alternatehistory.com

The Far East Air Force 1941
The Creation of the Far East Air Force
Repeated requests for air reinforcements finally prompts Marshall and Arnold to respond in October 1940 after the Japanese seizure of northern Indochina. Some horse trading with the Chinese results in 27 CW21 which were en route by ship to China (via Burma) are instead diverted to Manila and the Philippine Air Force. The Chinese are sent 54 P35s instead, which while old, are sturdy aircraft well suited for local conditions there. The CW21s will be assigned to the Philippine Air Force as the basis of a fighter squadron (with spares). The remaining P26s in the Philippines will be provided to the PAAF as a second fighter / light attack squadron. The remaining ten Martin B10 bombers in the Philippines are transferred to the PAAF as the basis of a patrol squadron. The 4th Composite Group is in effect stripped of aircraft and all personnel are transferred to the PAAF officially as an advisory and support group.


The American Volunteer Group
As an interim measure, to get some air power into the Philippines until a final decision is made about what to send to the Far East, as discussions are underway concerning the creation of the American Volunteer Group to send to China, Arnold persuades Marshall and then Roosevelt to send the AVG to the Philippines for their training. They can trained at the new airfield at Cebu, which is well away from prying Japanese intelligence agents in Manila and Davao but in an emergency can help defend the Philippines until they complete their training in early December 1941. By adding some DC2 transports to move their ground echelon to the mix, the P40s and transports can ferry the entire force via Singapore to Burma and then to China. By August 1941 the AVG and Claire Chennault are in Cebu assembling their aircraft and testing them in flights over the central Philippines, well away from prying eyes. In all the Flying Tigers, as the group soon calls itself, has 100 P40B Warhawk fighters and 12 DC2 transports, as well as nearly 300 personnel by October 1941 and plans to begin shifting to Singapore beginning on December 12, 1941 and to be in China by December 17.

The Deterrent Force
In July 1941 General Hap Arnold proposes that a force of 340 B17s and 260 fighters be stationed in the Philippines as a deterrent force against Japan as tensions continue to rise between the US and Japan. He selects Major General Walter Frank, who has formerly commanded the Hawaiian Air Department and currently commanding Air Army Force units involved in the Louisiana Maneuvers and has gotten along very well with ground force commanders. He is ordered to the Philippines right away, along with the 5th Air Base group, reinforcements for the 20th Air Base (the tenant unit at Clark Field) and personnel and equipment to form the 4th Air Base Group (using Filipino and American personnel).

By early August General Frank reports that the Philippines is not ready for the mass deployment of B17s, and that there is a critical need for oxygen plants (among other things). He urges that the first reinforcements consist of 2 fighter groups and 1 light bombardment group, with the first B17s to arrive in October and for them to be fitted out for long range reconnaissance as target data for Japanese bases in Formosa is very limited and almost unknown for their bases in Indochina and in the Palau Islands. He also makes his own plea for antiaircraft units. That plea is met in part by the arrival of guns stripped from the 197th, 198th and 200th Coast Artillery regiments (National Guard) which are broken up to provide personnel to other anti aircraft units. This provides the Philippine Army with 36 3-inch guns (older models with a range of only 27,000 feet as that is what can be spared), searchlights, 96 37mm AA guns, and dozens of heavy machine guns. Two of the PA regiments are assigned to air field defense with the third assigned to defend Manila.

The first air units to arrive are the 24th Fighter Group (Colonel Harold George commanding) with sufficient pilots and support personnel to reform the 17th Pursuit squadron (with 31 P40Bs). Additional fighters are already one the way, but the first thing General Frank orders upon the arrival of Colonel George is his promotion to commander V Fighter Command and for George to work with Claire Chennault in setting up an air warning network for Luzon using a company from the Department's signal battalion as well as training Filipino volunteers and setting up special lines with the telephone company and telegraph company. The American fighters are assigned to Del Carmen Field, which is again undergoing improvements, including a 6,000 foot concrete runway and revetments built by the Philippine Army engineers.

Of pressing concern is the terrible conditions at Nichols Field. A typhoon has inflicted serious damage to the base, making more clear than ever its vulnerability. As the principal depot for the Department's aviation element, including those of the Asiatic Fleet, its vulnerability is no longer acceptable. General Frank orders that the supplies and parts be dispersed so that none are concentrated at any airfield, with Navy stores sent to their naval station at Mariveles and a fortified facility be constructed at the Army field built at Mariveles which can transport needed bulk supplies by barge to Manila and then by road and rail to other bases in Luzon. He also orders a secondary facilities be constructed at Cebu and Del Monte and that revetments be constructed for all airfields.

Philippine Army Air Force growth
With the arrival of sufficient aircraft the 3rd Composite Group has been formed, and the PAAF is now up to 2,500 men. The 1st Group (training) remains at Zablan Field (Lipa, Batangas) and continues as a flight training organization. The 2nd Group with its transport aircraft is headquartered at Clark Field, but has detachments in Mindanao, Cebu, as well as the various fields around Luzon. Regular transport service is greatly easing the movement of critical supplies and couriers throughout the islands for the military. The new 3rd Group is formed at Nichols Field and has a fighter squadron of CW21 interceptors while the other squadron of P26 light attack aircraft is sent to the new field at Baguio. The new B18 patrol squadron is assigned to Clark Field and the 2nd Group, as the Douglas bombers are sufficiently similar to the DC2 assigned to the AVG (which are also there) and DC3s assigned to the PAAF to ease maintenance. The bombers are all old cast offs from the Hawaiian Department and prone to break down.

Final reinforcements Fall 1941
In October 1941 more reinforcements arrive in the form of sufficient P40Cs and personnel to reform the 17th Pursuit Squadron, as well as 28th Reconnaissance Squadron (reformed from the 28th Bombardment squadron) equipped with 6 B17C. After consultation with Captain Pappy Gunn (whose has joined the PAAF as a civilian advisor and is its senior engineering officer with a handsome salary), the aircraft are converted using field expedient measures that strip them their guns, their waist blister mounts removed and additional skin added to improve streamlining and their bomb bays converted into fuel tanks. With these modifications, based out of Del Monte, the B17s can reach the Palau Islands and from Clark can easily reach anywhere in Indochina or Formosa. It also improves their cruising speed by 10% and their top speed by 5%, and giving that aircraft a speed of 325 aircraft as a top speed. It also can fly somewhat higher giving it a ceiling of 37,000 feet (allowing it to fly well above the A6M Zero fighter).

The 17th Pursuit squadron is moved to Del Monte, along with a battalion from the 4th PA Coast Artillery (AA) as it is a critical stop on the air ferry route from Darwin and General Frank decides it needs protection. The B17s are to be dispersed so that no more than 3 are present at any single airfield. They also begin flying very high altitude missions over Formosa and French Indochina in late November and at their height and speed generally remain undetected although on a couple of occasions the Japanese attempt in vain to intercept them on their departure from the area.

The needed oxygen equipment arrives along with the 27th Bomb Group and 54 A24 (Army versions of the Navy Dauntless), along with their crews and ground echelon arrive in November 1941. Also arriving are planes and pilots for the 3rd Pursuit squadron which is reactivated and has 24 P40E Kittyhawks. The fighter squadron is assigned to Cabantuan Field, while the 27th Bomb Group disperses its dive bombers to Nichols, Del Carmen and makes its headquarters (along with 1 squadron) at Iba Field. The first radar sets have also arrived, and one is placed at Clark Field and the other is set up at Nielson Field (near Cavite) which is headquarters for the Far East Air Force and has an air strip but no aircraft permanently assigned except for a detachment of PAAF Beechcraft light transports. IT is however the location of the air defense headquarters and this allows radar coverage for Cavite, Manila and Nichols Field. The remaining sets quickly raided for parts to keep those two working but the air transports of the PAAF are able to make frequent trips to Australia and Singapore, where air transports from the United States can quickly bring urgent spares.

Strung out between Port Moresby, Darwin and Del Monte is the air element of the 19th Bombardment Group, which has 30 B17s organized into 30th and 94th Squadron. Additional B17s for another Bomb Group are approaching Hawaii when it is attacked while their ground element was still in California loading aboard ships.
Top