The Royce Raid

Royce and Davies

 

Brigadier General Ralph Royce (left) and Col. John Davies, two commanders of the Royce Raid (April 11– 16, 1942), pictured in Melbourne soon after their return from the Philippines. Royce volunteered to lead the mission after Gen. George Brett, Commanding General of Allied Air Forces in the SWPA, declined to lead it himself. Brett felt that sending Allied aircraft to the Philippines was a wasteful use of the limited air power then available to him, but MacArthur was insistent that an effort be made to help the beleaguered troops still fighting on Bataan and elsewhere in the Philippines.

The story of the Royce Raid can be found on our blog and in our new ebook, Stories from Fifth Air Force.