U.S. aircraft in the Philippines, 1937-1942

Some trivia regarding the pictures. The B-17D shown at Iba was the one that
Colin Kelly brought out from Hawaii, though not the one he was shot down in
(a C model). "61" was badly damaged at Clark on Dec. 8th, and was rebuilt and flown by the Japanese along with 2 E models captured in Java. The P-35A
in metal finish 17/4MP was Wagner's ship. I met a number of 17th Pursuit vets
on a trip with them to the PI in 2002 for the 60th anniversary of the fall of Bataan. They said Wagner was quite a character, and lived up to the image.

Good answers - I'm especially impressed by the guy who recognized the A-27s!! They were "beefed up" AT-6s that were designed as light attack planes and destined for Thailand. They were intercepted on the Manila docks and used as hacks and trainers.

I recognized #61 from some captured Japanese photos. Here's one taken by the Japanese when they captured Nichols Field. You can see a couple of P-35A wrecked in the foreground.



Someone mentioned B-18s - 12 were sent to the Philippines for the 28th BS in early 1941 but they were soon used as transports. Some B-10s were still around, as well. This was serving as a hack with the 4th Composite Group HQ. Taken at Nichols Field, 1941.

wow...amazing info rick...

thanks for these images...

would greatly appreciate it if you have any more photos of actual PAAC aircraft during the advent of ww2 in the philippines???

i'm particularly interested in verifying the actual clor schemes on the aircraft handed over to the PAAC like the B-3, P-26, B-10, O-49...

thanks again...

Hey guys, found this article on the web, posted by a Mr. Rob Arndt. It's an excerpt from the memoirs of Capt. Jesus Villamor. So far this is what I've gathered from my limited research on the web of the 6th Pursuit Squadron.

Jesus Villamor and the P-26 Against the Japanese - rec.aviation.military | Google Groups

Known members:

CPT Jesus Villamor, MOV - Victories: 1x Mitsubishi A6M Zero destroyed (12/10/41), 1x Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bomber destroyed (12/12/41). He later joined the Allies as an Intelligence officer and worked closely with Gen. MacArthur.
LT Godofredo Juliano - He was the first to take off during the Dec. 10th battle, and provided air cover for the rest of the group during their takeoff.
LT Jose Gozar - Reportedly not a member of 6PS, but took off to help on Dec. 10th even though his P-26 was unarmed. He fought in Bataan and Corrigedor, and was later captured by the Japanese and presumed dead.
LT Cesar Basa - First Filipino pilot to be KIA. Shot down 12/12/41 and was strafed by the Japanese during either his parachute descent or when he was trying to flee on foot.
LT Alberto Aranzaso - Not mentioned in the excerpt. He was one of the pilots who took off on Dec. 10th. He later was killed in Corrigedor while trying to escape captivity along with an American officer, MAJ Damon Gause.
LT Antonio Mondigo - Survived the Bataan Death March, and later joined the Allies as an Intelligence officer.
LT Geronimo Aclan - Survived the Bataan Death March, and later joined Filipino guerrillas in raiding the Japanese, and liberating American POW camps.
LT Manuel Conde - Survived the war to become a pretty successful actor, director, and producer in the Philippines.

There is presumably at least one or two (and maybe more?) reported victories by Filipino pilots including a Zero, although these are unconfirmed, and have not found any credible source stating these victories (as you can imagine the difficulty in researching history on Filipino pilots).

Cheers,
GC

Hey Rick!

Great stuff! Thanks for posting!

Hey do you have any guess on which P-35 (marking wise I mean) was the one that was credited with shooting down a zero? Also, I noticed from the pictures in "Doomed from the start" that not all P-35's had the window in the door. Any info on which did or didn't and why?

look forward to more!

Regards

Can anybody recall details on the first kamikaze attack of WW2 when a B-17 pilot dived his aircraft into a Japanese warship during japan's conquest of the Philippines?

Propellorhead said:

Can anybody recall details on the first kamikaze attack of WW2 when a B-17 pilot dived his aircraft into a Japanese warship during japan's conquest of the Philippines?

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It never happend. Purely a propagandized version of Colin Kelley's demise.

Duane

Do you have anay info on Patwing ten

Capt. Vick said:

Hey do you have any guess on which P-35 (marking wise I mean) was the one that was credited with shooting down a zero? Also, I noticed from the pictures in "Doomed from the start" that not all P-35's had the window in the door. Any info on which did or didn't and why?

Click to expand...

Nothing like resurrecting an ancient thread...

AFAIK there's precious little info on the identity of specific P-35A airframes involved in the fighting for the Philippines. As for the fuselage window, all the P-35As were fitted with it. I suspect the windows on some aircraft were overpainted when the OD/NG camo was applied - this is just a hunch but it makes sense. I guess it is possible that some aircraft had the window replaced with sheet metal. Again, no rhyme or reason to these changes.

The one aspect I find interesting is the mix of markings on the P-35As. Some of the camo'd airframes wore national markings on just the upper and lower wing surfaces (both wings, both surfaces), while others had the more normal port upper surface/starboard lower surface marking. Finally, some aircraft had national markings on the fuselage (and, again, there was apparently a mix of wing markings associated with these aircraft). Then we have the unit codes which appear in both black and white on the fins of different aircraft...and the different shades of cowlings. Overall, for such a small contingent of aircraft, the marking variations are considerable.

Don't forget to include Capt. Bud Sprague in the list of fallen P-40 pilot heroes at the war's start. Companion book to Doomed at the Start is Bartsch's Every Day a Nightmare describing the Java campaign of the 17th Provisional Pursuit Squadron. Sprague was evidently a Group staff officer in the PI who flew some combat missions. He was evacuated to Australia and became CO of the 17th. He was, by all acccounts a great combat leader, and was KIA. That episode of the war might provide a clue as to what might have happened in the PI after December 8, 1941 had the units been blessed with better leadership and preparation.

Just to illustrate what I was talking about re P-35A markings:

1. No fuselage star on this bird and the tail codes are white, with the individual aircraft number repeated in white on either side of the cowl ring:




2. A couple of pics of the same 2 aircraft wrecks. In the first pic, the red centre to the national marking is barely visible (I suspect that's just a trick of the lighting conditions) but I think I can just make out another star on the opposite wingtip. White fin codes on the aircraft behind. Note that the '125' seems a different shade to the '24P' either due to different rates of wear or perhaps the 24P being yellow (unlikely but possible).

In the second pic, again we have the '25' repeated in white on the front of the cowl (this airframe is 125/24P from the previous image). Note national markings under both wings for the aircraft to the rear in this shot:




3. Another image of a wrecked P-35A (bottom left corner) clearly with national markings on both upper wing surfaces. The B-10 wreck was also in the Philippines:




4. Really like this colour pic. None of the P-35As have fuselage markings. The aircraft on the left (side on to the viewer) has the national marking on the port upper wing. The one behind it has no national marking on the starboard upper wing whereas the rather tatty aircraft to its right has the national marking on the starboard upper wing and the rudder strip markings (blue vertical stripe at the hinge with horizontal red/white stripes over the rest of the rudder, can also be seen). Note the white tail codes for the P-35A to the rear and the relative differences in wear-and-tear on the four P-35As. Also note the P-26 in the background still in 17th PS markings:




5. Yet another variation - overpainted fuselage window and possibly natural metal undersides. Note the 'US Army' marking. Still no national marking on the fuselage and, on this airframe, no code numbers on the fin:




6. Now we have a P-35A with national markings on the fuselage. Note also the darker appearance of the cowling. This aircraft still has the fuselage window clearly visible:




7. Normal operating conditions in the Philippines? I think I'm seeing a star marking under the port wing of this airframe:




8. Not very informative but a cool colour pic of a P-35A with the fuselage star marking, although it does show neutral grey undersurfaces:




9. And last but not least a couple of pics showing an intact captured P-35A. Shame we can't see the front of the cowl on the first pic. However, the aircraft clearly has fuselage markings.

On the second pic, we now have the unit numbers on the fin but this time in black:

Rick what an awesome thread, thanks!

Hi Dave,

Bet you'll like this video clip, then - colour footage of the P-35As still in Swedish markings (plus a B-17 towards the end of the series). You'll need to scroll down through the thumbnails to see the P-35s:

Stock Footage - Members of the U.S. Army 17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field in the Philippines, before World War II, in the Pacific.

The wrecked a/c were at Nichols. One is still in NMF. The reason for the 24 being a different shade may be because it recently
replaced the 4th Composite group designater(4M). the 1 prefix before the plane in group number 25 on the OD a/c denotes a second line a/c. All the P-35s were slated to go to the Philippine Air Corps as soon as more P-40s became available. The paint on the a/c was temporary water based.

Duane

Hi Duane,

Re the whole water-based paint issue, I suspect it was more complex than that. As can be seen in my Pic #4, it's clear that the aircraft in the centre-right was painted using some form of non-permanent paint hence the extreme wear and tear visible. However, the captured airframe at #9 is hardly weathered at all. That airframe, and perhaps a few of the other airframes visible in Pic #4, were probably camouflaged using durable paint. I suspect that the non-permanent paint was initially applied during the latter half of 1941 as the risk of war increased. However, as aircraft were cycled through depot-level maintenance, they had a full repaint. This would explain, in part, some of the marking variations and the differences in wear and tear visible on several of these aircraft.

Cheers,
B-N

buffnut453 said:

Hi Dave,

Bet you'll like this video clip, then - colour footage of the P-35As still in Swedish markings (plus a B-17 towards the end of the series). You'll need to scroll down through the thumbnails to see the P-35s:

Stock Footage - Members of the U.S. Army 17th Pursuit Squadron at Nichols Field in the Philippines, before World War II, in the Pacific.

Click to expand...

Really cool video seeing that Seversky P-35 fly and the one on the field with Swedish markings. Spending so much time in the last few weeks immersed in "Doomed at the Start,, it's history come to life. Thanks for posting!

I'm slowly working through "MacArthur's Pearl Harbor", the latest Bartsch book - it's excellent! I must pick up his tome on USAAF operations over Java.

Slightly off topic is there any pics of US Forces using Bren Gun carriers in Philippines, they were for the Canadians at Hong Kong but the ship diverted to Philippines upon outbreak of war and I have no idea whether they were used or just so much scrap

pbfoot said:

Slightly off topic is there any pics of US Forces using Bren Gun carriers in Philippines, they were for the Canadians at Hong Kong but the ship diverted to Philippines upon outbreak of war and I have no idea whether they were used or just so much scrap

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Worth a thread? Never heard that story. It's not mentioned in "Doomed... which is the only account I've read other than on the web below."

How about this link.... it looks like bren gun carriers were taken up and used by Phillipine army units.

Company C, 194th Tank Battalion in the Philippines, 1941-42

and:

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=75965

From this forum thread:

"An unexpected addition to the tanks of Col. James R.N. Weaver's Provisional Tank Group was received shortly after the start of war. The Japanese attack left marooned in Manila Harbor the Don Jose, a vessel belonging to the Canadian Government and carrying a cargo of motor equipment for two Canadian motor battalions in Hong Kong. MacArthur immediately requested that this matériel be released for use in the Philippines, and the War Department secured the Canadian Government's consent. The cargo included fifth-seven Bren gun carriers, forty of which were made available to Colonel Weaver. Unfortunately, the guns for the carriers were not included in the cargo, and they had to be armed by the Manila Ordnance Depot."

buffnut453 said:

Hi Duane,

Re the whole water-based paint issue, I suspect it was more complex than that. As can be seen in my Pic #4, it's clear that the aircraft in the centre-right was painted using some form of non-permanent paint hence the extreme wear and tear visible. However, the captured airframe at #9 is hardly weathered at all. That airframe, and perhaps a few of the other airframes visible in Pic #4, were probably camouflaged using durable paint. I suspect that the non-permanent paint was initially applied during the latter half of 1941 as the risk of war increased. However, as aircraft were cycled through depot-level maintenance, they had a full repaint. This would explain, in part, some of the marking variations and the differences in wear and tear visible on several of these aircraft.

Cheers,
B-N

Click to expand...

I agree with you 100%. I should have noted that I was referring specifically to those in the color pic at Iba. I have read references to a "war scare" earlier in 1941 that prompted quick paint jobs on the P-35As. Whether that was the reason or not, I'd guess that at the time, that was the only paint available. The lack of fuselage insignia at that time is remeniscent of the stateside experimental waterbase camo paint finishes on aircraft in the late 30s, the P-36s of the 27th Pursuit Squadron being a good example.
The insignia regulations had not yet been changed. As you have said, in the PI, different a/c being cycled through depot maintainance at different times, and new regulations regarding camo and markings would largly account for variations at any given time prior to the war starting.

Duane