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 Tony Feredo 2004 |
Location Bamban Airfield (Bambam) was located at an elevation of 164' in Tarlac Province in central Luzon in the Philippines. To the southwest is Bamban (Bambam) and to the south is the Bambam River. To the northwest was Capas and roughly five miles to the south is Mabalacat. Construction Built prewar by the U.S. Army as a pair runways for military use with two runways in a "V" shape oriented roughly northeast to southwest. This location was the northern most airfield in the Clark Field complex of airfields. Wartime History During 1942, captured by the Japanese. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Bamban Airfield was used by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and Army Air Force (JAAF) as a military airfield. Several units were assigned to this airfield including a mix of Navy and Army planes while in transit to other locations. Japanese units based at Bamban 653 Kokutai 203 Kokutai 201 Kokutai, 304 Hokotai (29 A6Ms) Oct 22, 1944 detachments to Mabalacat East and Cebu Starting in the middle of January 1945, Bamban was targeted by U.S. bombers and fighters until early April 1945. American missions against Bamban January 18, 1945–April 2, 1945 On January 23, 1945 the U.S. Army, 40th Infantry Division (40th ID), 160th Infantry Regiment (160th IR) advancing southward along Route 3 liberates Bamban Airfield without opposition. On January 25, 1945 a team from Allied Technical Intelligence Unit (ATIU) inspected and photographed abandoned Japanese planes at the airfield. They noted two A6M2 Zeros, nineteen A6M5 Zeros, eight D4Y2 Judy, six Ki-49-II Helen, two Myrt, five Ki-21-III Sally [sic Ki-46-III Dinah], nine Ki-43 Oscars, one Ki-61 Tony. Ki-46-III Dinah Manufacture Number 5131 Tail 141-105 Abandoned at Bamban Airfield. Ki-46-III Dinah Manufacture Number 5139 Tail 141-103 Abandoned at Bamban Airfield. Today Disused since the Pacific War. Today The former airfield area is replanted as a sugar cane plantation. There is a Japanese memorial marker at the former airfield. References ATIU Intelligence Summary No. 281 "Planes Recovered on Airfields" July 21, 1945 page 27 via Tony Feredo "Bamban A/D, Negros: Zeke (21-2, 52-19) - 21, July 12 - 8, Helen 2 - 6, Myrt - 2, Sally 3 [sic Dinah-3] - 5, Oscar - 9, Tony - 1" Contribute
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