History of Marine Corps Aviation

The Philippines

SBD, used by Marines on Luzon and Zamboanga

During the Leyte operations in the fall of 1944, the kamikaze threat became a serious propblem for our carrier task forces. To deal with it, faster climbing fighters were needed with greater top speed in order to reach and shoot down the suicide planes before they could reach their targets. The Corsair, which was not then operating in the fleet, had these capabilities and became the solution.

Ten VMF squadrons were immediately assigned to carrier duty with Task Forces 38 and 58, two squadrons aboard each of five fast carriers of the Essex class. Between January and June 1945, the program operated and helped solve the problem. Since many pilots had no previous carrier experience, the operational accident toll was a little heavy at first. However, all units soon settled down and the only difference was in the uniforms being worn in the ward room. It was an admirable example of the close relationship which exists between Naval and Marine Aviation in training, equipment and operational understanding.

As events began to crowd into each week of the fall of 1944, the two gigantic pushes westward toward the Japanese home islands began to come together. With Peleliu and Ulithi as major air and fleet bases in the southwest Pacific, decisions previously made to also take the Philippines route were being carried out. MAG-12 arrived in early December at Tacloban, and MAG-14 in early January at Guiuan on neighboring Samar.

Units that flew out of Tacloban included VMF(N)-541, and VMFs 115, 211, 218, and 313. They covered twilight PT boat operations, flew daytime CAP over the beachhead, and attacking Japanese shipping. Tech. Sgt. John Andre, who would later fly in Korea, shot down a Lily bomber on Dec. 7, his first of four aerial victories in WW2. The next day a flight of VMF-211 Corsairs caught a Japanese destroyer, and left it burning from stem to stern; it was found beached the fllowing day.

The Marine fliers found a lot more action on Dec. 11, when the Japanese attempted to reinfore their troops on Leyte. The Corsairs shot up more transports and destroyers.

Lt. Col. Peter Lambrecht's VMF(N)-541 found itself flying twilight and dawn missions, rather than true, radar-intercept night missions. On the 12th a flight of "Bat Eyes," led by Capt. David Thompson, found over 30 bogeys going after our PT boats, broke up the attack, and shot down five of them. In January, V Fighter Command authorized the night fighters to fly continuous night patrols. By the end of the Luzon campaign, Lambrecht and his VMF(N)-541 had shot down 22 Japanese planes.

Later, as the landings moved to Mindoro and then to Luzon at Lingayen Gulf, one of the most interesting involvements of Marine Aviation in the Pacific war began to unfold. On Bougainville, now one of the backwaters of the war, Major General Mitchell, ComAirNorSols, and commanding the 1st Marine Air Wing, had his Chief of Staff, Colonel Jerry Jerome, set up a close air support school with two MAGs, a total of seven SBD squadrons. The school was under the charge of the operations officer, Lieutenant Colonel Keith McCutcheon. A formal curriculum was drawn up, including a multi-lecture course for all pilots, communications technicians, and officers of the 37th Army Division, also stationed at Bougainville and scheduled for deployment to the Philippines. The program was an unqualified success.

MAGSDAGUPAN

Once established at Dagupan near the foot of Lingayen Gulf, Jerome's command was designated MAGSDAGUPAN and there they operated for the next three months. Their mission was to keep a nine-plane air alert cover over the 1st Cavalry Division on its dash to Manila, ordered by MacArthur, to free allied prisoners adn interned civilians at Santo Tomas prison.

The SBDs were to guard the division's flank. Marine aviators in radio-equipped jeeps rode with the ground forces and kept in close contact with the airplanes. Sometimes the fliers could spot open roads that enabled the fast-moving column to avoid a fire-fight. Other times they would bomb Japanese positions, only 300 yards from the "friendlies."

In 66 hours, the 1st Cavalry was in Manila with its flank protected all the way by Jerome's MAGSDAGUPAN.

Marine dive bombers later provided similar close ground support during the invasion of Zamboanga. Col. Clayton "Jerry" Jerome headed MAGs 24 and 32, which flew out of the muddy strip at San Roque - Moret Field on Mindanao's Zamboanga penindula. Of course the unit was called MAGSZAM, and included almost 300 Marine planes: 151 SBD's, 96 F4U Corsairs, 18 PBJs, plus others. From here the Marine aviators flew all over the Southern Philippines.

History of Marine Corps Aviation

The Philippines

MAGSDAGUPAN

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