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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. Overview 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 Japanese Empire.Edmonds, Walter D. ''They Fought With What They Had: The Story of the Army Air Forces in the Southwes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Far East Air Force (United States)
The Far East Air Force (FEAF) was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Air Force. Initially the Far East Air Force also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps. Outnumbered operationally more than three-to-one by aircraft of the Japanese Navy and Army, FEAF was largely destroyed during the Philippines Campaign of 1941–42. When 14 surviving B-17 Flying Fortresses and 143 personnel of the heavy bombardment force were withdrawn from Mindanao to Darwin, Australia in the third week of December 1941, Headquarters FEAF followed it within days. The B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction.Two B-18s used as transports and the Philippine Air Depot C-39, used to evacuate personnel from Mindanao ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
