Nielson Field
Nielson Field | |
---|---|
Part of Fifth Air Force | |
Makati, Philippines | |
Coordinates | 14°33′02.06″N 121°01′46.08″E / 14.5505722°N 121.0294667°E |
Type | Military airfield |
Site information | |
Controlled by | United States Army Air Forces |
Site history | |
Built | 1937 |
In use | 1937–1948 |
Nielson Field (
Laurie Reuben Nielson
Laurie Reuben Nielson was one of the many foreigners attracted by the business opportunities in the Philippines and moved to the country before
Nielson was an avid aviation enthusiast; with this, he became involved in a project to build an aviation school and airport in Manila. It was an ideal time for pursuing the project because there was a real need for an airport to support the increased economic activity in the country, especially in the mining industry, at the same time, the Quezon government was encouraging infrastructure projects. Nielson convinced several other Manila-based foreign investors to join him in the project and construction of the airport proceeded after the group leased 42 hectares (100 acres) of land in Makati from Ayala y Compañía. When it was inaugurated in July 1937, the Nielson Airport was being touted as the biggest and best-equipped in Asia.
After the outbreak of the war and the invasion of Manila by Japanese forces in 1942, Nielson and his family were detained by the Japanese authorities. Nielson's wife and two sons were brought to the internment camp at the University of Santo Tomas. Nielson, because he was British, was taken for internment in British Hong Kong (present-day Hong Kong). Nielson was never seen or heard from again.
By the time the Philippines was liberated from the Japanese, Nielson's businesses and most of his properties were all gone. After his wife and two sons left the Philippines and returned to the United States for good, Nielson's only remaining legacy to the Philippines was the airport he had built.
Nielson Airport
The property on which the airport stood was part of the Hacienda
The Nielson Airport became the base of the American Far Eastern School of Aviation. More importantly, with the introduction of commercial air services at the airport, it became the primary gateway between Manila and the rest of the country and, later, between the Philippines and the world. The
As a response to the expansionist policy of
When Japanese planes attacked the Philippines on December 8, 1941, the planes were actually spotted by a radar station in Northern Luzon, which immediately alerted the FEAF headquarters at Nielson. Unfortunately, by the time FEAF officers were finally able to get through to Clark Air Base in Pampanga, it was already too late and Japanese bombs were already dropping on Clark. By December 9, Nielson Airport was also under siege. After the Americans and Filipinos were forced to retreat from the Philippines and the Japanese occupation forces took over, the latter sequestered Nielson and turned the airport's radio tower and passenger terminal into a headquarters. When Manila was liberated, the Americans and the Filipinos were again able to wrest control of the airport from the Japanese. The partially damaged airport and its facilities were fully restored and commercial air services, including international flights, resumed in 1946.
In 1948, when the airport ceased operations in Makati to relocate to its
Nielson Tower
In the succeeding years, various uses were found for the Nielson Tower, a two-story concrete structure designed to resemble an airplane from a bird's-eye view. At one point, it served as the headquarters of a police detachment. It also housed the offices of the Ayala-owned Integrated Property Management Corporation for several years.
From the late 1970s up to April 1994, a group of Filipino investors leased the tower for a semi-private, first-class club and restaurant, as it is opposite
Former airlines and destinations
Passenger
Airlines | Destinations |
---|---|
Imperial Japanese Airways | Matsuyama, Tokyo |
KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf | Djakarta |
Philippine Aerial Taxi Company | Baguio, Paracale |
See also
- Geography of the Philippines
- Military History of the Philippines
- Military History of the United States
- USAAF in the Southwest Pacific
References
- ^ https://bangkok.unesco.org/sites/default/files/assets/article/Asia-Pacific%20Heritage%20Awards/files/2001-winners.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "History and Milestones".
- ^ "History and Milestones".
- ^ "History and Milestones".
- ^ "History and Milestones".
- ^ "History and Milestones".
- ^ "Philippine Air Lines - PAL".
- ^ http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/pr/pr47/pr47-2.jpg [bare URL image file]
- ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/nw47/nw47-4.jpg [bare URL image file]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556.