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