Securing "The Rock"
Corregidor had been under attack by
Allied Air Forces planes ever since 22
January, when General MacArthur first
designated the island as a target. The
Allied Air Forces stepped up its attacks
at the beginning of February and by the
16th of the month Fifth and Thirteenth
Air Force planes had dropped some 3,125
tons of bombs on the island. On the
morning of 16 February 24 B-24's hit
known and suspected gun positions, 11
B-25's struck antiaircraft gun emplacements
and the entire south coast, and 31
A-20's bombed and strafed generally,
some of them paying attention to tiny
Caballo Island, a mile to the south.
Naval bombardment began on 13
February in conjunction with the bombardment
and mine sweeping in preparation
for the seizure of Mariveles. The
cruisers and destroyers of Task Group
77.3 directed most of their fire at the
north side of Corregidor, where the Japanese
defenses seemed strongest. The next
day Japanese fire from Corregidor damaged
a mine sweeper and two destroyers,
the mine sweeper so severely that it later
had to be sunk. Admiral Berkey's ships
proved unable to silence all the fire from
Corregidor and had made large inroads
in their ammunition supply in the attempt.
Therefore, Admiral Kinkaid sent
3 heavy cruisers and 5 destroyers south
from Lingayen Gulf to augment the fire
of the 5 light cruisers and 9 destroyers
Berkey already had under his command.
The new arrivals joined in the bombardment
about 1230 on 15 February.
During the morning of the 16th
cruisers and destroyers blasted the south
shore of Bottomside, where the 3d Battalion,
34th Infantry, was to land; expended
considerable ammunition on
Caballo Island gun positions; and stood
by for call fire the rest of the day. PT
boats, which had already strafed some
Corregidor shore batteries, were in position
to rescue paratroopers who might
land in Manila Bay. * As the troop carrying
C-47's hove into view, seventy A-20's
of the Allied Air Forces bombed and
strafed the eastern section of Corregidor
and also worked over Caballo.
The 503d RCT had staged at Mindoro
under the direction of Eighth Army.
At dawn on the 16th the paratroopers
boarded planes of the 317th Troop Carrier
Group, a task completed quickly and
without incident. Just as the troops
making an amphibious assault are under
control of the naval command from the
time of staging until a beachhead is established, so the 503d RCT was under
the control of the Commanding General,
Fifth Air Force, from the time the troop-carrying C-47's took off until the drop
was executed. Upon reaching the
ground, the RCT passed to the control
of Sixth Army and Hall's XI Corps. For
the purposes of centralizing control of
operations on Corregidor, General Hall
had organized Rock Force--the 503d
RCT and the reinforced 3d Battalion,
34th Infantry. The organization of Rock
Force, which was commanded by Colonel
Jones of the 503d RCT, was to become
effective when Jones reached Corregidor
with the first lift from Mindoro.
Hyperwar: Corregidor
* I was the Airborne coordinator on February 16, 1945
flying an A-20 (13th BS 3rd BG) and both marking targets and controlling the flow of aircraft
attacking the area preceding the jump
and the subsequent jump.The initial strike was by 3 groups of A-20s, the 3rd,
the 417th and the 312th. The C-47s
with the paratroopers were to follow the last 312th aircraft to strike. There
were some special problems involved in executing the jump because it was
to be onto the parade ground which was too short for a full stick to jump
into. Therefore the C47's had to jump half their load and circle to return
with the balance of their load. The leader of the 312th A20s was apparently
unaware of the requirement for the second
part of the jump and wanted to see the jump so instead of clearing the
area as instructed he circled his group back over Corregidor and got mixed up with the
orbiting C-47's. Generals McArthur and Kenny were flying in the area in a B-17
observing the operation and witnessed the confusion.
COL Richard L. (Dick) Walker USAF Ret.
