Davao (125.626E 7.068N) is the principal city and port of the island of Mindanao, at the southeast end of the Philippines. It has a large, deep anchorage, often used by units of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet in 1941, but facilities were limited.
On the morning of December 8, 1941 the U.S. Navy
was operating a patrol squadron, VP-101 (4 Catalinas,) from the William
B. Preston anchored in Davao harbor. Aircraft from the
Ryujo
raided the seaplane base, destroying two of the Catalinas but failing
to damage the tender. 500 men of the 33
Infantry Regiment, 14
Army,
were landed near Davao on the night of 19 December 1941. The
defenders, from 101
Philippine Division, broke and fled and the Japanese quickly occupied the
town.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index