This Date in History: April 11/12,1942
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Royce Mission in the Philippines



Royce’s 5th Air Force B-25C Mitchell takes off from the Del Monte staging field on the island of Mindanao
on Sunday 12 April 1942, almost a week before the Doolittle raid, en-route to hit the harbor
and shipping targets at Cebu. In the three days of Royce’s raids, the Mitchells flew over twenty sorties,
sinking and seriously damaging three Japanese transport ships, and shooting down three enemy fighters.
In a triumph of surprise aerial strikes, all seven B-25s and their crews returned safely to base.
Though somewhat eclipsed by the publicity following Doolittles attack on Tokyo,
the Royce raids were none-the-less courageous and inflicted extensive physical damage on the enemy.

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Mission Profile:

In January 1942, Major General Ralph Royce was posted to Australia as Chief of the Air Staff,
US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA). In March 1942, the commander of US Forces in the Philippines,
Lieutenant General Jonathan Wainwright, asked that a squadron of bombers be sent to the Philippines
to break the Japanese blockade and allow supplies to be moved from Cebu to Corregidor.
A conference was held in Melbourne on 7 April and plans were drawn up. Royce commanded the mission in person,
which consisted of ten B-25 Mitchell medium bombers of the 3rd Bomb Group
and three B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers of the 19th Bomb Group.

The force took off from Darwin on 11 April and flew 1,500 miles (2,400 km) to Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao.
All the planes arrived safely and the B-25s were dispersed to concealed P-40 Warhawk airstrips at Valencia and Maramag.
Royce inexplicably declined to disperse the B-17s, and one was damaged by an air attack on Del Monte
during the subsequent mission after it had been left behind for repairs. After the other two B-17s returned from the mission,
they too were caught in the open on the ground and damaged, while the original bomber was destroyed.
During missions on April 12 and 13, the force carried out a series of small air strikes against shipping
and harbor facilities at Cebu, the harbor and airstrips at Davao, and Nichols Field on Luzon,
the B-17s flying only two sorties while the B-25s conducted more than twenty.
They then returned safely to Australia with evacuees, including U.S. Navy Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley.

For leading the mission, Royce was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.



Cheers mates
David

That was new for me, Skylark.
Thanks for sharing