Nichols Field becomes Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Villamor Air Base

Nichols Field / Photo from Wikipedia.
Nichols Field was located 10 miles south of Manila in the Pasay area. The airfield was only a short distance from Fort William McKinley.
The field was named after Capt. Taylor A. Nichols, who served as an officer in the Philippine Scouts. During American colonialism in the Philippines, the Philippine Scouts comprised half of the United States military forces.
It was established in 1919 as a United States Army site. In 1926, the field became part of the newly created US Army Air Corps. In 1941, the field was chosen as a site for the updated, upgraded and revised US Army Air Force.
Nichols Field became the home of the US Fifth Air Force. As Japan’s aggression continued unabated in Southeast Asia in 1941, it was designated as the primary airfield for the Far East Air Force.
For most of Nichols Field’s service in the US Army, the field was a training site for aviation and aerial mapping. It also provided soldiers in the Philippine Department with training for coastal defenses of Manila Bay and Subic Bay.
Nichols Field contained the only paved airstrip in the Philippines. The paved runway was labeled the North-South or (N-S) airstrip. The Americans at Nichols Field received advice from the British Royal Air Force on construction and improvements for a second runway called the East-West (E-W) expansion.
The Army Corps of Engineers jokingly dubbed Nichols Field as “Lake Nichols.” The field had poor drainage. The engineers spent many days and hours attempting to improve the drainage situation on the airfield.
During the rainy season months of June to August, it was not uncommon to have flooding on the runways due to the overflow of the Paranaque River.
During the rapid American military buildup in 1941, Nichols Field received 36 of the newly arrived P-40 fighter airplanes. It also had 18 Swedish built Seversky P-35A, which proved basically antiquated and almost worthless against the Japanese Zero fighter planes.
Nichols Field did not receive any of the newly arrived B-17 bombers due to the size and quality of its runways. When the Japanese attacked Nichols Field only one day after the Pearl Harbor assault, the antiaircraft guns at the field proved to be inadequate.
Unfortunately, the recently arrived modern radar technology had not been installed at the field. Most planes of the Far East Air Force at Nichols Field were destroyed by Japanese bombers and fighters.
The first American ace of World War II was based at Nichols Field. First Lieutenant Boyd David Wagner, known as Buzz, was a member of the 17th Pursuit Squadron assigned to Nichols Field. He was given credit for shooting down five Japanese fighter planes.
He was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds he received during an air battle on Dec. 22, 1941. After being wounded, he was evacuated to Australia in January 1942.
Eventually, Buzz was sent home to the United States to train American pilots. Unfortunately, he died in a training accident.
Nichols Field was occupied by the Japanese military on Dec. 28, 1941. Gen. Douglas MacArthur had declared Manila an open city to prevent needless civilian deaths. The American and Filipino forces evacuated the airfield and headed to Bataan. The members of the Far East Air Force were reassigned to infantry. Most aviation personnel never had received infantry training.
Once the Japanese occupied Nichols Field on Dec. 28, 1941, it became the headquarters and fighter base for the air service of the Japanese Imperial Navy. The goal of the Japanese was to expand the field into the largest air service base in the Pacific.
After the Americans and Filipinos surrendered in Bataan on April 9, 1942, some of the prisoners of war (POWs) were sent to a work camp at Nichols Field. The camp repaired and expanded the runways at the field. The POWs used picks and shovels instead of heavy construction equipment.
The POWs were billeted at the Pasay Elementary School, which was approximately one mile from the field. The camp laborers were transported by trucks following a head count.
As the American navy, army and marines were significantly advancing in the Pacific, the Japanese feared the return of the Americans to the Philippines. The Japanese military at Nichols Field decided to improve their antiaircraft guns and build bunkers and pill boxes. The improved Japanese aerial defense proved ineffective against American attacks in February 1945. The Americans were able to recapture the airfield.
The runways at Nichols Field were substantially damage during the American return.
Shortly, the Americans repaired the damaged and then transferred the airfield to the Philippine Air Force following the granting of independence on July 4, 1946.
Nichols Field was renamed Villamor Air Base and became the headquarters for the Philippine Air Force. The base was named after Col. Jesus Villamor. The colonel has been given credit for shooting down four Japanese airplanes during World War II.
The former Nichols Field is also shared with the busy Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The airport was previously known as the Manila International Airport. The airport was renamed to honor Benigno S. Aquino Jr., who was assassinated at the airport on Aug. 21, 1983.
Dennis Edward Flake is the author of three books on Philippine-American history. He is a Public Historian and a former park ranger in interpretation for the National Park Service at the Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg, PA. He can be contacted at: [email protected].