Del Carmen Airfield

Del Carmen Airfield is a former 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 (1942).

History

Company B, 803rd Engineer (Aviation) Battalion (Separate) began Del Carmen airfield in early November 1941. It was located to the south of Clark Field in Pampanga Province and west of Barrio Floridablanca. The airdrome was to be a sizable facility originally with three runways, each 6,780 feet long and 300 feet wide laid out in an "A" pattern—northwest-southeast (NW-SE), northeast–southwest (NE-SW), and east–west (E-W). Also on the construction list were about 100 buildings. Construction was to encompass barracks for 2,750 officers and enlisted men, both combat and support units, including one company of aviation engineers; aircraft and bomb storage warehouses; aircraft revetments, hospital and dispensary; under and above-ground storage for 750,000 gallons of gasoline, and a supporting road network. By 30 November one runway was completed and other projects were under construction. The Fifth Air Force based Seversky P-35As assigned to the 34th Pursuit Squadron, attached to the 24th Pursuit Group at the airfield prior to the Japanese air attack on the Philippines, 8 December 1941. Dust from the areas maritime and volcanic soils plagued the squadron's air operations.

On the day of the first attack by Japanese aircraft, fighters were ordered from Del Carmen to cover
Clark Field but failed to arrive before the Japanese hit Clark shortly after 1200 hours. The 34th suffered a few casualties in combat, including its commander Lt. Sam Maret, but the Japanese destroyed most of the 34th's P-35A's with a bombing and strafing attack on 10 December. An advance echelon of Company B departed Del Carmen Field for Orani, Bataan, on 20 December 1941, and the rear guard evacuated the field on 25 or 26 December. The 24th left shortly thereafter.Wonneman Diary; "Ex-Prisoner aul A. KloeckerRecalls Death March, The arasotaTimes, ca. December 1957; Pvt. Joe Poster, Interview, 24 October 1999; Pfc. Laurie Jack "Gil" Gillespie ilitary biography and map militariaforum.com; Letter, James L. Leggett, Jr., to PHILRYCOM, 26 May 1947, Subject: Work on airstrips performed by the 803rd Engineer Battalion, NARA RG407, Entry 1054, Box 11; USAFFE G-4 Journal, 4 January 1942, Subject: From Galbraith, NARA RG496, Entry 540, Box 30. Documented dates of departure from Del Carmen varied among 20, 25 December, and 26. Leggett clarified the confusion after the war in a letter to PHILRYUCOM, explaining the departure of the rear guard. See Memo, Richardson to Engineer, USAFFE, 26 December 1941, Subject: Report Requested by Telephone on 22 December 1941. After its occupation, it was used by Japanese aircraft as a satellite field for the Clark area.

After the recapture of Luzon during the Philippines Campaign (1944–45), the airfield was not used by the USAAF. It was, however, the scene of a Japanese attack on 7 December 1944 when Japanese General Yamashita ordered the entire First Airborne Brigade with two regiments to jump the American beachhead on Leyte on 6 December. Japanese paratroopers loaded into 95th Sentai Ki-49 "Helens" and Ki-57 "Topsys". They took off from Angeles South Airfield and Del Carmen Airfield. For the paratrooper drop and crash landings against the American liberated San Pablo Airfield and Buri Airfield at 1800 hours. Although the paratroopers caught the Americans by surprise, those who did reach the airfields were ineffective. The attack proved to be disorganized and an abortive effort.

See also

*Geography of the Philippines
* Military History of the Philippines
* Military History of the United States
* United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific Theatre

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .
*

The Army Air Forces in World War II, Chapter 6, Pearl Harbor and Clark Field

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Defunct airports in the Philippines
World War II airfields in the Philippines
Military history of the Philippines during World War II
Del Carmen Field
Airfields of the United States Army Air Corps during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42)
History of Pampanga