Bataan Airfield Bataan Airfield was a former wartime United States Army Air Forces airfield on Luzon in the Philippines . It was overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of the Philippines ( 1942 ) . The airfield was located near the village of Lucanin , south Lamao in Bataan Provience History . The airfield was a temporary field located several miles from the southern tip of the Bataan peninsula built about 20 December 1941 . Bataan Field consisted of a dirt runway , hacked out of the jungle by Army engineers . However , it was well camouflaged . Retreat to Bataan . On 24 December orders were received by the 24th Pursuit Group , then at Clark Field , to evacuate the group to the Bataan Peninsula of Luzon . Between the 24th and 10 January 1942 this evacuation was accomplished . Headquarters was moved from Clark Field first to Balanga , and from there to the Mariveles River on the Mariveles cut - off . There a command post for the 24th was established . The remaining aircraft of the 24th , 18 P - 40Es and P - 40B Warhawks were at Lubano and Orani Fields . As the front lines fell back to the Bataan Peninsula , these aircraft were moved back and concentrated at Bataan Field . There , the planes were maintained by enlisted men and flown by pilots selected from the entire Group , as the squadrons were folded into one unit . Operations . Initial operations of the 24th from Bataan Field consisted of an interception mission against a Japanese bomb attack on Corregidor on 4 January . After the interception , in which no enemy planes were shot down , a flight of 9 P - 40s were sent south to Del Monte Field on Mindanao . Two planes were lost en route . By 26 January , attrition had reduced the force of P - 40s at Bataan to seven , and the planes were loaded with fragmentation bombs for an attack on the occupied Nichols and Nielson Field s near Manila . One plane crashed on takeoff , the others carried out strafing and bombardment of Japanese planes on the line at the captured airfields . Intelligence reported that the raid was successful , with at least 37 Japanese aircraft destroyed on the ground , along with gasoline and oil drums set on fire . Over 300 casualties were inflicted . The raiders returned to Cabacaban Airfield and were reloaded , rearmed and departed for a second attack , however they had to turn back due to the dense smoke which was rising from both airfields due to the fires . During the month of January , reconnaissance flights were flown as far north as Lingayen Gulf were performed by one or two or sometimes three P - 40s . By the end of the month all surviving planes were in poor condition , but still able to fly . On 1 February , four P - 40s attacked a Japanese landing party at Agaalona Point which had overrun beach defense forces . A combination of American naval action and the P - 40s carrying out a staffing attack , prevented their reinforcement by barges . On the morning of 5 February , American troops , reinforced with tanks , wee able to destroy the landing party . On the 9th , a photographic reconnaissance was made with six P - 40s over the captured Cavite Naval Base . On the return leg to Bataan , the flight was jumped by six Zeros . All of the Zeros were destroyed , with one of the P - 40s lost . On 2 March an attack was carried out against Japanese shipping in Subic Bay . Four P - 40s each with one 500 pound bomb attacked a concentration of ships about 13 : 00 . After attacking the ships , the planes proceed to attack ground installations at the captured Subic Bay Naval Base , causing damage and destruction of supplies . Several ships were seen to be sinking . Attacks were continued until darkness . One P - 40 was lost and three crash landed on their way back to Bataan Field . Enemy losses were estimated at 44 , 000 tons of shipping , plus gasoline supplies and other equipment . From 1 February though 7 April , the 24th was also engaged in ferrying medical supplies up from Del Monte Field to Bataan , and personnel and records on the return flight to Del Monte . These flights were made by an obsolete Navy plane which had been acquired by the Group , Two civilian Beechcraft and one Waco were also used , which had been commandeered from civilians in Cebo and Lolio . Information was received at Bataan Field that some B - 17s would be flown up from Australia to Del Monte Field on 27 March to break the Japanese blockade encircling the Bataan Peninsula . The four P - 40s of the group and a Philippines Air Corps Seversky P - 35 would be joined by the four squadron P - 40s that were still on Mindanao , and another three P - 40s which had been shipped up from Australia . On 5 April the final arrangements for reconnaissance and fighter protection for the bombers was completed . However on 7 April the Japanese broke the 2d Corps Front and a general retreat was ordered from Bataan to Corregidor . This necessitated the 24th to pull out of Bataan Field and reorganize at Del Monte Field . The last four P - 40s of the Group left Bataan on 8 April heading south . Bataan Field was captured as part of the American surrender on 9 April 1942 . Final operations . On 10 April the planned bombardment mission against Japanese forces on Bataan was carried out , concentrating on Legazpi , Cebi , Ilelle and Davao . During this time , the fighters performed reconnaissance throughout the area and made a staffing attack on Davao , destroying several enemy aircraft on the ground and two in the air . American losses were one B - 17 and one P - 40 . Japanese losses were one light cruiser , several transports and damage to their ground installations at Davao . After the raid the B - 17s returned to Darwin , Australia . The remaining planes of the 24th Pursuit Group flew reconnaissance for the Commanding General , Mindanao forces until the end of the month until 1 May when the Japanese landed at three points on Mindanao and enveloped the American forces .