Del Monte Field
| Del Monte Airfield | |
|---|---|
| Part of Far East Air Force | |
| Mindanao, Philippines | |
A B-17D of the 30th Bombardment Squadron being loaded with 100 and 500-pound bombs probably at Del Monte Field, Mindanao, Philippines, early in 1942. Note the Fortress is parked in a rough, dirt area and the early M1917 helmet and pre-war uniform worn by one of the ground crew indicating the photo was taken in a combat area in the first few weeks of the war.
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 Del Monte Airfield
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| Coordinates | 08°21′42″N 124°50′00″E / 8.36167°N 124.83333°ECoordinates: 08°21′42″N 124°50′00″E / 8.36167°N 124.83333°E (Approximate) |
| Type | Military airfield |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
| Condition | Abandoned |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1941 |
| In use | September 1941- March 1942 |
| Battles/wars |
 World War II (Asia-Pacific Theater) |
| Events | Battle of the Philippines (1941-1942) |
| Garrison information | |
| Garrison | Elements of Far East Air Force |
Del Monte Field was a heavy bomber airfield of the Far East Air Force (FEAF) located on Mindanao in the Philippines. The airfield was located in a meadow of a Del Monte Corporation pineapple plantation.
Del Monte Airfield was first selected in September 1941 as an emergency landing strip on Mindanao, capable of landing four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers during the May to October wet season. It was built on a natural meadow on the Del Monte Pineapple Corporation plantation along the Sayre Highway, in the municipality of Maluko (now Manolo Fortich) of Bukidnon Province in northern Mindanao. The población of the rural municipality was nearby. The airfield was established as part of the build-up of United States military forces in the Philippines due to the rising tensions with the Japanese Empire.
In mid-November 1941, with the creation of the FEAF, General Douglas MacArthur approved the expansion of Del Monte into a heavy bomber base for the 7th Bombardment Group, projected to arrive in early December. His plans, MacArthur told the Chief of Staff on 29 November, called ultimately for more bomber bases in the Visayas to accommodate three additional groups, but since funds for construction of runways for such bases could not be immediately allocated, he agreed to use the field at Del Monte.
On 21 November Col. Harold H. George, acting in place of FEAF commander Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton while he was in Australia trying to arrange support bases for his air force, sent the newly arrived 5th Air Base Group to Del Monte in two inter-island steamers to hurry construction. Work on the field was rushed and by 5 December it was able to accommodate heavy bombers.
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