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Under the command of Major Emmett O'Donnell Jr., nine B-17s of the 14th Squadron with nine crews made up of the cream of the 5th and 11th Bombardment Groups, pioneered an air ferry route from Hawaii to the Philippines, leaving on 5 September 1941, and arriving on 12 September 1941, at Clark Field, Philippines. This was the first flight of land ...
The ground echelon was attached to the 5th Interceptor Command (Provisional) and sent to fight as infantry on Luzon and Mindanao Islands. On Christmas Eve, HQ 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy) and the air echelon of the 28th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) were transferred from Clark to Batchelor Field with B-17's.
The Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly's National Defense Act of 1935 in its first legislative act. [1]General Douglas MacArthur, convinced by his friend Philippine President-elect Manuel L. Quezon and with President Roosevelt's agreement to leave his position as Chief of Staff, become Military Adviser to the Commonwealth Government in 1935. [2]
Air echelon flew Group's Douglas C-47 Skytrains to New Guinea, via Hawaii, the Fiji Islands, and Australia, August–September 1943, and began operations with Fifth Air Force. Ground echelon sailed from the West Coast on 25 September 1943, arriving in Australia on 10 October 1943.
The Far East Air Force (FEAF) was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II.Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces and the United States Air Force.
When the United States entered World War II the squadron was deploying to the Philippines. Its ground echelon fought as infantry, with most members surrendering at Bataan, while the air echelon fought in the Netherlands East Indies, earning the squadron three Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC)s.
Group Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 27 Jan 45–22 Feb 45) Flight Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 31 Jan 45–22 Feb 45) Advance Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 10 Mar 45–4 Jul 45) Rear Echelon (Philippines Campaign: 17 Mar 45–4 Jul 45) CO, MAG-32; Col Clayton C. Jerome (until July 1945) Col Stanley E. Ridderhof. ExO, MAG-32; LCol John L. Smith
Established in November 1941 to provide air defense of Luzon, Philippine Islands.After Japanese invasion on 24 December 1941, mission changed to provide ground defense of island, with ground and air echelon personnel of unequipped Fifth Air Force units on Luzon attached to fight as ground infantry units during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) after their aircraft were destroyed or ...