Immediately after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor, the following entries in the USAAF Combat Chronology were recorded by the Far East Air Force in the Philippines. In today’s adventure using this new Timeline plugin that I mentioned previously, I’m going with the vertical layout again, because I tried the horizontal one, and it cut off some text. Let’s dig in now with a focus around Clark Field.
To be honest, I started this post knowing very little about the Japanese attacks on Clark Field and Iba Field in the Philippines. An article that I share below, written by Sam McGowan, even refers to the events of Dec. 8th as the “Other” Pearl Harbor. There’s still so much that I don’t know, but that’s really the whole point of this website in the end. To learn and share.
This content was fascinating to research because of my personal history. I was born in the Philippines, in Cebu, and adopted as an infant. I was a very premature baby, and my parents lived in poverty their whole lives. They didn’t even have legal names because they were never issued birth certificates. Fortunately, I was born in a hospital, and surrendered to the state at birth. So, my roots are there, but my heart will forever be with my adoptive country, the United States.
Undoubtedly, though, my biological family was affected by the Japanese invasion and later, the subsequent liberation. I’ll never know how greatly the war affected my history and family tree. But, it’s certainly interesting to think about, and it makes me want to go visit again.
The Japanese attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941, was part of Japan’s broader strategy to expand its empire in the Pacific and Southeast Asia during World War II. Due to the time difference between Hawaii and the Philippines, the attack on the Philippines occurred on December 8, 1941.
The attack began with a large-scale air assault on American and Philippine military bases, primarily targeting Clark Field and Iba Airfield. American and Philippine forces were caught off guard, and the airstrikes destroyed many aircraft on the ground, severely crippling the defenders’ ability to respond.
At the time, the Philippines was a U.S. territory, and American forces were stationed there. Over the next several months, the Japanese forces slowly advanced. After the fall of Bataan, the Japanese captured Corregidor, the last major U.S. stronghold in the Philippines, on May 6, 1942. This marked the complete Japanese conquest of the Philippines, which remained under Japanese occupation until the American liberation in 1944-1945.
December 8th, 1941
Dec. 8, 1941
0330-0330
Far East Air Force (FEAF)
Between 0300-0330 local time, the first word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is received on Luzon in the Philippines by commercial radio. Within 30 minutes, radar at Iba Field plots a formation of airplanes 75 miles offshore, heading for Corregidor. Army Air Force P-40’s are sent out to intercept but make no contact.
0930-1130
Far East Air Force (FEAF)
Shortly before 0930, after Japanese aircraft are detected over Lingayen Gulf heading toward Manila, B-17’s stationed at Clark Field are ordered airborne to prevent being caught on the ground. Fighters based at Clark and Nichols Fields are sent to intercept the enemy but do not make contact. The Japanese airplanes swing east and bomb military installations at Baguio. Tarlac, Tuguegarao, and airfields at Cabantuan are also attacked.
1130-1145
Far East Air Force (FEAF)
By 1130, the B-17’s and fighters sent into the air earlier have landed at Clark and Iba for refueling, and radar has disclosed another flight of Japanese aircraft 70 mi W of Lingayen Gulf, headed south. Fighters from Iba make a fruitless search over the South China Sea. Fighters from Nichols are dispatched to patrol over Bataan and Manila. Then, around 1145, a formation is reported headed south over Lingayen Gulf. American fighters are ordered from Del Carmen to cover Clark Field, but fail to arrive before the Japanese hit Clark Field, shortly after noon.
Noon
Far East Air Force (FEAF)
Heavy bombers and many fighters at Clark Field are caught on the ground, but a few P-40’s manage to get airborne. 2d Lt Randall B Keator (20th Pursuit Squadron) shoots down the first Japanese aircraft over the Philippines. The P-40’s earlier sent on patrol of the South China Sea return to Iba Field with fuel running low at the beginning of an attack on that airfield. They fail to prevent bombing, but manage to prevent low-level strafing of the sort which proved so destructive at Clark Field.
Evening
Far East Air Force (FEAF)
At the end of the day, it is apparent that the Japanese have won a major victory. The effective striking power of Far East Air Force has been destroyed, the fighter strength has been seriously reduced, most B-17 maintenance facilities have been demolished, and about 80 Americans have been killed. In Alaska, meanwhile, bombers begin flying armed reconnaissance each morning from Anchorage to Kodiak.
Learn more about the Philippines in 1941
- Browse a website
- Buy a book
- Philippines’ Resistance: The Last Allied Stronghold in the Pacific
- Never Surrender: An American Navy Sailor’s Struggle to Survive the Japanese Attack on the Philippines and the Japanese POW Camps of WW II
- The Philippines Campaigns of World War II: The History of the Japanese Invasion in 1941-1942 and the Allied Liberation in 1944-1945