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This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
“The Wash”17 pages
P E A R L H A R B O R A N D C L A R K F I E L D With American pursuits held for reconnaissance and American bombers withdrawn to the Del Monte field on Mindanao, General MacArthur’s care to avoid a premature commitment of his forces left the enemy to continue his landing operations almost unopposed. While strengthening their beachheads at Aparri and Vigan, the Japanese made threatening gestures off the coast of southern Luzon and increased the tempo of their air offensive. O n 1 2 December, more than I O O enemy aircraft were over southern Luzon picking targets at Clark Field, Batangas, and Olongapo. The same points were hit again on the following day, with the addition of destructive attacks on Niel- son and Nichols fields. In spite of orders to avoid battle, American and Filipino pilots at times attempted interception. Thus on the I 3th, Capt. Jesus Villamor led six ancient P-26’s in interception of some fifty-four attacking bombers; the harassing tactics of the Filipino flyers mini- mized damage to their Batangas field.’5 But such sporadic efforts proved of only momentary and local significance. Planned combat missions during the period from I o to I 8 December were few. O n the 12th Major Combs carried out a single-plane mission against enemy transports at Vigan. No hits were scored. O n 14 Decem- ber six B-17’s were scheduled for a bombing attack on a Japanese bridgehead near Legaspi in southern Luzon, but only three of the bombers, piloted by Lieutenants Wheless, Adams, and Vandevanter, reached the target. Of these, Wheless’ plane became separated from the others in low-hanging clouds over Mindanao and made the attack alone from 9,500 feet. Before the results of the bombing could be observed, eighteen enemy pursuits swarmed around the plane. All four gunners were wounded, Pfc Killin fatally, but four enemy planes were apparently destroyed. Wheless in an extraordinary display of airmanship nursed his riddled bomber back toward Del Monte, but was forced to crash-land on a small barricaded field a t Cagayan (Min- danao) in a drizzling rain. Of the other two planes to reach the target, Vandevanter’s escaped without being attacked, but Adams’ B-I 7 was continuously attacked from the time it reached the target area. Machine-gun bullets cut through the plane, wounding several of the personnel and knocking out two engines. After a forced landing on the island of Masbate, just across the strait from Legaspi, the crew ran for cover while persistent enemy fighters completely destroyed the plane by ~trafing.’~O n I 6 December, Lieutenants Wagner, Church, 2 1 9
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