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Attack on Clark Field
The attack on Clark Field (Filipino: Paglusob sa Kampo ng Clark; Kapampangan: Lusuban king Kampo ning Clark) was part of a series of morning airstrikes on United States Pacific island military bases opening Japanese participation in World War II. The attack was intended to minimize interference from the Far East Air Force (FEAF) during the subsequent invasion of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan. Capture of the Philippines was essential to control shipping routes between Japan and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Hostilities were initiated by the attack on Pearl Harbor at 07:48 Hawaiian Time (UTC−10:30) on 7 December 1941.
At the same time as the attack on Clark field, a smaller fighter base at Iba in Luzon was also bombed.
As dawn moved westward across the Pacific (and the International Date Line), daylight airstrikes followed at mid-day (UTC+12) on Wake Island, at 09:27 (UTC+10) on Guam, at 06:00 (UTC+8) on Davao, at 09:30 (UTC+8) on Baguio and at 12:35 (UTC+8) on Clark Field. 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 general Douglas 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.
In contrast, there was no official investigation of events in the Philippines.
Manila was the United States forward military base in the Pacific, with strategic significance comparable to Singapore for the British Empire. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur commanded United 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 the bombers expected to provide offensive airstrike capability under the Rainbow 5 war plan. Fighter aircraft expected to provide defensive cover could use Clark Field or satellite airfields including Nichols Field and Nielson Field to the southeast, Iba Airfield to the west, and Del Carmen Airfield to the south.
FEAF also protected Naval Base Cavite serving as the home port for the cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and flying boats of the Asiatic Fleet.
FEAF with headquarters at Neilson Field was under the command of Major General Lewis H. Brereton, who was required to report to MacArthur through MacArthur's chief of staff, Brigadier General Richard K. Sutherland. At the time of the attack, FEAF had more planes than the Hawaiian Department protecting Pearl Harbor. The fleet of 35 Boeing 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 use Del Monte Airfield in southern Mindanao where military personnel lived and worked in tents on a pineapple plantation.
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 91 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, 26 Seversky P-35 fighters, 18 Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers, 12 Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters, 11 Curtiss O-52 Owl observation planes, 2 Douglas O-46 observation planes, 8 North American A-27 ground attack aircraft, and 3 Martin B-10 bombers. and title= December 8, 1941 MacArthur's Pearl Harbor. publisher=Texas A&M University Press| appendix C | year=2003.
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Attack on Clark Field
The attack on Clark Field (Filipino: Paglusob sa Kampo ng Clark; Kapampangan: Lusuban king Kampo ning Clark) was part of a series of morning airstrikes on United States Pacific island military bases opening Japanese participation in World War II. The attack was intended to minimize interference from the Far East Air Force (FEAF) during the subsequent invasion of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan. Capture of the Philippines was essential to control shipping routes between Japan and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Hostilities were initiated by the attack on Pearl Harbor at 07:48 Hawaiian Time (UTC−10:30) on 7 December 1941.
At the same time as the attack on Clark field, a smaller fighter base at Iba in Luzon was also bombed.
As dawn moved westward across the Pacific (and the International Date Line), daylight airstrikes followed at mid-day (UTC+12) on Wake Island, at 09:27 (UTC+10) on Guam, at 06:00 (UTC+8) on Davao, at 09:30 (UTC+8) on Baguio and at 12:35 (UTC+8) on Clark Field. 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 general Douglas 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.
In contrast, there was no official investigation of events in the Philippines.
Manila was the United States forward military base in the Pacific, with strategic significance comparable to Singapore for the British Empire. Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur commanded United 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 the bombers expected to provide offensive airstrike capability under the Rainbow 5 war plan. Fighter aircraft expected to provide defensive cover could use Clark Field or satellite airfields including Nichols Field and Nielson Field to the southeast, Iba Airfield to the west, and Del Carmen Airfield to the south.
FEAF also protected Naval Base Cavite serving as the home port for the cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and flying boats of the Asiatic Fleet.
FEAF with headquarters at Neilson Field was under the command of Major General Lewis H. Brereton, who was required to report to MacArthur through MacArthur's chief of staff, Brigadier General Richard K. Sutherland. At the time of the attack, FEAF had more planes than the Hawaiian Department protecting Pearl Harbor. The fleet of 35 Boeing 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 use Del Monte Airfield in southern Mindanao where military personnel lived and worked in tents on a pineapple plantation.
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 91 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters, 26 Seversky P-35 fighters, 18 Douglas B-18 Bolo bombers, 12 Boeing P-26 Peashooter fighters, 11 Curtiss O-52 Owl observation planes, 2 Douglas O-46 observation planes, 8 North American A-27 ground attack aircraft, and 3 Martin B-10 bombers. and title= December 8, 1941 MacArthur's Pearl Harbor. publisher=Texas A&M University Press| appendix C | year=2003.