LINGAYEN GULF SHORELINE where Sixth Army landed on 9 January 1945. Ten miles to the east, across the rice fields and the Dagupan River, is Mangaldan Airdrome, home base of the Marine dive bombers on Luzon.

 

 

 

DOUGLAS DAUNTLESSES are directed back to the "line" after flying a mission in close supportr of the Sixth Army ground troops in Luzon (USMC photo)

Air Support Operations

While the XIV Corps and the 11th Airborne Division required few close air support missions during their drives toward Manila, air power assumed an important role in the operations.53 The 511th Parachute Infantry drop is one case in point. On XIV Corps' left, air operations attained perhaps more significance. With its left exposed, the 1st Cavalry Division depended in large measure upon air for its flank protection. Beginning on 1 February Marine Air Groups 24 and 32, flying from the recently completed Mangaldan strip near Lingayen Gulf, kept nine SBD's (Douglas dive bombers) over the cavalry's leading elements. Other SBD's and Fifth Air Force P-40's, all under 308th Bombardment Wing control, undertook reconnaissance missions along the cavalry's left flank and left front. During the last stages of the dash to Manila a squadron of Fifth Air Force A-20's--medium bombers--maintained a constant ground alert at the Lingayen fields awaiting call by either of XIV Corps' leading divisions.

The SBD's flew only one close support mission--if it can be so designated. Near the Santa Maria River ford, on 3 February, the 1st Cavalry Division called upon the Marine planes to disperse a small group of Japanese holding a piece of high ground dominating the crossing point. Unable to fire because the cavalrymen were too close to the target, the planes made several simulated strafing attacks over the Japanese positions. These "dry runs" so unnerved the Japanese that most of them soon fled.54

Mindoro-based planes of the 310th Bombardment Wing provided the support for the 11th Airborne Division. P-47's or P-38's maintained a constant four-plane umbrella over the leading troops, and on 1 and 2 February the 310th Wing executed close support bombardment and strafing missions at the defile west of Tagaytay Ridge.

Not all the air support missions went off without a hitch. It might have been expected that after three years' experience air-ground co-operation would be such as to preclude bombing and strafing friendly troops, but the contemporary records of Sixth Army and its components reveal that there were many such incidents, most of them apparently attributable to pilot errors in target identification.55

Late in January General Krueger had informed General Kenney, the commander of the Allied Air Forces, that since the Fifth Air Force had taken over air support responsibility on Luzon from the Allied Naval Forces' CVE-based planes there had been "numerous incidents" of Fifth Air Force planes attacking I and XIV Corps troops. Krueger went on to point out that, as a result, his ground forces were rapidly losing confidence in the supporting air arm.56 Finally, after another mistake by Fifth Air Force planes on 4 February caused more casualties,57 Krueger sent Kenney a blistering radio:

I must insist that you take effective measures to stop the bombing and strafing of our ground forces by friendly planes. . . . These repeated occurrences are causing ground troops to lose confidence in air support and are adversely affecting morale.58

General Kenney and his subordinates, having received steadily increasing criticism from Sixth Army troops, were taking many steps to prevent errors. It can be supposed that they now redoubled their efforts.59

The vast majority of air strikes, whatever service executed them, were both accurate and helpful. As the campaign on Luzon progressed, the incidence of mistakes rapidly diminished as Fifth Air Force pilots became more familiar with the ground situation and the Allied Air Forces and the Sixth Army modified and improved air-ground liaison and control systems. Although some of the Army divisions on Luzon preferred to have Marine Corps aircraft support them, Fifth Air Force pilots, who had previously had rather limited experience in close air support operations, became well versed in such activity, and some of the Fifth's squadrons came to provide as excellent close air support as was to be executed anywhere during World War II. In the end, the Fifth Air Force did its job and did it well.