HISTORY

Photo: via Francis S. Gabreski

Caught With Their

Pants Down

US Army Air Corps

at Pearl Harbor

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Burning aircraft and hangars on the flight line at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, produce a huge cloud of smoke following bombing and strafing attacks by Japanese naval aircraft on December 7, 1941.

As the United States considered its place in the world during the opening decade of the 20th Century, the strategic

importance of the Hawaiian Islands became obvious. Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a base in Hawaii

would place the American Navy’s ships five sailing days

closer to the Asian continent than its bases on the west

coast of the U.S. Plus, Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu

was one of the largest and best natural harbors in the

Pacific.

The Navy began construction of its base at Pearl

Harbor in 1908 and expanded it steadily over the

next decade, deepening the harbor sufficiently to

accommodate the largest vessels in the U.S. fleet. In acknowledgement of the emergence of air

power during World War I, U.S. Army Air Corps

bases were built on Oahu to provide air defense

for Pearl Harbor. The USAAC activated the 18th

Pursuit Group and its three squadrons of biplane

fighters at Wheeler Field, about 10 miles west of

Pearl Harbor, in 1927.

In 1940, with Japan growing increasingly expansionist in Asia, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the entire Pacific Fleet of nearly 100

ships to Pearl Harbor to deter growing Japanese

aggression. The USAAC activated the 15th PG in

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December 1940 to bolster the air defenses for

Hawaii. Wheeler Field was the Army's main fighter airbase.

Diplomatic talks increased between the United

States and Japan during the fall of 1941, but to

no avail. Meanwhile, Japanese military planners

were planning for war. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto engineered an air attack on Pearl Harbor in

hopes of taking the U.S. Navy out of the war at the

beginning. Meanwhile, invasions were planned

against the Philippine Islands (then an American

possession), the British colony at Hong Kong,

French Indo-China, and the Dutch East Indies.

American military leaders and President Roosevelt were not unaware of Japan’s hostile intentions, because U.S. Naval intelligence had broken

Japan’s diplomatic radio code some months

earlier. Nor were the Americans lacking sufficient military assets to defend Pearl Harbor from

aerial attack. Of 231 military aircraft stationed on

the island of Oahu, 115 were Army P-40 and P-36

fighters of the 14th Pursuit Wing. Army B-17 and

B-18 bombers were available for patrol duties,

as were Navy PBY flying boats, and a new net

of radar stations provided further aerial surveillance.

At this time, the Curtiss P-40 was the first-line

operational fighter in the U.S. Army Air Corps’

inventory, and nine pursuit squadrons in Hawaii

were fully or partially equipped with the type. The

P-40 design had its roots in the radial-engine

Curtiss P-36 Hawk fighter, which also was on

strength in Hawaii. P-40B and C models equipped most squadrons of the 15th and 18th pursuit

groups by December 1941.

A Plum Assignment

Army pilots considered Hawaii a plum assignment prior to the outbreak of the war. Their

workdays were short, their accommodations at

Wheeler Field were comfortable, and there was

plenty of fun to be had during off-duty hours.

Even better, they were flying the best fighter

Uncle Sam had at the time. Among those pilots

was 2/Lt. Francis S. Gabreski of the 45th PS/15th

PG, who joined the unit fresh out of flight school

in April 1941. Gabreski soon tamed the P-40 and

went on in 1944 to become the leading USAAF

INFO Eduard - December 2021