World War II: Mexican Air Force Helped Liberate the Philippines

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The new targets were generally covered with jungle and virtually invisible. Steep mountains, bad weather and anti-aircraft fire made air support missions hazardous. A controller on the ground or in a liaison aircraft would mark Japanese positions with a colored smoke shell or rocket and confirm with the squadron leader as the flights orbited the area. The leader would make a ‘dry’ pass over the target, then lead the first flight in.

The pilots dived one by one, ignoring enemy tracers and flak, dropped their ordnance and pulled up hard, nearly blacking out from G-forces as they felt the concussions of their 1,000-pounders ripping open the jungle canopy just below them. Debris was often thrown up 1,500 feet by the blasts, and the air was filled with black smoke. When a controller was unable to identify the target, or the frequent summer rainstorms closed in, the pilots had to abort and jettison their bombs in a safe zone. The controllers couldn’t always see the effects of the bombing, but where they could, they frequently noted ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ results. Amazingly enough, no friendly casualties were attributed to the 201st.

When the Japanese presented a visible target, the Aztec Eagles quickly pounced on their prey. On June 17 on a mission to Payawan, in the central highlands, a controller with the call-sign ‘Bygone’ directed the squadron members to attack enemy concentrations 4,000 yards northeast of that town. Lieutenant Amador Samano Pia later remembered: ‘Our leader, Lieutenant Hector Espinosa Galvan, discovered an enemy convoy on one of the secondary roads, and he ordered our seven planes to attack it. We came directly toward the target, machine-gunning. I took aim at a truck right in front of me, we got closer and I fired two bursts of machine-gun fire and almost immediately flames enveloped the truck. Quickly we pulled up to avoid the explosions after dropping bombs. The enemy responded vigorously with light arms fire and damaged two of our airplanes. This mission lasted from 1330 hours to 1545 hours.’

As dangerous as close support was, a riskier assignment was in the works — very long-range (VLR) fighter sweeps across the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy, preparing to invade Japan, needed control of the sea lanes south of Kyushu, an area dominated by the island of Formosa (Taiwan), an occupied Japanese military bastion. Though enemy activity had been reduced by Fifth Air Force bombing, it was still a threat and — located almost 600 miles from the 201st’s base — at the limit of the range of its P-47s.

Early in July, the 58th Fighter Group left for Okinawa. The 201st would operate from Clark Field while it brought its P-47 inventory up to strength with new P-47D-30 models and awaited more Mexican squadrons. In the meantime, the aircraft were fitted with auxiliary wing tanks and prepared for VLR missions.

Early on July 6, eight Mexican Thunderbolts took off from Clark with a maximum load, barely clearing the runway. Hanging over the vast expanse of the Pacific as they traveled north hour after hour, with the blazing tropical sun beating down on their cramped cockpits, the pilots became drained and dehydrated. Adding to their discomfort was the tension of flying single-engine aircraft over hundreds of miles of water with only basic instruments. A small navigational error, bad weather or high fuel consumption could force them to ditch.

Over Formosa, the Mexicans encountered no challengers. The Aztec Eagles owned the air. The sweep was completed successfully, and all pilots managed to return safely to Clark except Lieutenant Perez, who put down at Lingayen, out of fuel. After over seven hours in the air, in full survival gear, the men had to be helped from their cockpits. Each downed several ounces of hard liquor before debriefing, to break the tension.

More sweeps were flown in July. The Mexican pilots also practiced combat tactics and ferried new P-47s from Biak Island, New Guinea, to Clark — as well as flying war-weary Jugs to Biak for disposal. It was the height of the typhoon season by that time, and the weather conditions proved both unpredictable and treacherous.

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Tags: 20th - 21st Century, Aerial Combat, Air Sea, Aviation History, Historical Conflicts, World War II

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