27
The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligence had reserved that name for the nonexistent Mitsubishi Navy...
army fighters) to support its Luzon operations.The Imperial Japanese Navy also employed 12 Mitsubishi A5M (Navy Type 96) "Claude"
Mitsubishi A5M
The Mitsubishi A5M, Japanese Navy designation was "Type 96 carrier-based fighter" was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft. It was the world's first monoplane shipboard fighter and the direct ancestor of the famous Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero'...
carrier fighters and 13 Nakajima B5N (Navy Type 97) "Kate"
Nakajima B5N
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgwater, H.C. and Peter Scott. Combat Colours Number 4: Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942. Luton, Bedfordshire, UK: Guideline Publications, 2001. ISBN 0-9539040-6-7....
carrier attack bombers off the aircraft carrier Ryūjō
Japanese aircraft carrier Ryujo
Ryūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
for its Mindanao operations, which were unopposed by interceptors or land-based antiaircraft weapons.
The numbers below in italicized brackets indicate the number of aircraft in commission on 8 December. If no figure is listed, the number of usable aircraft is unknown.
- B-17C/DB-17 Flying Fortress variantsThe following is an extensive catalogue of the variants and specific unique elements of each variant and/or design stage of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber...
: 35 (32)One B-17 was permanently out of action, its tail knocked off in a landing collision with another aircraft on 12 September while attempting a landing during a typhoon. The other two were in hangars being painted in camouflage. - P-40B/ECurtiss P-40The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
: 91 (73)Headquarters Squadron, 24th PG had one P-40B assigned while the 20th PS had 23 remaining after training accidents. The 3rd PS had 24 P-40Es, the 17th PS had 21, and the 21st PS had 22. Two remained crated at the air depot. - A-27North American A-27|-See also:-References:...
: 8 (1)The sole A-27 serviceable on 8 December was with the 3rd PS at Iba. A second was at the Philippine Air Depot for maintenance and later served at Lubao Field. - P-35ASeversky P-35The Seversky P-35 was a fighter aircraft built in the United States by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in U.S...
: (26)The total number of surviving P-35A airframes is unknown. The 34th PS had 22 in service and the 3rd PS had four. - B-18A: 18 (15, all as trainer-transports, with 2 at Del Monte)
- B-10B: 3 (1 PAAC)
- P-26/P-26AP-26 PeashooterThe American Boeing P-26 Peashooter, was the first all-metal production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane used by the United States Army Air Corps...
: 12 (12 PAAC) - O-52: 11
- Other: 46
There were 60 additional aircraft in the Philippine Army Air Corps, including one Keystone ZB-3A
Keystone B-3
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, pp. 43, 135. ISBN 0-904597-22-9....
bomber. 42 were Stearman 76DC trainers of varying serviceability and utility.
FEAF airfields
Within 80 mi (128.7 km) of ManilaManila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, the Army had six airfields, two of which were auxiliary strips nearing completion. Another four auxiliary strips were begun in November: O'Donnell
Camp O'Donnell
Camp O'Donnell was a facility of the United States Air Force in Capas, Tarlac, The Philippines. Before the facility was transferred to the Air Force, it was first a Philippine Constabulary post then a United States Army facility....
and San Fernando near Clark, San Marcelino
San Marcelino, Zambales
San Marcelino is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 29,052 people in 5,866 households.-Etymology:...
northwest of Subic Bay
Subic Bay
Subic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
, and Ternate west of Cavite (Ternate and San Fernando were never finished). No strips were planned on Bataan
Bataan
Bataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of the Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and it is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
, despite its prominence in strategic war planning. In August and October 1941, the War department allocated US$9,273,000 to construct and improve airfields, most of which was spent constructing a concrete runway at Nichols Field (the only hard-surfaced runway in the Philippines), and adding and extending graded strips at Clark Field, with the rest going to the auxiliary fields. The auxiliary strips were dirt-surfaced and without maintenance, servicing, communications, or control facilities. The dust clouds generated by takeoffs at all strips except Nichols seriously hampered flight operations, with numerous mishaps that destroyed many aircraft, killed pilots, and reduced the assigned strength of already tiny combat missions. The use of expedients to cut down the dust, including a molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
mixture deposited by a tank truck, was unsuccessful.
Clark Field was originally the only base that could support heavy bomber
Heavy bomber
A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size and load carrying capacity, and usually the longest range.In New START, the term "heavy bomber" is used for two types of bombers:*one with a range greater than 8,000 kilometers...
s, but its all-grass field could not withstand heavy operations when wet, making dispersal nearly impossible. MacArthur and his chief of staff, Brig. Gen. Richard K. Sutherland
Richard K. Sutherland
Richard Kerens Sutherland was a Lieutenant General of the US Army and General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.-Early life:...
, favored new bomber bases in the Visayas
Visayas
The Visayas or Visayan Islands and locally known as Kabisay-an gid, is one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea, although the Visayas are considered the northeast...
but recognized that selected sites at Cebu
Cebu
Cebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
and Tacloban would not support bomber operations without significant and expensive construction of runways. As a compromise, on 25 November 1941 the newly arrived 5th Air Base Group was hurried 800 mi (1,287.5 km) south to Mindanao by inter-island steamer to begin work 27 November on a second bomber base, Del Monte Field, so named because it was situated on pineapple plantations owned by the Del Monte Corporation
Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $3.6...
. Construction required only cutting of grass to create a hard, all-weather sod runway, and Del Monte No. 1, the first of seven planned strips on Mindanao, was ready for limited operations by 5 December. A much smaller strip situated on a small golf course nearby was designated Del Monte No. 3. Sixteen B-17s were dispersed from Clark to Del Monte No. 1 on the morning of 6 December (5 December in the United States), but neither maintenance facilities nor barracks had been built, and only a single radio was operating when war commenced. Two understrength ordnance companies arrived 3 December and constructed their own camp a mile away, but the remainder of their personnel and all the materiel required, particularly aviation gas, were not scheduled to leave Luzon until 10 December.
On 15 December 1941, a 3600 ft (1,097.3 m) fighter strip was completed in sugarcane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
fields seven miles west of Lubao
Lubao, Pampanga
Lubao is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 143,058 people in 23,446 households...
, along Highway 7 near the entrance to Bataan. The 21st Pursuit Squadron moved a detachment into the field to complete construction of revetments and taxiways in preparation of basing a dozen P-40s and five P-35s there, flown by a mixed assortment of experienced pursuit pilots from all the squadrons. Lubao Airfield began operations on 26 December and was superbly camouflaged. The 21st PS flew reconnaissance and other missions from Lubao until 2 January 1942, when the field was evacuated. On 29 December, three pursuits (two P-40s and a P-35) were salvaged at the last minute at Clark Field in the face of advancing Japanese units by a volunteer group of mechanics and flown to Lubao, where they were evacuated with the others.
Another camouflaged dirt strip at Orani
Orani, Bataan
Orani is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 59,530 people in 10,810 households.-Barangays:Orani is politically subdivided into 33 barangays.-External links:*****...
(2800 ft (853.4 m)) also opened operations on 26 December. The 34th PS received its transfer orders on Christmas Day and conducted twice daily reconnaissance flights using five P-40s. The field was camouflaged using rice straw and movable haystacks, and was not attacked before it too was abandoned, on 4 January. The withdrawing aircraft from both fields were flown to an airfield on Bataan near Pilar
Pilar, Bataan
Pilar is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 43,213 people in 6,514 households. The living standards are healthier than its neighboring city of Balanga which is always congested and heavily polluted. The historic...
, which had been graded by Filipino hand labor in rice fields, with revetments built and camouflaged in one day on 26 December by the 17th PS. Operations at Pilar began on 1 January using the final three new P-40Es of the 25 November shipment, which were assembled in the last week of December at the Philippine Air Depot, relocated to Quezon City
Quezon City
Quezon City is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
. The last mission from Pilar was flown 8 January, after which its nine P-40 aircraft displaced to Del Monte Field, Mindanao (only six arrived).
Bataan Field
Bataan Airfield
Bataan Airfield was a former wartime United States Army Air Forces airfield on Luzon in the Philippines. It was overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of the Philippines...
was originally graded in early 1941 as a 2000 ft (609.6 m) dirt strip running uphill from a coastal road, and was dubbed "Richards' Folly" after the Department Air Officer, who had ordered its construction. Located three miles north of Cabcaben on the southern tip of the Bataan Peninsula, it was widened and lengthened after 24 December to 5100 ft (1,554.5 m) by the 803rd Aviation Engineers in anticipation of future operations. The first aircraft, two P-35s and an A-27 displaced from Lubao, arrived on 2 January, and on 4 January the nine P-40s at Orani were sent down. Combat operations began on 8 January, the aircraft concealed in hidden revetments until they could be launched between raids made by Japanese dive bombers. The P-35s were flown to Mindanao on 11 January after the A-27 was lost in a landing accident. Maintenance and operation of the field was assigned to the plane-less 16th Bombardment Squadron (27th Bomb Group), and damage to the runways from raids was repaired by Company C, 803rd Aviation Engineers.
Two other fields were constructed at the end of January 1942 to provide dispersal for aircraft from the often-bombed Bataan Field. 2.5 mi (4 km) south, a strip 3900 ft (1,188.7 m) in length was hastily graded by civilian contractors at Cabcaben and was operational on 6 February. The 21st PS was recalled from infantry duties on 12 February to operate and maintain both Bataan and Cabcaben airfields. The previous liaison dirt field at Mariveles
Mariveles, Bataan
Mariveles is a 1st class municipality in the province of Bataan, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 102,844 people in 19,460 households...
was abandoned on 7 January, but a road adjacent to the field was extended and widened to provide a strip 65 ft (19.8 m) in width and 3800 ft (1,158.2 m) long. Its orientation to the overlooking heights was such that once a pilot was committed to landing, he had no choice but to continue, and was subject to severe tail-winds. The 20th Pursuit Squadron was also recalled on 12 February to complete defensive position preparations, camouflage revetments, and maintain the field, which became operational on 23 February.
Warning systems
The "Warning Service" of the Philippine Department was directed by Lt. Col. Alexander H. Campbell, who had originally transferred to the Philippines in October 1939 to command a battalion of the 60th Coast Artillery (AA). Functioning as an office of the Intelligence Section (G-2) of the department headquarters, the Warning Service operated an interim Information and Operation Center at Nielson Field that included an electrically lighted map to plot sightings that indicated origins of reports with twinkling lights. In lieu of working detection equipment and trained personnel, the Warning Service maintained a primitive system of 509 observation posts manned by 860 civilian watchers, unschooled in aircraft identification, who would report airplane movements by five radio, two telegraph, and ten telephone networks manned by members of all three U.S. military services, the Philippine Army and constabulary, the Philippine postal systemPost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, and civilian companies in the provinces. Interpreters were required for the many dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s used by the observers. Message processing encountered significant delays between the time of observation and time of report.Edmunds stated that in a pre-war exercise, 46 minutes elapsed before sightings were reported, plotted, and orders relayed to interceptors to take off to "protect" Clark Field.
On 4 May 1941, the Warning Service was shifted to the new PDAF as the "Air Warning Service". A newly trained 194-man Signal Corps air warning company arrived by transport on 1 August to operate two SCR-271C fixed-location air tracking radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
s planned for deployment on Luzon, each with a range of 150 mi (241.4 km). Campbell immediately prepared a study for Clagett recommending 24-hour operations and modern aircraft detection equipment, specifically two mobile SCR-270B units and nine SCR-271s, allotting eight units to Luzon and three to Mindanao, and expanding the force to a 915-man battalion. He also suggested that radars be established at some future time on the islands of Lubang
Lubang Island
Lubang Island is the largest island in the Lubang Group of Islands, an archipelago which lies to the northwest of the northern end of Mindoro in the Philippines. The Lubang Islands are about southwest of Manila. There are seven islands in the group, The island is divided into two municipalities. ...
, Samar
Samar
Samar, formerly and also known as Western Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland...
, Palawan
Palawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, Jolo
Jolo
Jolo may refer to:* Jolo Island* Jolo, Sulu* Jolo, West Virginia* Jolo is also the nickname of Swedish author Jan Olof Olsson....
, Basilan
Basilan
The Province of Basilan is an island province of the Philippines within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Basilan is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago and is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula...
, Tablas
Tablas Island
Tablas is the largest of the islands that comprise the province of Romblon in the Philippines.Odiongan, on the west central coast of the island, is a major port and the largest municipality of Romblon in terms of population...
, Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
, and Negros.
His specific recommendation was in line with the one SCR-270/seven SCR-271 recommendation of the Air Defense Board just received by the War Department, and was endorsed by MacArthur on 8 September with a recommendation for funds. MacArthur was notified by wire the next day that an SCR-270 and two SCR-271s were already in transit to the Philippines by ship for use by the air warning company, with three more SCR-270s to follow in October. However by 15 November, when the AWS was integrated into the new 5th Interceptor Command, plans for the fixed-location radar sites were only five percent complete and no date to begin construction had been set. The 557th Air Warning Battalion was designated to provide the expanded early warning defense, and was at its port of embarkation at San Francisco on 6 December.
The AWS received seven SCR-270 mobile units but only two were operating on 8 December: one in full operation at Iba, Zambales
Iba, Zambales
Iba is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Zambales. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,344 people in 7,260 households....
, and a Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
unit training at Nasugbu, Batangas
Nasugbu, Batangas
Nasugbu is a 1st class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 113,926 people in 19,615 households....
. The latter was assigned to the Air Warning Detachment of the 1st Separate Marine Battalion
3rd Battalion 4th Marines
3rd Battalion, 4th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third" it is known within the battalion as "Darkside" and the radio callsigns of the command and staff reflect this moniker. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center...
in late November to provide protection to the Navy base. The Iba unit had been operating since 18 October and was fully functioning. Three Army detachments with mobile units and the Marine detachment were ordered into the field on 3 December to be in operation by 10 December. Of the Army detachments, one had just reached position at Burgos, Ilocos Norte
Burgos, Ilocos Norte
Burgos is the last town in the northwest corner of the island of Luzon. It was named after the martyred priest Jose Burgos who, together with two other clergymen, were accused of mutiny and later executed in Manila. He was born in the Ilocos Region....
, in northwest Luzon; another was at Tagaytay, Cavite, with a damaged set; and the third was newly established at Paracale, Camarines Norte
Paracale, Camarines Norte
Paracale is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 42,453 people in 8,431 households.-Barangays:Paracale is politically subdivided into 27 barangays.* Awitan...
, in southeastern Luzon, where it had just completed calibration
Calibration
Calibration is a comparison between measurements – one of known magnitude or correctness made or set with one device and another measurement made in as similar a way as possible with a second device....
tests. The two fixed-location SCR-271s were in storage.
SCR-268 radar
The SCR-268 was the US Army's first radar system. It was developed to provide accurate aiming information and used in gun laying systems and directing searchlights against aircraft....
s, a searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
-control radar that could also be used for gun laying of AA weapons.Six had been shipped to the 60th CA, three to the 200th CA, and two to the 1st Separate Marine Battalion. After the FEAF was forced to withdraw into Bataan to continue operations, its primitive fields were subject to frequent attack from Luzon-based aircraft of the Japanese Army. An SCR-268 of the 200th Coast Artillery was placed in operation on the hillside above Cabcaben Airfield. Used in conjunction with the sole surviving SCR-270B unit,The radar set of the Marine detachment was the sole survivor. hidden in the jungle a mile from Bataan Field, it served as an early warning system and was linked to headquarters of the 5th Interceptor Command at Mariveles. Takeoffs and landings by the Bataan Field Flying Detachment required towing of P-40s off the runways to and from hidden revetments, and were vulnerable to strafing. The ad hoc system facilitated coordination of field operations, and while imperfect, no aircraft were lost during takeoffs or landings.
Operations in the Philippines
Brereton attempted in person to obtain authorization for such attacks soon after word of events in Hawaii reached Manila, but was twice prevented from speaking with MacArthur by Sutherland. An authorization to attack Formosa was refused, apparently a misinterpretation of standing orders not to make "the first overt act. P-40 squadrons at Clark, Iba, and Nichols moved to alert takeoff positions at 6:00 am as news of war spread among the units. A large force of aircraft was detected flying south towards Luzon, and at 8:30 am 15 of the 19 B-17s at Clark took off, ordered to patrol within communications range of its control tower, while the 24th Pursuit Group ordered the three P-40 squadrons on alert and the P-35 squadron at Del Carmen to patrol central Luzon for intruders. At 8:50 am and 10:00 am, telephone attempts to obtain authorization from USAFFE headquarters for a B-17 attack was also rebuffed by Sutherland. However MacArthur himself called Brereton at 10:15 am and released the bomber force to employ at his discretion. Brereton immediately ordered two bombers to conduct reconnaissance flights and recalled the rest to prepare for a late afternoon bombing mission. They and the P-40s, low on fuel, all landed by 11:00 am to refuel and prepare for afternoon operations.
Japanese naval bombers and fighters took off according to their revised schedule and approached Luzon in two separated forces, both of which were detected by the Iba radar detachment just before 11:30 am. Despite this hour's warning, only the P-40 squadron at Iba took off, and it ran low on fuel in futile responses to confusing instructions from the 24th PG as it altered its analysis of Japanese intents. The remainder of the aircraft at Clark and Iba were caught on the ground when the Japanese attack began at 12:35 pm. 107 two-engined bombers80 Mitsubishi G4M (Navy Type 1) "Betty"
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
and 27 Mitsubishi G3M (Navy Type 96) "Nell"
Mitsubishi G3M
The Mitsubishi G3M was a Japanese bomber used during World War II.-Design and development:...
. divided into two equal forces bombed the airfields first, after which 90 Zero fighters conducted strafing attacks until 1:25 pm (the fighters strafing Iba concluded at 1:05 pm, after which they flew to Clark and resumed attacks). Nearly the entire B-17 force, one-third of the U.S. fighters, and its only operational radar unit were destroyed. The Japanese lost only seven fighters and a single bomber to combat.The Japanese also lost three "Claude" carrier fighters and a "Kate" attack bomber in its attacks at Mindanao.
Followup attacks on Nichols, Nielson, and Del Carmen fields followed in the next two days, destroying both the offensive and defensive operational capability of the FEAF, and a decision was made late on 10 December to save the surviving fighters for reconnaissance and avoid direct combat. Fourteen surviving B-17s, after just three days of small and unsuccessful attacks on Japanese amphibious forces, were transferred to Batchelor Field, Australia, for maintenance between 17 and 20 December, bringing Clagett with them. Brereton evacuated FEAF headquarters on 24 December to Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
by way of the Netherlands East Indies, leaving the new head of the 5th Interceptor Command, Col. Harold H. George (promoted to brigadier general 25 January 1942) in command of units in the Philippines. Reduced to a single squadron-sized composite force, his pursuit fighters were carefully husbanded for reconnaissance duties and forbidden to engage in combat until forced to evacuate to fields hurriedly built on the Bataan peninsula, to which the entire USAFFE withdrew by 6 January 1942.
Combat and accidents reduced but did not eliminate the P-40 complement, and a muster of approximately a dozen pursuit pilots, called the "Bataan Field Flying Detachment," continued to fly missions until the last day of the campaign, employing mainly 30-pound fragmentation bombs and machine gun fire as ordnance. Four of the six P-40s sent to Del Monte on 8 January were recalled to Bataan two weeks later, but only three arrived, leaving the detachment still with just seven P-40Es and two P-40Bs.The Japanese Army by 22 January had 36 Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Army Type 97) "Ann"
Mitsubishi Ki-30
|-See also:-External links:* *...
dive bombers, 11 Nakajima Ki-27 (Army Type 97) "Nate"
Nakajima Ki-27
The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligence had reserved that name for the nonexistent Mitsubishi Navy...
fighters, and 15 Mitsubishi Ki-15 (Army Type 97) "Babs"
Mitsubishi Ki-15
The was a Japanese reconnaissance aircraft and a light attack bomber of the Second Sino-Japanese War and Pacific War. It began as a fast civilian mail plane. It was a single-engine, low-wing, cantilever monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage; it carried a crew of two. It served with both...
reconnaissance aircraft based near Bataan. The small detachment, gradually attrited, had a few notable successes:
- 26 January 1942, morning missions strafed boats attempting to reinforce Japanese landings behind the USAFFE lines on the west coast of Bataan, and shot down three Mitsubishi Ki-30 (Army Type 97) "Ann"Mitsubishi Ki-30|-See also:-External links:* *...
dive bombers trying to support the landings. That night the detachment conducted a successful attack on Japanese aircraft at Nielson Field, then shot up a truck convoy on the north shore of Manila Bay. - 1–2 February 1942, a night attack by four P-40s flying two sorties each bombed and strafed a 13-barge convoy attempting to delivery 700 reinforcements to the Japanese beachheads, destroying nine and killing approximately half the troops aboard, confirmed later by Japanese records.
- 2 March 1942, an all-day attack on shipping in Subic BaySubic BaySubic Bay is a bay forming part of Luzon Sea on the west coast of the island of Luzon in Zambales, Philippines, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila Bay. Its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility named U.S...
and supply dumps on Grande IslandFort WintFort Wint was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bays built by the Philippine Department of the United States Army between 1907 and 1920 in response to recommendations of the Taft Board prior to the non-fortification clause of the Washington Naval Treaty...
resulted in 12 sorties. Claims included total destruction of an ammunition ship, but Japanese records could not be located to corroborate more than a subchaser sunk. However apparently extensive damage to at least four large ships was made. Four of the five remaining P-40s were used in the attacks, with one shot down and its pilot killed, and two others destroyed in landing accidents at Mariveles.
A single flyable P-40E remained at Bataan Field, although by 5 March mechanics had repaired the damaged P-40B at Cabcaben using P-40E parts, facetiously calling the composite a "P-40 something". Occasional individual reconnaissance flights were made in the following month by the two craft.Only six sorties were flown between 3 and 27 March, at which time flight surgeons instituted a nutrition "training table" for 25 pilots of three full meals a day. Missions resumed 2 April. Brig. Gen. George was evacuated by PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
on 11 March, ending the effective usefulness of the detachment, whose pilots were severely debilitated by starvation and disease. Churchill eventually succeeded to nominal command 12 days before the surrender, but was unable to evacuate and became a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
.
Accidents put all three P-40s based on Mindanao out of commission by 9 February, leaving just two P-35s that had escaped from Bataan. Transfer of a propeller put a P-40 back in commission two days later, and shipment to Cebu by submarine of parts taken from wrecks on Bataan put another back in operation by mid-March, when a fire destroyed one of them on the ground. Three new P-40Es, still in crates, were shipped from Brisbane, Australia, by blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
on 22 February but ran aground on 9 March on a reef between Bohol
Bohol
Bohol is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, consisting of Bohol Island and 75 minor surrounding islands. Its capital is Tagbilaran City. With a land area of and a coastline long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines...
and Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
. Carefully hidden and moved by barge at night, the crates reached Mindanao on 26 March, where a makeshift air depot had been established in a coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
grove at Buenavista Airfield
Butuan City
The City of Butuan is the regional center of Caraga, serving as an administrative region of the Philippines; it is a highly urbanized city. It is located at the northeastern part of Agusan Valley, Mindanao, sprawling across the Agusan River. It is bounded to the north, west and south by Agusan del...
using mechanics of the 19th Bomb Group and the 440th Ordnance Company. By 2 April, all three P-40s were assembled and flight-tested, making the Mindanao P-40 force twice as large as that on Bataan.
The two P-40s on Bataan both flew out on 8 April, the P-40E to Iloilo City
Iloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...
on Panay
Panay
Panay may refer to*Panay Island*Panay *Panay, Capiz*Panay River*Panay Gulf* USS Panay *Panay incident...
, where it landed wheels up, and the P-40B to Cebu. The two P-35s on Mindanao flew to Bataan Field on 4 April, and they also evacuated three pursuit pilots in their baggage compartments. A Navy Grumman J2F Duck
Grumman J2F Duck
|-Popular culture:* A J2F Duck was used in the 1971 film Murphy's War, which includes a spectacular three-minute rough water takeoff scene along with numerous flying and aerobatic sequences...
that the 20th Pursuit Squadron raised from Mariveles Bay and placed in service again on 24 March evacuated five officers.Those rescued included Filipino Col. Carlos Romulo. One of the P-35As landed wheels up just off a beach on Leyte
Leyte
Leyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
. Bataan surrendered the next morning. The P-40B reached Mindanao but crashed on 14 April trying to land at Del Monte No. 3 in a heavy rain. The three new P-40Es and the sole remaining P-35 operated out of Maramag Field in central Mindanao until 3 May. The P-35 was transferred to the Philippine Army Air Corps and two surviving P-40Es were ultimately captured intact by the Japanese army on 12 May.
Against the overall loss from all causes of 108 P-40s and 25 P-35s, FEAF pilots were credited by USAF Historical Study No. 85, USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, with 35 aerial victories between 8 December 1941 and 12 April 1942.The total includes two victories credited to the 6th Pursuit Squadron, PAAC. 33 pursuit pilots were killed in the campaign and 83 surrendered to become prisoners of war, with 49 of those dying in captivity. 95% of enlisted men became POWs, and 61% of those died before they could be repatriated.The figures are for the 1,144 enlisted men of the 5th Interceptor Command, but are representative of the FEAF as a whole.
Operations in the Netherlands East Indies
On 29 December 1941, Brereton and his small staff arrived in Darwin, where his only combat forces were 14 B-17s of the 19th Bomb Group that had come south from Del Monte, and reestablished FEAF headquarters. By 1 January 1942, eleven of the bombers had been shifted northwest to Singosari AirfieldJuanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport , is an airport located in Sidoarjo, a small town near Surabaya, East Java. This airport serves Surabaya and surrounding areas. Juanda International Airport is operated by PT Angkasa Pura I. The airport takes its name after Djuanda Kartawidjaja, the last Prime Minister...
on Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. The 19th BG flew its next combat mission on 4 January against Japanese shipping off Davao
Davao
Davao refers to several closely related places in Mindanao in the Philippines. The term is used most often to refer to the city.*Davao Region, an administrative region*Davao del Norte province*Davao del Sur province*Davao Oriental province...
, utilizing Samarinda Airfield
Temindung Airport
Temindung Airport is an airport in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia . Soon, it will be replaced with the new Sungai Siring Airport which is located outside of the city.-Airlines and destinations:...
, Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, as a staging base, but on 11 January, when the first aircraft of the 7th Bomb Group arrived, FEAF conducted its operations solely for the defense of the Netherlands East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. FEAF became a part of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...
created to unify forces in the defense of the NEI. On 18 January, FEAF headquarters moved to Bandoeng.
The Pensacola convoy for the Philippines was diverted on 13 December to Brisbane, where it disembarked its Air Corps personnel on 23 December, then continued to Darwin with field artillery reinforcements on 29 December. The pursuit and partially trained pilots began training as assembly of the crated aircraft went forward at Archerfield
Archerfield Airport
Archerfield Airport is a small airport located 7 1/2 miles at Archerfield in the south west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. For some time it was the primary airport in Brisbane. During World War II it was used as a Royal Australian Air Force station. Airport traffic peaked in the 1980s...
and Amberley
RAAF Base Amberley
RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force base located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland and southwest of Brisbane. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron and No. 6 Squadron , No. 33 Squadron and No. 36 Squadron...
airdromes. 21 pilots of the 27th Bomb Group and 17 from the 24th Pursuit Group were flown to Australia in the last two weeks of December to ferry back the aircraft, but no engine coolant had been sent for the fighters and the guns of the dive bombers were missing key electrical and mounting components, hampering not only reinforcement of FEAF but limiting flight training of the new pilots. The President Garfield, 500 miles at sea en route to Honolulu, reversed course after receiving word that war had begun in Hawaii and returned to San Francisco. The USAT President Polk, a cargo liner impressed into service as an Army transport, embarked 55 P-40s, an equal number of pilots and ground crews gathered from four groups based in California (including 27 pilots off the President Garfield), and sailed without escort on 18 December, reaching Brisbane on 13 January 1942. There the President Polk embarked the ground echelons of two squadrons of the 7th Bomb Group (based at Jogjakarta) and continued to Java, escorted by the heavy cruiser USS Houston
USS Houston (CA-30)
USS Houston , nicknamed the "Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast", was a Northampton-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy...
, arriving in Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
on 28 January.
By mid-January, Japanese advances southward cut the anticipated aircraft ferry routes to the Philippines and reinforcement was no longer feasible. Instead, using aircraft and personnel at hand, provisional fighter squadrons were organized in Brisbane to assist the Royal Netherlands Indies Air Force
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force was the air arm of the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army in the Dutch East Indies from 1939 until 1950...
(ML-KNIL) in defending the NEI. The 17th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) was established on 14 January, and 13 of its 17 pilots had previously been with the 24th PG. With 17 P-40s delivered by the Pensacola convoy (assembly of the 18th could not be completed because of a lack of parts), it flew across northern Australia from Brisbane to Darwin, then to Java via Penfoie Airdrome at Koepang
Kupang
Not to be confused with Tanjung Kupang in JohoreKupang is the provincial capital of East Nusa Tenggara province in southeast Indonesia....
and Den Pasar Field on Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
between 16 and 25 January. Only 12 Warhawks arrived at the designated FEAF fighter base at Ngoro Field
Mojokerto
Mojokerto is one of the districts in East Java Province, Indonesia. It is located 40 km southwest of Surabaya, and constitutes one of the regional units of Gerbangkertosusila Development .-Geographic...
, the others lost to accidents, combat, and pilot illness.Also known as Blimbing, Ngoro Field had been an emergency strip first used in 1939. The ML-KNIL upgraded it to a full fighter strip and camouflaged it so expertly it was not discovered by the Japanese until the final day of the campaign. The 20th Pursuit Squadron (Provisional), incorporating pilots of the 35th PG, took off from Darwin in 25 P-40s on 2 February, but only 17 reached Java, the remainder shot down over Bali or damaged on the ground by air raids. Likewise, 25 P-40s of the 3rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) departed Brisbane, but because of accidents involving novice pilots, only 18 reached Darwin on 8 February. Just nine eventually reinforced Ngoro; an entire flight of eight was lost when it exhausted its fuel after its LB-30 navigation guide aircraft became lost in a storm trying to find Koepang. Survivors of both the 3rd and 20th provisional squadrons were integrated into the 17th PS. The 33rd Pursuit Squadron (Provisional) was en route to Java at Darwin when it was nearly annihilated by a Japanese air raid on 19 February. Of 83 P-40s assembled and flown from Brisbane, only 37 arrived at Ngoro Field, and by 15 February less than 20 could be mustered for operations.
The 91st Bombardment Squadron was re-manned in Brisbane with pilots from the 27th BG, and dispatched eleven A-24s to Java on 11 February, but the Japanese threat to Timor prevented the other two squadrons of the 27th from following. Inadequate facilities at its new airfield near Malang
Malang
Malang is the second largest city in East Java province, Indonesia. It has an ancient history dating back to the Mataram Kingdom. The city population at the 2010 Census was 819,708. During the period of Dutch colonization, it was a popular destination for European residents. The city is famous for...
delayed maintenance of the dive bombers and prevented their operational use until 19 February. 32 assembled P-40s were collected at Maylands Airfield
Maylands, Western Australia
Maylands is a suburb located approximately northeast of Perth centred on the Midland railway line and located on the northern bank of the Swan River....
near Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, towed to Fremantle
Fremantle
Freemantle is a suburb of Southampton in England.Fremantle or Freemantle may also refer to:- Places :* Fremantle, the port city to the capital Perth, Western Australia...
on the night of 19–20 February, and loaded on the flight deck of the seaplane tender
Seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a ship that provides facilities for operating seaplanes. These ships were the first aircraft carriers and appeared just before the First World War.-History:...
USS Langley
USS Langley (CV-1)
USS Langley was the United States Navy's first aircraft carrier, converted in 1920 from the collier USS Jupiter , and also the U.S. Navy's first electrically propelled ship...
. The Langley sailed at noon 23 February for Java and all the aircraft were lost when it was sunk on 27 February. 31 of the 33 pilots of the 13th and 33rd Pursuit Squadrons (Provisional) also perished. The next day 27 other P-40s destined for the 51st Pursuit Group
51st Operations Group
The 51st Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 51st Fighter Wing, stationed at Osan Air Base, South Korea....
and shipped in crates on the freighter MS Sea Witch were destroyed in Tjilatjap harbor to keep them from being captured by the Japanese.
Evacuations of personnel from Java and diversion of resources to India and Australia began 20 February. By 24 February only ten heavy bombers, four A-24 dive bombers, and 13 P-40 fighters remained flyable against Japanese forces. ABDA Command was officially dissolved the next day. The ground echelons of both heavy bomb groups began evacuation by sea on 25 February, while the bombers, carrying up to 20 passengers each, made daily six-hour flights to Broome, Western Australia
Broome, Western Australia
Broome is a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The year round population is approximately 14,436, growing to more than 45,000 per month during the tourist season...
, an intermediate evacuation point for all aircraft fleeing Java. Malang/Singosari closed on 28 February and Jogjakarta the next night, following the final bomber sorties. 260 men, including the remnants of the 17th Pursuit Squadron, were evacuated by five B-17s and three LB-30s. 35 passengers crammed the final LB-30 that took off at 12:30 am of 2 March. On 3 March, nine Japanese fighters attacked Broome
Attack on Broome
The town of Broome, Western Australia was attacked by Japanese fighter planes on 3 March 1942, during World War II. At least 88 people were killed....
, destroying two of the evacuated B-17s.
Of 61 heavy bombers based on Java, only 23 escaped: 17 B-17Es, three LB-30s, and three of the original B-17Ds of the 19th BG. Only six had been lost in aerial combat, but at least 20 were destroyed on the ground by Japanese attacks. Every fighter (39) and dive bomber (11) that arrived on Java was destroyed. Against these losses, the provisional pursuit squadrons were credited with the destruction of 45 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat.Edmunds credits 46. However, Bartsch states that only eight aerial victories by the provisional squadrons can be substantiated. Heavy bombers had flown over sixty missions and at least 300 bomber sorties, but 40% of the bombers turned back or otherwise failed to find their targets. Brereton's evacuation to India on 23 February 1942 effectively ended existence of the Far East Air Force, which had been re-designated "5 Air Force" on 5 February. Its headquarters was not re-manned until 18 September 1942 in Australia, when it was designated Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
.
Strength of the FEAF, 8 December 1941
SOURCES: AAF Historical Study No.34, Army Air Forces in the War Against Japan, 1941–1942 and Bartsch, 8 December Appendix COrder of battle
- 5th Bomber Command
- 19th Bomb Group (Heavy) (Headquarters, Clark Field, collectively, 4 B-17C, 15 B-17D, 10 B-18)
The B-17s were distributed eight to a squadron, with three attached to the group headquarters squadron. Four of the B-18s were assigned to Headquarters Squadron, and the others to the 28th BS.- 14th Bomb Squadron (Del Monte Field No. 1Del Monte FieldDel Monte Field was a heavy bomber capable airfield located on Mindanao in the Philippines. The airfield was located in a meadow of a Del Monte Corporation pineapple plantation.-Overview:...
, 6 December; 1 B-17C, 7 B-17D) - 28th Bomb Squadron (Clark Field)
- 30th Bomb Squadron (Clark Field)
- 93rd Bomb Squadron (Del Monte Field No. 1, 6 December; 1 B-17C, 7 B-17D)
- 14th Bomb Squadron (Del Monte Field No. 1
- 5th Air Base Group (Del Monte No. 1, 2 B-18)
- 27th Bomb Group (Light) (without assigned aircraft, 3 B-18 attached for training)
- 16th Bomb Squadron (Fort McKinleyFort William McKinleyFort William McKinley, was established in the Philippines during the Philippine–American War in 1901 when the whole land south of Pasig River down to Alabang was declared a U.S. Military Reservation. During the World War II era, it was where USAFFE had its headquarters for the Philippine Department...
) - 17th Bomb Squadron (San Fernando Auxiliary Field)
- 91st Bomb Squadron (San Marcelino Auxiliary Field)
- 16th Bomb Squadron (Fort McKinley
- 10th Bombardment Squadron (Light), Philippine Army Air Corps (Maniquis Field)
- 19th Bomb Group (Heavy) (Headquarters, Clark Field, collectively, 4 B-17C, 15 B-17D, 10 B-18)
- 5th Interceptor Command
- 24th Pursuit Group (Headquarters, Clark Field)
- Headquarters Squadron (Clark Field)
- 3rd Pursuit Squadron (Iba FieldIba, ZambalesIba is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Zambales. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,344 people in 7,260 households....
) - 17th Pursuit Squadron (Nichols FieldNichols FieldNichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay City and Parañaque City, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. During the World War II era, it was the location of the Far East Air Force's U.S. 20th Air Base Group. Also, based here was Troop F of the U.S. 26th Cavalry...
) - 20th Pursuit Squadron (Clark Field)
- 21st Pursuit Squadron (attached, Nichols Field)
- 34th Pursuit Squadron (attached, Del Carmen Field)
- 6th Pursuit Squadron, Philippine Army Air Corps (Zablon Field)
- 24th Pursuit Group (Headquarters, Clark Field)
- 2nd Observation Squadron (Nichols Field, 2 O-46A, 3 O-49, 11 O-52)
(35th Pursuit Group headquarters never arrived in the Philippines and is not listed for that reason.)
Support units and personnel
The August strength of "Air Force USSAFE" was 2,049 enlisted troops under the command of 254 officers. Final FEAF peacetime strength is disputed. One source stated that, as of 30 November, its strength was 5,609: 669 officers and 4,940 enlisted troops. Another put the 7 December strength as 8,100. The Philippine Army Air Corps constituted another 1,500 members, with units at Maniquis Field (Cabanatuan), Zablon Field (Manila), and an auxiliary strip at Batangas, all on Luzon; and a detachment at Lahug on Cebu.The numbers in italicized brackets indicate the number of personnel, as of 30 November.
- Headquarters, Far East Air Force (147)
- Far East Air Service Command (237)
- Philippine Air Depot
- 5th Air Base Group (204)
- 20th Air Base Group (584)
- 200th Coast Artillery Regiment (Antiaircraft) (Mobile) (1,809)
- 803d Engineer Battalion, Aviation (Separate)
- 7th Materiel Squadron, 19th Bomb Group
- 48th Materiel Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group (216)
- 440th Ordnance Company (Bombardment)
- 701st Ordnance Company (Air Base)
- Other units
- Tow Target detachment (49)
- Weather detachment (20)
- Chemical Warfare detachment (180)
- Air Warning Service, 5th Interceptor Command
- Signal Company (Air Warning, Philippines) (194)
- Iba detachment
- Paracale detachment (deploying)
- Tagatay detachment (deployed but not operational)
- Burgos detachment (deployed but not operational)
- U.S. Marine detachment (36)The detachment moved to Wawa Beach near Nasugbu on 4 December using trucks borrowed from the Philippine Army because it had no prime mover or tractors of its own. On 10 December it detected the midday raid conducted by the Japanese against Nichols Field and Cavite, and attempted to provide early warning. It was unable to raise its own unit at Sangley Point and could not persuade Army operators on Corregidor to acknowledge the transmission. The detachment moved inland to avoid Japanese landing parties seeking it, and on Christmas Eve began movement to Orani Field on Bataan, where it set up on 8 January. When Japanese advances forced Orani Field to close, the detachment moved south to its final position at Bataan Field, resuming operations on 3 February.
- Signal Company (Air Warning, Philippines) (194)