33rd Bombardment Group.

The lack of readiness was nowhere better shown than in the well-known incident of 12 B-17Cs - six each from the 38th and 88th Reconnaissance Squadrons-flying into Hickam Field from California, en route to augment American forces in the Philippines. They met the Japanese north of Oaliu at around 0800 hrs, with aircraft stripped of armour to allow extra fuel and with machine guns packed in Cosmoline and stored in bomb-bays. They lost the Japanese in the clouds and proceeded to Oahu. Nine B-17s landed at Hickam and two ar nearby Haleiwa in the teeth of the Japanese attack. The twelfth, with two engines gone, landed on a golf course. Ac the day's end the Fortress units were fortunate to have sustained only three casualties - one dead and two wounded. One B-17 was destroyed and two badly damaged.The ground echelon of the 38th RS was also on its way to the Philippines, having departed San Francisco by ship on 6 December 1941. In the chaos that followed the attack, the ship returned and on the 9th the ground echelon was temporarily assigned to Bakersficld, California. It would get into the war eventually, but not in the Pacific, Instead, these experienced mechanics and support personnel would join one of the most famous B-17 units in the European theatre of operations - the 303rd Bombardment Group (H).