Philippine Air Force
From Worldatplay
| Philippine Air Force Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Founded | July 1, 1947 (as an independent service) | |
| Country | Philippines | |
| Part of | Armed Forces of the Philippines | |
| Commanders | ||
| Commander of the Philippine Air Force | Lieutenant General Horacio Tolentino | |
| Insignia | ||
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The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is the air force of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas.
Contents |
History
The Philippine Air Force became a separate military service on July 1, 1947, when President Manuel Roxas issued Executive Order No. 94. This order created the Philippine Naval Patrol and the Air Force as equal branches of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Constabulary. The Air Force was preceded by the:
- Philippine Air Service (Curtiss F-5L, H-2L, HS-2L, and JN-4)
- Philippine Constabulary Air Corps (no aircraft)
- Philippine Army Air Corps
World War I and Inter-War Years
Although the Philippines did not have its own air corps as of yet during World War I, Filipino volunteers from the Philippine National Guard were accepted for flight training at Fort Mills on Corregidor, which was then home to the 1st Company, 2nd Squadron of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps. By February 1918, these volunteers finished their ground schooling and were ready for flight training on the mainland. On March 15, Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison's request for flight training for these volunteers would be denied as there were no more planes available.
These volunteers were then assigned to Fort Stotsenburg as part of the Artillery Corps of the Philippine National Guard. After the War, the National Guard was disbanded. Surplus materiel from the war were also sold to the Philippine Militia Commission (PMC). Now equipped with aircraft, the PMC commissioned the Curtiss School of Aviation to provide flight training to 33 students at Camp Claudio in Parañaque. These were composed of ten Philippine Constabulary officers and 23 recruits from the National Guard. On April 26, 1920, Lieutenant Leoncio Malinao became the first locally-trained Filipino military pilot to go on a solo flight.
On July 7, 1920, the Council of State established the Philippine Air Service, which was tasked to provide air mail and passenger flights between Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Zamboanga. In 1921, the Service was forced to shut down due to lack of funds.
On January 2, 1935, Brigadier General Basilio J. Valdes formally organized the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps, which was tasked to provide reconnaissance support to the Philippine Constabulary. On December 23, the National Defense Act of 1935 provided for the creation of the Philippine Army, which was to be composed of the Constabulary; the Constabulary Air Corps thus became the Philippine Army Air Corps.
Up until the beginning of the Pacific War, the Army Air Corps focused on training pilots as well as acquriing aircraft and facilities. The Air Corps's instructors were also tasked to train both Filipino and American pilots. A prominent student was Lieutenant Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower, who took flying lessons, while serving a tour of duty as part of General Douglas MacArthur's staff.
World War II
Shortly before the Pacific War began, the Army Air Corps was absorbed by the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). At that time, the Air Corps had 142 pilots, 1,700 enlisted men, and four airfields: Zablan Field (Camp Aguinaldo), Maniquis Field in Nueva Ecija, Batangas Field, and Lahug Field in Cebu.
On December 8, 1941, the Japanese attacked Clark Airfield. Two squadrons of Boeing B-17s and a squadron of P-40 fighters and other assorted aircraft were destroyed. By December 9, the Army Air Corps's 6th Pursuit Squadron at Batangas Field under Captain Jesus Villamor was the only intact aviation unit in the USAFFE.
The 6th Pursuit Squadron (later on it became 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron) then proceeded to engage the Japanese in dogfights over Manila and Batangas. The squadron possibly shot down two enemy fighters and a bomber, but these kills are unconfirmed. First Lieutenant Cesar Basa, after whom Basa Air Base in Pampanga is named, was the only one in the squadron not to survive the battle.
Villamor went on to gather intelligence for the Allied forces. He would later receive the Distinguished Service Cross; his men would receive the Silver Star with an oak leaf cluster. After the war, the Philippine government honored Villamor with the Medal of Valor as well as his squadron, with the Gold Cross with Bronze Anahaw Leaf.
With much of its aircraft gone, the Army Air Corps was then ordered by General Jonathan Wainwright to destroy its remaining planes and join the retreat to Bataan.
After General MacArthur landed in Leyte, the remaining Army Air Corps pilots were sent to Leyte and subsequently to the United States for refresher flight training. Undergraduate cadets of the Flying School were also sent to the United States. When they returned to the Philippines, the Air Corps was reorganized by Lieutenant Colonel John Ryan of the U.S. Army Air Corps, who was also acting chief of the Philippine Army Air Corps until Lt. Col. Edwin Andrews arrived in the Philippines.
In September 1945, the Air Corps regained flying status when the 1st Troop Carrier Squdron at the Lipa Army Air Base in Batangas was activated with two Douglas C-47s. By January 1946, the squadron had 22 such aircraft.
Communist Insurgency and the Cold War
After Philippine independence was granted on July 4, 1946, the Hukbalahap rebellion would become the predominant focus of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. To quell the insurgency, the Air Force primarily employed the North American P-51D Mustang.
At the height of the Cold War, the Philippine Air Force would become one of the best-equipped air forces in Asia, and would remain such for over three decades. At one point, the Air Force had more P-51 Mustangs than it had pilots.
Jet aircraft were introduced to the inventory in 1954 when Colonel Godofredo Juliano, Majors Pestaña and Rancudo, and Captain Jose Gil flew an initial batch of T-33 jet trainer aircraft from Japan. These aircraft landed at Clark Air Base as the PAF's Basa Air Base was not yet able to handle jet aircraft. In 1956, the PAF acquired several squadrons of F-86F Sabres, which became ready for combat after proficiency flights and aerial exercises with the 13th Air Force at Clark Air Base.
In 1953, 1Lt. Jose Gonzalez and other pilots from the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 5th Fighter Wing at Basa Air Base formed the Blue Diamonds, a group of pilots which excelled in precision aerobatic flying. The Blue Diamonds first used the P-51s, then the F-86S, and finally, the F-5s. It was considered the Philippine counterpart to the USAF Thunderbirds.
By the 1960s the Philippine Air Force was totally dependent on the United States for equipment and funding, that the Philippine Air Force could be candidly referred to as the "United States Air Force run by Filipinos." An extensive radar network had been activated across the country, and the first batch of F-5 Freedom Fighters armed with AIM-9B missiles had arrived.
In 1962, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld asked the Philippine Government to send a tactical air squadron to neutralize secessionists in the Congo. In 1963, Filipino, Swedish, and Iranian fighter units secured the airspace over the Congo. This earned the Limbas Squadron the United Nations Service Medal.
In the same year, the PAF sent a mercy mission to Bali, Indonesia after Mount Agung erupted. Air Force paramedics, including a team of doctors and nurses from the Department of Health, treated and vaccinated thousands of evacuees in a field hospital. Seven Douglas C-47s ferried the team along with medical supplies and relief goods.
In the 1970s, the PAF had a complete array of bases and airfields, including landing strips in the Sulu Sea and the Kalayaan Islands.
After the Hukbalahap insurgency was quelled, the focus turned its attention to the New People's Army (NPA) and the Moro National Liberation Front. The Air Force would play a significant role in the continuing effort to destroy the NPA. One of the most significant battles against the NPA occurred in November 1972 during the Battle of Sibalu Hill in Jolo, Sulu. During this operation, numerous waves of F-5 and F-86 fighters, as well as T-33 jets and C-47 gunships, took to the skies from Mactan for Jolo every minute, continuously bombarding the insurgent camp.
In late 1977, the Philippine Air Force acquired 35 F-8P Crusaders (refurbished F-8H Crusaders). As part of the deal, the United States Air Force would train Filipino pilots in the TF-8A. The F-8s were withdrawn from service beginning in 1988 and were finally withdrawn from service in 1991, after they were badly damaged by the Mount Pinatubo eruption. They have since been offered for sale as scrap.
Inventory
Attack aircraft
- Cessna A-37 Dragonfly
- General Dynamics F-111F
- MD Helicopters 500MG Defender
- North American T-28D Trojan
- Rockwell OV-10D Bronco
- Sikorsky AUH-76
Fighter aircraft
- Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet (being delivered)
- Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II
Transport and utility aircraft
- Aérospatiale Puma
- AgustaWestland EH101
- Beechcraft 80 Queen Air
- Bell UH-1H Iroquois
- Bell UH-1N Twin Huey
- Bell 412
- Boeing 747
- Britten-Norman Islander
- CASA CN-235-100
- Cessna 172 Skywagon
- Cessna 180
- Cessna 206 Stationair
- Cessna 210
- Cessna 310
- Cessna 421 Golden Eagle
- Eurocopter Dauphin
- Fokker F27 Friendship
- Fokker F28 Fellowship
- Lockheed C-130B/H Hercules
- Sikorsky S-70A
- Sikorsky S-76
Trainer aircraft
- Aermacchi S-211
- Aermacchi SF-260TP/-WP
- Cessna T-41D Mescalero
- Lockheed T/RT-33A Shooting Star
- Northrop F-5F Tiger II
Other aircraft
- Cessna O-2 Skymaster (light observation)
- Lockheed P-3C Orion (maritime patrol)
- Lockheed WC-130 Hercules (weather reconnaissance)
Reserve aircraft
- de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (utility)
- Douglas C-47 Skytrain (transport)
- Grumman HU-16B Albatross (flying boat)
- North American Aviation P-51D Mustang (fighter)
- Northrop F-5A/B Freedom Fighter (fighter-bomber/training aircraft)
Organization
| 15th Strike Wing | HQ, Maj. Danillo S. Atienza AB, Sangley Point, Cavite |
| 16th Attack Squadron (Eagles) | OV-10D |
| 17th Attack Squadron (Jaguars) | F-111F |
| 18th Attack Squadron (Falcons) | MD-520MG |
| 20th Attack Squadron (Firebirds) | MD-520MG |
| 25th Attack Squadron (Lobos) | A-37 |
| Air Defense Wing | Basa AB, Pampanga |
| 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Bulldogs) | F-16C |
| 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing | HQ, Benito Ebuen AB, Mactan Island, Cebu |
| 206th Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Hornets) | S-70A |
| 207th Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Stingers) | UH-1N |
| 208th Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Daggers) | UH-1N |
| 220th Airlift Wing | HQ, Benito Ebuen AB, Mactan Island, Cebu |
| 221st Tactical Airlift Squadron | Fokker F28 |
| 222nd Tactical Airlift Squadron | C-130H |
| 223rd Tactical Airlift Squadron | CN235-100 |
| 100th Training Wing | Fernando AB, Lipa |
| 101st Primary Flying Training Sqn (Wildcat) | T-41D |
| 102nd Basic Flying Training Sqn (Cougar) | SF.260MP |
| 505th Search and Rescue Group (Angels) | HQ, Col. Jesus A. Villamor AB, Pasay City, Metro Manila |
| 5051st Search and Rescue Squadron | UH-1N, UH-1H, S-76 Bell 412 |
| 5052nd Search and Rescue Squadron | UH-1N, UH-1H, S-76 Bell 412 |
| 5053rd Search and Rescue Squadron | UH-1N, UH-1H, S-76 Bell 412 |
| 5056th Search and Rescue Squadron | UH-1N, UH-1H, S-76, Bell 412 |
| 250th Presidential Airlift Wing (Code one) | Col. Jesus A. Villamor AB, Pasay City, Metro Manila |
| 251st Presidential Airlift Squadron | Boeing 747 |
| 252nd Presidential Helicopter Squadron | EH101 |
| 900th Weather Support Group | Col. Jesus A. Villamor AB, Pasay City, Metro Manila |
| 901st Weather Squadron | WC-130 |
Bases
The Philippine Air Force has nine air bases located throughout the Philippine archipelago:
- Harold Clark Air Base, Pampanga
- Basa Air Base, Pampanga
- Jesus Villamor Air Base, Pasay City
- Danilo Atienza Air Base, Cavite City
- Basilio Fernando Air Base, Batangas
- Antonio Bautista Air Base, Palawan
- Benito Ebuen Air Base, Cebu
- Edwin Andrews Air Base, Zamboanga
- Rajah Buayan Air Base, General Santos City, South Cotabato
