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Royce Mission to the Philippines
April 12-13, 1942

Background History
General Ralph Royce was a native of Marquette, Michigan and is one of the members of the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. His grandson, also Ralph Royce, is head of an aviation museum outside Houston and used to be head of the Confederate Air Force (CAF Commemoraive Air Force).

The Royce Mission consisted of 10 B-25Cs (plus one stuck at Darwin) and 3 B-17s of the 5th Air Force. In mid April in the Philippines of 1942, they flew from Australia to a staging field of Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao. For three days, the aircraft flew bombing strikes against the Japanese in Manila, Cebu, and Davao. All of the aircraft returned to Australia without the loss of one flyer, and they brought out a number of important military and diplomatic personnel who had gathered at DelMonte to await evacuation. The group of planes was led by General Ralph Royce; hence the name "Royce Mission." The Dolittle Raid of April 18, 1942 overshadowed this equally important effort of the Royce Mission. Still, the Royce raid did make the front page of the "New York Times" in mid-April.

Three Days of Bombing Missions
For three days, the aircraft flew bombing missions against Japanese occupied targets in the Philippines. Aircraft known to have participated in the missions include:

STRIKE #1 SUNDAY, 12 APRIL 1942
Australia-based B-25's, staging through Mindanao Island, hit the harbor and shipping at Cebu, Cebu Island while B-17's carry out single-bomber strikes from Mindanao against Cebu harbor and Nichols Field on Luzon.

STRIKE #2 MONDAY, 13 APRIL 1942 (MORNING)
Australia-based B-25's hit targets in the Philippine Islands for the second consecutive day. Staging through Del Monte Airfield on Mindanao, the B-25's take off just after midnight during 12/13 Apr and bomb shipping at Cebu on Cebu Island and installations at Davao on Mindinao.

STRIKE #3 MONDAY, 13 APRIL 1942 (AFTERNOON)
Later in the day the B-25's again attack Davao, bombing the dock area.

References
Thanks to Edward Rogers for additional information

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Last Updated
February 4, 2010

 

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