Corregidor

Published April 29, 2015

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 1 of 3

The Tribune headline reads "Corregidor Falls." (U.S. Air Force photo)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 2 of 3

Corregidor. (U.S. Air Force photo)

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 3 of 3

A few of the handful of B-17s in the Southwest Pacific early in the war. (U.S. Air Force photo)

During the first day of hostilities in the Philippines, the AAF lost more than half of its planes as a result of Japanese bombing and strafing attacks and aerial combat. Many AAF personnel no longer needed to maintain airplanes were transferred to ground units and were eventually captured or killed on Bataan or Corregidor. Others retreated to the southernmost island of Mindanao along with the handful of B-17s still flying, but when the last 14 B-17s were withdrawn to Australia with as many men as they could carry, those personnel left behind continued to fight on the ground. By June 9, 1942, however, the Japanese had swarmed through all the islands of the Philippines and the last of the small groups of Americans and Filipinos who had been holding out had to surrender.

Click here to return to the Retreat in the Pacific Overview.

Find Out More

Related Fact Sheets

Imperial Brutality: Bataan Death March

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

Note: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the National Museum of the USAF, the U.S. Air Force, or the Department of Defense, of the external website, or the information, products or services contained therein.

Corregidor

Featured Links