Location
Mabalacat East Airfield was located to the east of the MacArthur Highway and railroad to the north of Mabalacat in Pampanga Province on Luzon in the Philippines. Also known as "East Airfield", "Mabalacat No 2" or "Kamikaze East" by the Japanese. To the west was Mabalacat
West Airfield (Kamikaze West, Mabalacat No 1).
Construction
Prior to development, the area was flat farm land planted with rice. Prewar, the U.S. Army built a single runway was at this location for as a landing ground.
Wartime History
Occupied by the Japanese and used as a fighter airfield. During October 1944, a detachment of the 201 Kōkūtai (201 Air Group) operating N1K1 Georges and A6M5 Zeros. Also based the Shimpu Special Attack Corps flying kamikaze missions.
Japanese
units based at Mabalacat East Airfield
201 Kōkūtai (A6M5 Zeros also operated from Clark Field)
Shimpu Special Attack Corps
On October 25, 1944 the first organized kamikaze mission in the Philippines commanded by Vice-Admiral Takjuro Ohnishi was launched from Mabalacat East Airfield against U.S. Navy (USN) vessels off Leyte. The first kamikaze pilots were twenty-three A6M5 Zeros from 1st Air Fleet, 201 Kōkūtai (201 Air Group) divided into for units designated by the name of the led pilot: Shikishima, Yamato,
Asahi and Yama Yukio Seki. The first to take off at 7:25pm was the Shikishima unit led by by Lt. Yokjo Seki and flew to the target area. At 10:45pm they attacked USN vessels off Leyte and Lt. Yokjo Seki succeeded
in hitting the escort carrier USS St. Lo (CVE-63), which sank 20 minutes later and was credited as the fist kamikaze in the Philippines. Afterwards, Mabalacat East Airfield continued to be used for
kamikaze missions.
On January 25, 1945 the U.S. Army 37th Division, 145th Infantry Regiment captures Mabalacat East Airfield and reconnoiters south to Mabalacat. Afterwards, this airfield was disused and never used by the Americans.
Today
Disused since the Pacific War. Today, the former airfield area is planted with crops.
Kamikaze
East Airfield Peace Memorial
A memorial and sign mark the site of the
old runway, and it is frequently visited by tourists,
especially Japanese. The memorial was built by the
Mabalacat Tourism Office: "Not for the glorification
of the Kamikaze but rather for the use of war history
as a tool for the promotion of peace and friendship
among nations. This shrine serves as a reminder that
the Kamikaze phenomenon shall never happen again."
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Last Updated
January 26, 2025
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