| Attack on Clark Field | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theAsia and the Pacific Theater ofWorld War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Japan | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Douglas MacArthurLewis H. Brereton Manuel L. Quezon Basilio J. Valdez |  Nishizō Tsukahara | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 35 bombers 117 fighters ~155 older aircraft 15,000 U.S. & Filipino troops | 108 bombers 84 fighters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 12 B-17 40 P-40 ~50 older aircraft 80 killed 150 wounded | 7 aircraft shot down | ||||||
Theattack on Clark Field (Filipino:Paglusob sa Kampo ng Clark;Kapampangan:Lusuban king Kampo ning Clark) was part of a series of morningairstrikes onUnited States Pacific island military bases opening Japanese participation inWorld War II. The attack was intended to minimize interference from theFar East Air Force (FEAF) during the subsequentinvasion of thePhilippines by theEmpire of Japan. Capture of the Philippines was essential to control shipping routes between Japan and theGreater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Hostilities were initiated by theattack on Pearl Harbor at 07:48Hawaiian Time (UTC−10:30) on 7 December 1941.[1]
At the same time as the attack on Clark field, a smaller fighter base atIba in Luzon was also bombed.[2]
As dawn moved westward across the Pacific (and theInternational Date Line), daylight airstrikes followed at mid-day (UTC+12) onWake Island, at 09:27 (UTC+10) onGuam, at 06:00 (UTC+8) onDavao, at 09:30 (UTC+8) onBaguio and at 12:35 (UTC+8) onClark Field.[1]United States Army Air Forces aircraft losses on the ground in the Philippines were similar to those sustained on Oahu despite nine hours available for preparations following the Pearl Harbor attack; but commanding generalDouglas MacArthur and other senior commanders avoided the disgrace suffered by Hawaiian commanders, who were relieved of command and forced into retirement after an official investigation.[3]
In contrast, there was no official investigation of events in the Philippines.[3]
Manila was the United States forward military base in the Pacific, with strategic significance comparable toSingapore for theBritish Empire. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur commandedUnited States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) from headquarters in Manila. MacArthur's command included ground forces and the FEAF. Clark Field was the primary air base for thebombers expected to provide offensive airstrike capability under theRainbow 5 war plan.Fighter aircraft expected to provide defensive cover could use Clark Field or satellite airfields includingNichols Field andNielson Field to the southeast,Iba Airfield to the west, andDel Carmen Airfield to the south.[4]
FEAF also protectedNaval Base Cavite serving as the home port for thecruisers,destroyers,submarines, andflying boats of theAsiatic Fleet.[5]
FEAF with headquarters at Neilson Field was under the command of Major GeneralLewis H. Brereton, who was required to report to MacArthur through MacArthur's chief of staff, Brigadier GeneralRichard K. Sutherland. At the time of the attack, FEAF had more planes than theHawaiian Department protecting Pearl Harbor. The fleet of 35Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers was the largest number assigned to any army air force. Clark Field was the primary base for the B-17s, where these heavy planes were stored without camouflage on ramps lest they become mired in the undrained soft soil surrounding those graded surfaces. B-17s could also useDel Monte Airfield in southernMindanao where military personnel lived and worked in tents on a pineapple plantation.[4]
Aircraft at Del Monte were beyond the range of land-based Japanese bombers but were similarly unable to reach Japanese targets. In addition to the B-17s, FEAF aircraft inventory on 8 December included 107Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters,[4] 26Seversky P-35 fighters, 18Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers, 12Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters, 11Curtiss O-52 Owl observation planes, 2Douglas O-46 observation planes, 8North American A-27 ground attack aircraft, and 3Martin B-10 bombers.[6]
Local time chronology (UTC+8):[4]
At 12:35 ahorizontal bombing run at 20,000 feet (6,100 m) by 26 Mitsubishi G3M bombers and 27 Mitsubishi G4M bombers released 636 60-kilogram (130 lb) bombs over Clark Field. These planes were above the range of Clark Field anti-aircraft guns.[9] As the bombers departed 34 Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters strafed undamaged planes on the ground at Clark Field. Seven minutes later, 53 Mitsubishi G4M bombers dropped 486 60-kilogram (130 lb) bombs and 26 250-kilogram (550 lb) bombs on Iba Field, followed by 51 strafing Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters. Destruction at Iba Field was so complete the Zeros flew on to Clark Field to find targets for their remaining ammunition.[6]
Of the seventeen B-17s on the ground at Clark Field, twelve were destroyed, four were damaged, and one escaped damage. Two evaded damage while on reconnaissance missions and returned after the raid. Eleven B-17s had been flown to Mindanao before the raid, and five more reached there on the day of the attack. The P-40 fighters aloft were unable to reach the altitude of the Japanese bombers, and suffered a poor exchange rate in low-altitude combat with strafing Zero fighters. Thirty-four P-40s were destroyed on the ground or in aerial combat.[9]
Older P-35 and P-26 fighters were obsolete for air-to-air combat, but were used for training, and might have been useful for observation and ground attack had they survived until the invasion.[4]
United States Army Air Forces commanding generalHenry H. Arnold called Brereton that afternoon to ask "how the hell" he was caught by surprise nine hours after receiving news of the Pearl Harbor attack.[4]Walter Short was relieved of command of the Hawaiian Department on 17 December by Army chief of staff generalGeorge C. Marshall,[11] who took no similar action against MacArthur despite remarking to a reporter a few days later: "I just don't know how MacArthur happened to let his planes get caught on the ground."[4]
.jpg)
