Del Monte Airfield

Del Monte Field (active 1941–1942) was a heavy bomber airfield of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) of the United States Army Air Forces, located in Mindanao in the Philippines. The airfield was located in a meadow of a Del Monte Corporation pineapple plantation.

Del Monte Airfield was first selected in September 1941 as an emergency landing strip on Mindanao, capable of landing four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers during the May to October wet season. It was built on a natural meadow on the Del Monte Pineapple Corporation plantation along the Sayre Highway, in the municipality of Maluko (now Manolo Fortich) of Bukidnon Province in northern Mindanao. The población of the rural municipality was nearby. The airfield was established as part of the build-up of United States military forces in the Philippines due to the rising tensions with the Empire of Japan.

In mid-November 1941, with the creation of the FEAF, General Douglas MacArthur approved the expansion of Del Monte into a heavy bomber base for the 7th Bombardment Group, projected to arrive in early December. His plans, MacArthur told the Chief of Staff on 29 November, called ultimately for more bomber bases in the Visayas to accommodate three additional groups, but since funds for construction of runways for such bases could not be immediately allocated, he agreed to use the field at Del Monte.

On 21 November Col. Harold H. George, acting in place of FEAF commander Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton while he was in Australia trying to arrange support bases for his air force, sent the newly arrived 5th Air Base Group to Del Monte in two inter-island steamers to hurry construction. Work on the field was rushed and by 5 December it was able to accommodate heavy bombers.

Two runways were built: No. 1 (main runway) and No. 2 (pursuit). A golf course was used as a third auxiliary strip. Additional dispersal airstrips were built over the next few months at Dalirig near Del Monte, Malaybalay, Maramag, and Valencia.

On the morning of 4 December, after the only operational FEAF radar site detected Japanese weather reconnaissance flights on several successive nights, MacArthur's headquarters ordered the 19th BG to be moved out of range of direct attack. However Brereton decided to send only half of the 35 B-17s at Clark Field to Del Monte because the latter could accommodate only six squadrons and the 7th BG was expected to arrive soon.

Orders were issued on 5 December to move the 16 B-17s of the 14th and 93d Bombardment Squadrons from Clark to Del Monte. Since there were no barracks built at Del Monte yet, and intending to remain only 72 hours, the bombers were filled with tents, cots, blankets and rations. The men also took only what they needed, some toiletries and a few changes of uniform. The aircraft flew down singly on the night of 5–6 December, circling at the end of their 4-hour flight before being permitted to land at dawn (5 December in the United States) at Del Monte No. 1, just completed the day before. Materiel to support the arrival of the 7th BG was not scheduled to leave Luzon until 10 December.

On 8 December, the initial Japanese attack on Clark Field caught most of the remainder of the 19th Bombardment Group on the ground. The bomber and fighter sweeps on the field destroyed most of the aircraft. In the ensuing Battle of the Philippines (1942) and after the destruction of Clark and Nichols Fields on Luzon in the first days of the war, the Japanese flew extensive reconnaissance missions to discover the remaining American aircraft in the Philippines. They had been unable to find the Del Monte field, but it was only a question of time before this last haven would be discovered and destroyed as were the airfields on Luzon. Moreover, it was becoming increasingly difficult to service the B-17s with the inadequate facilities at Del Monte. There were no spare parts, engines, or propellers for the B-17s in the Philippines; damaged B-17s had to be cannibalized to keep the bombers flying. The only tools were those in the possession of the crews. The men who worked on the planes all night often got no rest the next day because of air alerts. On some days the heavy bombers had to remain aloft during the daylight hours to avoid destruction on the ground. They dodged back and forth between Mindanao and Luzon, playing a game of hide-and-seek that wore out men as well as planes.