Villamor Air Base

Villamor Air Base, named for Filipino WWII pilot Jesús A. Villamor is the home of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and shares runways with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It is also known as Nichols Field or Nichols Air Base. Chiefly used as a PAF transport/helicopter airbase, it is also the military installation that the Philippine president uses when departing for foreign or domestic trips, though foreign departures are mostly done at the NAIA. Also, foreign dignitaries visiting Manila would usually arrive at the air base.HistoryNichols Field was built in 1919 by the United States during the Philippine Commonwealth period and in 1941 was used as an airfield by the United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific Theatre. The field was the location of the U.S. Far East Air Force's U.S. 20th Air Base Group. Also, based at the field was Troop F of the U.S. 26th Cavalry Regiment.A Fifth Air Force base, Nichols Field was within the territory of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, December 1941 – January 1945.