Ceremony at Camp Murphy in Rizal marking the induction of the Philippine Army Air Corps into the U.S. Army on 15 August 1941. Behind Lt. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, from left to right, are Lt. Col. Richard K. Sutherland, Col. Harold H. George, Lt. Col. William F. Marquat, and Maj. LeGrande A. Diller.
The Philippine Army Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly's National Defense Act of 1935. By 1940, the corps had around 40 aircraft and 100 pilots, 500 personnel, and six squadrons. In August 1941, the PAAC was inducted into the United States Army and incorporated into the Far East Air Force.
The first Philippine Army airfield (Zablan Airfield) was built outside of Manila, Luzon in 1935. At this time only three pilot trainers were available in the Philippines. Courses in flying and technical training were given in the mainland United States to selected students. After the war the airfield was closed and became Camp Emilio Aguinaldo.
On 31 July 1941 the corps consisted of 2,132 enlisted troops, under the command of 275 officers:
- Headquarters (109)
- U.S. 4th Composite Group (1,393)
- U.S. 20th Air Base Group (842)
- Tow Target Detachment (42)
- Weather Detachment (21)
Aircraft[]
As of 8 December 1941[]
Numbers in () indicate number of aircraft that were usable, where records are available.
Fighters[]
- Boeing P-12E bi-plane: 2
- Boeing P-26A: 12 [1]
Bombers[]
- Martin B-10B monoplane bomber: 3 (2)
- Keystone B-3A light bomber: 1
Noncombatant[]
- Beechcraft D18 (Beech 18) trainer and utility plane: 2
- Douglas O–46 observation aircraft: 4
- Other (mainly trainers): 50
- Stearman A75L3
- PT-1 trainers (73L-3)
- BT-1 monoplane bomber (76D-1) [2]
- Stinson Reliant
- Curtiss O-1 observation/attack biplane
- probably O-19 observation biplane
Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force[]
These aircraft were part of the 26th Sentai of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service stationed during World War II:[1]
As of 15 May 1945 through 1 July 1947[]
- North American P-51 fighter
- T-28 Trojan fighter
- Douglas C-47 transport
- Douglas C-47 ground attack
- HU-16 Albatross transport
- Piper L-4 trainer
- Stinson L-5 light observation/liaison aircraft
Organization of The Philippine Army Air Corps as of 8 December 1941[]
This information needs to be checked for accuracy.
- Philippine Army Air Corps Headquarters
- 1st Training Squadron
- Zosa's Depot Detachment
- Ramos' Depot Detachment
- Sebastian's Airbase Detachment
- 5th Photo Detachment
- 6th Interceptor Squadron
- Ebuen's Instruction Squadron
- de Leon's Airbase Detachment
- 9th Observation Squadron
- 10th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
- Aya-ay's Airbase Detachment
- Primary Flying School
- Basic & Advanced Flying School
- Philippine Army Air Corps Supply
See also[]
References[]
The original article can be found at Philippine Army Air Corps and the edit history here.