Creation of the FEAF Far East Air Force (United States)

1 creation of feaf

1.1 pre-war upgrades , expansion
1.2 feaf organized
1.3 aircraft inventory on 8 december 1941
1.4 feaf airfields
1.5 warning systems

creation of feaf
pre-war upgrades , expansion

in july 1941, chief of army air forces, major general henry h. arnold, allocated 340 heavy bombers (not yet manufactured) , 260 modern fighter planes future reinforcement of far east air force. work @ nichols continued in second half of year, 17th ps forced return there accommodate planned arrival of heavy bombers, , accident rate, high, increased.

by 1 october, 50 p-40es had been shipped islands, , new organization, 24th pursuit group, stood control 3 pursuit squadrons. between 10 february , 20 november 1941 feaf received 197 additional pilots, 141 of whom or became pursuit pilots. except 28 of fighter pilots fresh flight schools , required further individual training, cut needed unit tactical training. arrangements made oxygen-producing plant in manila, supplied u.s. navy s shipyard @ cavite, buy surplus pursuit units, output small squadron @ nichols (which reopened on 17 october) supplied, , on limited basis.

boeing b-17d flying fortress

the 14th bombardment squadron, assigned best crews , 9 b-17s of 11th bomb group in hawaii, detached group pioneer air ferry route philippines, arriving 12 september in middle of typhoon. 2 squadrons of 19th bombardment group followed in october–november. 14th , 28th bomb squadrons attached 19th bg , total of 35 b-17 flying fortresses constituted feaf s heavy bombardment force.

arnold wrote on 1 december 1941, must every b-17 philippines possible. war department projected 165 heavy bombers , 240 fighters based in philippines march 1942. b-17s of 7th bombardment group based in utah staged in california , 88th reconnaissance squadron in-transit air @ time japanese attacked pearl harbor.

the personnel of 2 squadrons of 35th pursuit group (the 21st , 34th, pilot rosters @ half strength), , 3 of 27th bombardment group (light), moved convoy of 2 transports escorted cruiser louisville, without airplanes, , disembarked @ manila on 20 november 1941. pursuit squadrons attached 24th pursuit group , acquired p-35s other squadrons training purposes. shipment of 24 crated p-40es arrived in manila freighter on 25 november, first of 50 intended 35th pursuit group, , trucked philippine air depot @ nichols field assembly.

from force of 5 squadrons (one bombardment, 1 observation , 3 pursuit) , 110 operational aircraft in may 1941, philippine department had thirteen squadrons , 195 combat aircraft. however, ten squadrons had airplanes (four bombardment, 5 pursuit, , 1 observation), , although of new equipment considered first-line army air forces, none of first-rate standards of air forces engaged in aerial combat. further, overwhelming majority of fighter pilots sorely lacking in meaningful flying experience.

feaf organized

macarthur held position japan not attempt invasion of philippines before april 1942. clagett (described 1 historian of campaign lacking necessary elasticity of mind , body realistic preparation total war ) had twice been hospitalized during mid-1941 , not meeting demands of scenario. @ beginning of september arnold met marshall identify replacement clagett infuse necessary urgency philippine buildup.

maj. gen. lewis h. brereton arrived in philippines command feaf on 4 november 1941. bomber, fighter, , service commands feaf organized when stood on 16 november 1941; clagett placed in command of provisional 5th interceptor command , churchill made commander of far east air service command. when war warning marshall received in philippines on 28 november (philippine time), feaf began dispatching 2 b-17s daily on reconnaissance flights of sea lanes north of luzon, orders not overfly japanese territory on formosa. units worked complete protective , dispersal measures, while interceptors armed , placed on alert status.

the arrival of national guard units @ end of september provided first ground defenses clark field. 2 battalions of light tanks positioned @ fort stotsenburg in late november protect clark against seizure japanese airborne troops, while 200th coast artillery regiment (aa) provided limited antiaircraft artillery defense .50-caliber machine guns , dozen 3-inch guns.

the pensacola convoy of 7 transport vessels gathered @ honolulu , sailed manila on 29 november, transporting 52 douglas a-24 dive bombers of 27th bg, 18 p-40s intended 49th pursuit group, 48 pilots of 35th pg, 39 recent flight school graduates on casual status, , ground echelons of 5 squadrons, escorted uss pensacola. remainder of 35th group (the remaining pilots, 2 pursuit squadrons, , group headquarters) sailed aboard usat president garfield honolulu on 6 december join convoy.

aircraft inventory on 8 december 1941

each of 5 pursuit squadrons had to&e strength of 25 aircraft including spares, because of accidents , other factors, none had total. decision made feaf use 18 in tactical commission, regardless of number in inventory. 20 p-40es had been delivered 21st ps on 4 , 6 december many had not yet had engines slow-timed , none had more 2 hours of flying time. of p-35as had been over-used gunnery training because of shortage of .50-caliber ammunition , needed engine changes (none operationally available , far east air depot had neither facilities nor personnel large-scale engine maintenance), while guns wholly unreliable poor maintenance. ammunition shortage resulted in practically none of equipping p-40s being test-fired, less used in gunnery practice, , many failed in combat.

feaf had 54 operational , capable p-40s , 34 b-17s on 8 december. against these 88 fighters , bombers, japanese committed 288 first-line combat aircraft in trained units of navy s 11th kōkūkantai , army s 5th hikōshidan support luzon operations: 108 land-based naval bombers, 54 army bombers, 90 mitsubishi a6m 0 carrier fighters, , 36 nakajima ki-27 (army type 97) nate army fighters.

the numbers below in italicized brackets indicate number of feaf aircraft in inventory flyable on 8 december. if no figure listed, number of usable aircraft unknown.

boeing b-17c/d: 35 (32)
curtiss p-40b/e: 91 (89)
north american a-27: 8 (1)
seversky p-35a: (26)
douglas b-18a: 18 (15, trainer-transports, 2 @ del monte)
martin b-10b: 3 (1 paac)
boeing p-26a: 12 (12 paac)
curtiss o-52: 11
other: 46

there 60 additional aircraft in philippine army air corps, including 1 keystone zb-3a bomber. 42 stearman 76dc trainers of varying serviceability , utility.

feaf airfields

within 80 mi (130 km) of manila, army had 6 airfields (clark, nichols, nielson, iba, del carmen, , rosales), 2 of auxiliary strips nearing completion. 4 auxiliary strips begun in november: o donnell , san fernando near clark, san marcelino northwest of subic bay, , ternate west of cavite (ternate , san fernando never finished). no strips planned on bataan, despite prominence in strategic war planning. in august , october 1941, war department allocated us$9,273,000 (approximately $150 million in 2015 dollars) construct , improve airfields, of spent constructing concrete runway @ nichols field (the hard-surfaced runway in philippines). additional graded strips added or extended grass runways @ clark field, rest of allocated funds used build auxiliary fields. auxiliary strips dirt-surfaced , without maintenance, servicing, communications, or control facilities. dust clouds generated takeoffs @ strips except nichols hampered flight operations, numerous mishaps destroyed many aircraft, killed pilots, , reduced assigned strength of tiny combat missions. use of expedients cut down dust, including molasses mixture deposited tank truck, unsuccessful.

bombs being loaded b-17 of 19th bomb group @ del monte field

del monte field operated feaf on island of mindanao. in november 1941, b-17s of 7th bomb group expected arrive in december, clark field still base support heavy bombers all-grass parking areas , taxi strips not withstand heavy operations when wet, making dispersal impossible. informed 3 more groups projected arrive in january , february, macarthur , chief of staff, brig. gen. richard k. sutherland, favored new bomber bases in visayas recognized selected sites @ cebu , tacloban not support bomber operations without significant , expensive construction of runways. compromise, on 24 november 1941 newly arrived 5th air base group hurried 800 mi (1,300 km) south northern mindanao inter-island steamer build second bomber base 7th bg. begun 27 november on site of emergency landing strip surveyed in september 1941, new base situated next sayre national highway 1.5 mi (2.4 km) northwest of tankulan in bukidnon province.

established in natural meadow on high plateau 21 mi (34 km) southeast of cagayan city, , flanked on both sides low hills, site in pineapple plantation owned del monte corporation. needed cutting of grass create hard, all-weather sod runway. del monte no. 1, bomber runway, ready limited operations 5 december. smaller pre-war liaison strip, situated across highway southwest on small golf course, designated del monte no. 3, , parallel runway fighter operations later cut northeast of bomber runway called del monte no. 2.

after japanese intruder , weather reconnaissance flights detected on several successive nights, sixteen b-17s of 14th , 93d bombardment squadrons dispersed clark del monte no. 1 on night of 5–6 december, circling until dawn (5 december in united states) before landing. intended remain 72 hours because neither maintenance facilities nor barracks had yet been built, , single radio operating. 2 understrength ordnance companies clark had preceded them del monte on 3 december , constructed own camp in tankulan, remainder of personnel , materiel required, particularly aviation gas, did not depart luzon until 10 december. several months after hostilities began, work continued on del monte strip in barrio of dalirig, 4 mi (6.4 km) east of bomber strip, , @ crude well-camouflaged dispersal fields located 25 mi (40 km) 40 mi (64 km) further inland @ malaybalay, valencia , maramag in bukidnon province.

lubao field on luzon, in barrio of prado in pampanga province, became location new airfield after clark , nichols neutralized japanese. begun in sugarcane fields along highway 7 near entrance bataan 400 filipino laborers under supervision of philippine army engineers, 3,600 ft (1,100 m) fighter strip still not completed when of 21st pursuit squadron commanded 1st lt. william e. dyess arrived manila on 15 december. working around clock, combined force completed construction of runway, constructed revetments , graded taxiways in preparation basing dozen p-40s , 5 p-35s there, flown mixed assortment of experienced pilots 5 pursuit squadrons. lubao airfield began operations on 26 december , superbly camouflaged. 21st ps flew reconnaissance , other missions lubao until 2 january 1942, when field evacuated. on 29 december, 3 pursuits (two p-40s , p-35) salvaged @ last minute @ clark field in face of advancing japanese units volunteer group of mechanics , flown lubao, evacuated others.

five fighter strips opened on bataan support defensive operations during withdrawal , subsequent siege:

orani field. camouflaged dirt strip on upper end of bataan opened operations on 26 december. 34th ps received transfer orders on christmas day , conducted twice daily reconnaissance flights using 5 p-40s. 2,800 ft (850 m) field camouflaged using rice straw , movable haystacks, , not attacked before abandoned, on 4 january.
pilar field. aircraft withdrawing both lubao , orani flown airfield near pilar had been graded in rice fields filipino hand labor. revetments had been built , camouflaged in 1 day on 26 december 17th ps. operations @ pilar began on 1 january using final 3 new p-40es of 25 november shipment, assembled in last week of december @ philippine air depot, relocated quezon city. last mission pilar flown 8 january, after 9 p-40 aircraft displaced del monte field, mindanao (only 6 arrived).
bataan field. primary fighter base after withdrawal bataan graded in 1941 2,000 ft (610 m) dirt strip running uphill coastal road. dubbed richards folly after department air officer had ordered construction, located on manila bay side of bataan 3 miles north of cabcaben, village on southern tip of peninsula. runway widened , lengthened 5,100 ft (1,600 m) after 24 december 803rd aviation engineers in anticipation of future operations. first aircraft, 2 p-35s , a-27 displaced lubao, arrived on 2 january, , on 4 january 9 p-40s @ orani sent down. combat operations began on 8 january, aircraft concealed in hidden revetments until launched between raids made japanese dive bombers. p-35s flown mindanao on 11 january after a-27 lost in landing accident. maintenance , operation of field assigned 16th bombardment squadron (27th bomb group), had no aircraft, , damage runways raids repaired company c, 803rd aviation engineers.
cabcaben field. @ end of january 1942 strip 3,900 ft (1,200 m) in length hastily graded civilian contractors 2.5 mi (4.0 km) south of bataan field , made operational dispersal field on 6 february. 21st ps recalled infantry duties on 12 february operate , maintain both , bataan airfields.
mariveles field. existing dirt liaison field @ southernmost point on bataan abandoned on 7 january, @ end of month road adjacent field extended , widened provide new fighter strip 65 ft (20 m) in width , 3,800 ft (1,200 m) long. orientation overlooking heights such once pilot committed landing, had no choice continue, , subject severe tail-winds. 20th pursuit squadron recalled on 12 february complete defensive position preparations, camouflage revetments, , maintain field, became operational on 23 february.

warning systems

the warning service of philippine department directed lt. col. alexander h. campbell, had transferred philippines in october 1939 command battalion of 60th coast artillery (aa). functioning office of intelligence section (g-2) of department headquarters, warning service operated interim information , operation center @ nielson field included electrically lighted map plot sightings indicated origins of reports twinkling lights. in lieu of working detection equipment , trained personnel, warning service maintained primitive system of 509 observation posts manned 860 civilian watchers, unschooled in aircraft identification, report airplane movements 5 radio, 2 telegraph, , ten telephone networks manned members of 3 u.s. military services, philippine army , constabulary, philippine postal system, , civilian companies in provinces. interpreters required many dialects used observers. message processing encountered significant delays between time of observation , time of report.

on 4 may 1941, warning service shifted new pdaf air warning service . newly trained 194-man signal corps air warning company arrived transport on 1 august operate 2 scr-271c fixed-location air tracking radars planned deployment on luzon, each range of 150 mi (240 km). campbell prepared study clagett recommending 24-hour operations , modern aircraft detection equipment, 2 mobile scr-270b units , 9 scr-271s, allotting 8 units luzon , 3 mindanao, , expanding force 915-man battalion. suggested radars established @ future time on islands of lubang, samar, palawan, jolo, basilan, tablas, panay, , negros.

his specific recommendation in line 1 scr-270/seven scr-271 recommendation of air defense board received war department, , endorsed macarthur on 8 september recommendation funds. macarthur notified wire next day scr-270 , 2 scr-271s in transit philippines ship use air warning company, 3 more scr-270s follow in october. however, 15 november, when aws integrated new 5th interceptor command, plans fixed-location radar sites 5 percent complete , no date begin construction had been set. 557th air warning battalion designated provide expanded warning defense, , @ port of embarkation @ san francisco on 6 december.

the aws received 7 scr-270 mobile units 2 operating on 8 december: 1 in full operation @ iba, , marine corps unit training @ nusugbu in batangas province. latter assigned air warning detachment of 1st separate marine battalion in late november provide protection navy base. iba unit had been operational since 18 october , functioning. on 29 november, in response war warning sent overseas commands marshall, detachment went on continuous watch in 3 shifts.

three army detachments mobile units , marine detachment ordered field on 3 december instructions in operation 10 december. of army detachments, @ onset of hostilities 1 had reached position @ burgos, ilocos norte, in northwest luzon; @ tagaytay, cavite, damaged set; , third newly established @ paracale, camarines norte, in southeastern luzon, had completed calibration tests. 2 fixed-location scr-271s in storage.

scr-268 radar similar set-up used on bataan.

usaffe received 11 sets of scr-268 antiaircraft radars, searchlight-control radar used gun laying of aa weapons. after feaf forced withdraw bataan continue operations, primitive fields subject frequent attack luzon-based aircraft of japanese army. scr-268 of 200th coast artillery placed in operation on hillside above cabcaben airfield. used in conjunction sole surviving scr-270b unit, hidden in jungle mile bataan field, served warning system , linked headquarters of 5th interceptor command @ mariveles. takeoffs , landings bataan field flying detachment required towing of p-40s off runways , hidden revetments, , vulnerable strafing. ad hoc system facilitated coordination of field operations, , while imperfect, no aircraft lost during takeoffs or landings.

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