The Philippine Army Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly's National Defense Act of 1935

National Defense Act of 1935

The National Defense Act of 1935 was passed by the Philippine National Assembly on December 21, 1935. The purpose of this act was to create an independent Philippine Army, this was interrupted by World War II.-Provisions:...

. By 1940, the corps had around 40 aircraft and 100 pilots

Aviator

An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...

, 500 personnel, and six squadrons. In August 1941, the PAAC was inducted into the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and incorporated into the Far East Air Force.

History of the Philippine Army Air Corps

The first Philippine Army airfield was built outside of Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

, Luzon

Luzon

Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...

. At this time only three pilot trainers were available in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Courses in flying and technical training were given in the mainland United States to selected students.

Aircraft of the Philippine Army Air Corps – 8 December 1941

Numbers in indicate number of aircraft that were usable, where records are available.

Fighters

• P-12E
  Boeing P-12
  The Boeing P-12 or F4B was an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps and United States Navy.-Design and development:...
  
  : 2
• P-26A
  P-26 Peashooter
  The American Boeing P-26 Peashooter, was the first all-metal production fighter aircraft and the first pursuit monoplane used by the United States Army Air Corps...
  
  : 12

Noncombatant

• D18 (Beech 18)
  Beechcraft Model 18
  The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
  
  : 2
• 0–46: 4
• Other: 50 (Stearman
  Boeing Stearman
  |-See also:-Bibliography:* Avis, Jim and Bowman, Martin. Stearman: A Pictorial History. Motorbooks, 1997. ISBN 0-76030-479-3.* Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London:Putnam, 1989. ISBN 0-85177-804-6....
  
   A75L3, PT-1 (73L-3), BT-1 (76D-1) http://www.aerofiles.com/_stear.html; Stinson Reliant
  Stinson Reliant
  The Stinson Reliant was a popular single-engine four to five seat high-wing monoplane manufactured by the Stinson Aircraft Division of the Aviation Manufacturing Corporation of Wayne, Michigan.-Design and development:...
  
  ; O-1
  Curtiss Falcon
  The Curtiss Falcon is a family of military biplane aircraft built by the United States aircraft manufacturer Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company during the 1920s. Most saw service as part of the United States Army Air Corps as observation aircraft with the designations O-1 and O-11, or as the...
  
  ; and probably O-19)

Aircraft of the Philippine Army Air Corps – 15 May 1945 through 1 July 1947

• P-51
  P-51 Mustang
  The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
  
  
• C-47
  C-47 Skytrain
  The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
  
  
• L-4
  Piper J-3
  The Piper J-3 Cub is a small, simple, light aircraft that was built between 1937 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. With tandem seating, it was intended for flight training but became one of the most popular and best-known light aircraft of all time...
  
  
• L-5
  L-5 Sentinel
  The Stinson L-5 Sentinel was a World War II era liaison aircraft used by all branches of the U.S. military and by the British Royal Air Force. Along with the Stinson L-1 Vigilant, the L-5 was the only other American liaison aircraft of WWII that was purpose-built for military use and had no...
  
  

Philippine Army Air Corps – 8 December 1941

This information needs to be checked for accuracy. All designations and their articles need nationality identifiers.

• Philippine Army Air Corps Headquarters
  • 1st Training Squadron
  • Zosa's Depot Detachment
  • Ramos' Depot Detachment
  • Sebastian's Airbase Detachment
  • 5th Photo Detachment
  • 6th Interceptor Squadron
  • Ebuen's Instruction Squadron
  • de Leon's Airbase Detachment
  • 9th Observation Squadron
  • 10th Fighter-Bomber Squadron
  • Aya-ay's Airbase Detachment
  • Primary Flying School
  • Basic & Advanced Flying School
  • Philippine Army Air Corps Supply

Philippine Army Air Corps – 31 July 1941

The corps contained 2,132 enlisted troops, under the command of 275 officers.

• Philippine Army Air Corps Headquarters (109)
• U.S. 4th Composite Group (1,393)
• U.S. 20th Air Base Group
  U.S. 20th Air Base Group
  The 20th Air Base Group was part of the Far East Air Force, during World War II. The 20th ABG was based at Nichols Field, in the Philippines.-Organization of the 20th Air Base Group:*U.S. 27th Material Squadron*U.S. 28th Material Squadron...
  
   (842)
• Tow Target Detachment (42)
• Weather Detachment (21)

See also

• Military history of the Philippines during World War II