The 4th Composite Group is an inactive

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

unit. It was last was assigned to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Philippine Department The Philippine Department (Filipino: ''Kagawaran ng Pilipinas/Hukbong Kagawaran ng Pilipinas'') was a regular United States Army organization whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On 9 April 1942, durin ...

Nichols Field Nichols Field was a U.S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. The complex is located at Andrews Avenue by the north, Domestic Road by the west, NAIA Road and Ninoy Aquino Avenue ...

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

. It was disbanded on 1 November 1941.4th Composite Group organizational record card, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Alabama The Group was the primary command and control organization for all Army Air Corps units in the

from 1919 until the eve of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in November 1941.

History

Inter-war years

The unit was formed from the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

2d, 3d and 28th Aero Squadrons in 1919 (its emblem represents the three squadrons with

Maltese cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

es). The 2d Aero Squadron, having served in the Philippines beginning in 1915, was transferred back from

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

, California in 1920 after training duties in the United States during the war. The 3d Aero Squadron, also a stateside training unit during the war, was transferred from

Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...

, New York in 1920. The 28th Aero Squadron, which had served in combat on the Western Front during the war, was transferred to the group in 1922. The units were re-designated as the 2d Observation Squadron, 3d Pursuit Squadron, and the 28th Bombardment Squadron, which represented the missions of the components of the group. Its mission was tactical training for coastal defense. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular and important part of its mission. Another mission of the 4th Composite Group during the 1920s was aerial mapping of the Philippines, the topography of many of the islands were largely unknown. The aerial mapping mission was the primary mission of the 2d Observation Squadron. In the Philippines, the group largely received a wide variety of second-line aircraft over the years from the United States; Air Corps overseas units in the Philippines as well as the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

were notorious for being the last units to receive the hand-me-down aircraft during the austere years of Air Corps procurement during the 1920s and 1930s. Beginning in 1934, the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps (PCAC) was created. The Philippine department of the US Army lent the Commonwealth government the services of men from the 4th Composite Group to train the officers and personnel of the budding Air Corps, making it one of the earliest independent Air Forces in Asia.

Prelude to war

In 1940, political relations between the United States and the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

reached a crisis with the Japanese occupation of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

. With war clouds forming, a reinforcement effort was made to the Air Corps units in the Philippines. On or about 1 November 1940, the 4th was reinforced by the

17th Pursuit Squadron 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. Seventeen is the sum of the first four prime numbers. In mathematics 17 is the seventh prime number, which makes seventeen the fourth super-prime, as s ...

from the

1st Pursuit Group First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

, being transferred from

Selfridge Field Selfridge Air National Guard Base or Selfridge ANGB is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township, Michigan, near Mount Clemens. Selfridge Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the Unit ...

, Michigan. The

20th Pursuit Squadron 020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exch ...

, from the

35th Pursuit Group Military units * 35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force * 35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I * 35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 Jul ...

at Hamilton Field, California also was transferred. Both of these squadrons, however, had only sent their personnel and both were equipped in the Philippines with the obsolete Boeing

P-26 Peashooter The Boeing P-26 "Peashooter" was the first American production all-metal fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane to enter squadron service with the United States Army Air Corps. Designed and built by Boeing, the prototype first flew in ...

. AFHRA Document 00078307 24th Pursuit Group
/ref> In May 1941, the 3d, 17th and 20th squadrons were re-equipped with

Seversky P-35 The Seversky P-35 is an American fighter aircraft built by the Seversky Aircraft Company in the late 1930s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-35 was the first single-seat fighter in United States Army Air Co ...

As that were manufactured for the

Swedish Air Force The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. History The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...

. On 24 October 1940, President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

signed an executive order requisitioning all the undelivered P-35s sold to Sweden and impressing them into the USAAC. 40 of the planes arrived at the Manila Air Depot in Swedish markings, with Swedish language technical orders and Swedish marked instrumentation. These planes all required modification at the depot before being turned over to the squadrons for operational use.Baugher, Seversky P-35A
/ref> The 28th Bombardment Squadron also received some Douglas

B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American heavy bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company f ...

s. During the summer of 1941, Nichols Field was undergoing construction of an east–west runway, making the north–south runway unusable due to a lack of drainage. The 4th was forced to move all of its squadrons to Clark Field with the exception of the 17th Pursuit Squadron. The 17th was sent to

Iba Airfield Iba Airfield is a former United States Army Air Forces airfield on Luzon in the Philippines. It was overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle of the Philippines (1942). History The airfield was a former training camp for the Phili ...

on the north coast of Luzon where it was undergoing gunnery training. In July, the 20th Pursuit Squadron was upgraded to the

P-40B Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was a WWII fighter aircraft that was developed from the P-36 Hawk, via the P-37. Many variants were built, some in large numbers, under names including the Hawk, Tomahawk and Kittyhawk. Allison-engined Model 75 XP ...

. At the same time, about 100 new pilots out of training school at

Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...

arrived. A training unit was set up to provide transition training for the new pilots into pursuit aircraft. In September, the 17th was moved to the still uncompleted Nichols Field when word was received that space at Clark was needed for

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

es of the incoming

19th Bombardment Group 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics 19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...

. The 3d Squadron was sent up to Iba for gunnery training to free up the space. However the 17th suffered from the ongoing construction at Nichols, which caused several ground accidents. With the large number of units being deployed to the Philippines during the buildup of forces in the summer and fall of 1941, the 3d, 17th and 20th Squadrons were reassigned to the new

24th Pursuit Group The 24th Pursuit Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was wiped out in the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42). The survivors fought as infantry during Battle of Bataan and after their surrender, were subjected to the Bataan De ...

, which was activated at Clark Field. The 28th Bombardment Squadron was transferred to the newly arriving

. With its tactical squadrons transferred, the organization was no longer needed and the 2d Observation Squadron was assigned directly to Far East Air Force Headquarters. Subsequently, the 4th Composite Group was disbanded.Edmonds, Walter D. They Fought With What They Had: The Story of the Army Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific, 1941–1942 (1951, 1982)

Lineage

* Organized as 1st Group (Observation) on 14 August 1919 : Re-designated as 4th Group (Observation) on 14 March 1921 : Re-designated as 4th Group (Pursuit and Bombardment) on 29 June 1922 : Re-designated as 4th Group (Composite) in July 1922 : Re-designated as 4th Composite Group on 25 January 1923 : Disbanded on 1 November 1941.Clay, Steven E. (2011). US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941. 3 The Services: Air Service, Engineers, and Special Troops 1919–1941. Fort Leavenworth, KS: Combat Studies Institute Press. . . .

Assignments

* Philippine Department, 14 August 1919 – 1 November 1941

Components

2d Observation Squadron Douglas O-46A 36-139

28th Bombardment Squadron Martin B-10B 34-51

* 2d Aero (later, 2d Observation) Squadron, 10 March 1920 – 28 October 1941 :: Transferred from:

, California, stationed at: Fort Mills, Corregidor Island, Philippines, 10 March 1920 :: Stationed at:

Kindley Field Kindley Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base in Bermuda from 1948–1970, having been operated from 1943 to 1948 by the United States Army Air Forces as ''Kindley Field''. History World War II Prior to American entry into th ...

, Corregidor Island, Philippines, 15 October 1920 :: Stationed at:

, Luzon, Philippines, January 1929 :: Stationed at:

Clark Field Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educate ...

, Luzon, Philippines, 18 November 1940 :: Stationed at: Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines, 18 November 1940 – 28 October 1941 * 3d Aero (later, 3d Pursuit) Squadron, 10 March 1920 – 1 October 1941 :: Transferred from:

, New York, stationed at: Camp Stotsenburg, Philippines, 10 March 1920 :: Stationed at: Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 15 October 1920 – 1 October 1941 *

28th Bombardment Squadron 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...

, 2 December 1922 – 1 November 1941 :: Transferred from:

Mather Field Mather may refer to: People * Mather (given name), a list of people with the given name * Mather (surname), a list of people with the surname Places * Mather, California (disambiguation) * Mather, Manitoba, Canada, a community * Mather, Penns ...

, California, stationed at: Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 2 December 1922 :: Stationed at: Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines, 4 June 1923 :: Stationed at: Clark Field, Luzon. Philippines, 16 June 1938 – 1 November 1941 17th Pursuit Squadron Seversky P-35A 17

20th Pursuit Squadron Curtiss P-40B Warhawks Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines

, 14 December 1940 – 1 October 1941 :: Transferred from:

, Michigan, stationed at: Clark Field, Luzon. Philippines, 23 November 1940 :: Stationed at: Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines, 5 December 1940 – 1 October 1941 *

, 14 December 1940 – 1 October 1941 :: Transferred from:

Hamilton Field, California Hamilton Field (Hamilton AFB) was a United States Air Force base, which was inactivated in 1973, decommissioned in 1974, and put into a caretaker status with the Air Force Reserves until 1976. It was transferred to the United States Army in 1983 ...

, stationed at: Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines * Air Park No, 11 (later 66th Service Squadron, 2 June 1921 – 1 September 1936 :: Stationed at: Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 2 June 1921 :: Stationed at: Nichols Field, Luzon, Philippines, 14 December 1921 – 1 September 1936 * 6th Photo Section, 10 March 1920-unknown * Branch Intelligence Office No. 12 (later, 42d Air Intelligence Section), by 27 May 1922 – 1 January 1925

Stations

* Camp Nichols (Later Nichols Field), Philippine Islands, 15 August 1919 – 1 November 1941

References

{{Refend

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

Military units and formations established in 1919