Eight hours after the Pearl Harbor raid, the Japanese surprise attacks of 8 December 1941 on U.S. military installations in the Philippines caught much of the Far East Air Force on the ground; only 19 of the 35 Flying Fortresses in the Philippines escaped destruction or severe damage. The two squadrons sent to Del Monte, including "40-3097" (at that point named Ole Betsy), were pressed into bombing action for the next two months, as newer B-17Es began to be dispatched to the Pacific in January 1942.
This sequence of events took place eight hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when Japanese forces launched a surprise assault on U.S. military bases in the Philippines on December 8, 1941; as a result, much of the Far East Air Force was caught off guard and grounded; only 19 of the 35 Flying Fortresses in the Philippines survived with significant damage. The two squadrons sent to Del Monte, including "40-3097" (then known as Ole Betsy), were tasked with conducting bombing missions for the next two months, as newer B-17Es arrived in the Pacific in January 1942.