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 Death March , although some did escape to Australia . The unit was never remanned or equipped . It was carried as an active unit until 2 April 1946 . History . Organization . The Group was activated in the Philippine Islands on 1 October 1941 , taking over the three pursuit squadrons ( 3d , 17th and 20th ) of the inactivated 4th Composite Group . The group was equipped with Seversky P - 35 As and several models of Curtiss P - 40 s , this group comprised the only pursuit force in the Philippines in December 1941 . During the month of October , 35 new pilots arrived from Randolph Field , Texas which brought the 24th up to full strength . These pilots were sent to Pursuit transition unit at Clark which trained them for combat duty . In November 1941 , the 24th was augmented by two attached squadrons ( 21st and 34th ) which were sent from the 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field , California . Also in November , a number of additional P - 40Es were sent to the Group , which equipped the 3d , 17th and 21st Squadrons . The 34th Pursuit Squadron was assigned P - 35A , the remainder of the P - 35s being sent to the Philippines Air Corps . Eve of war . Notice was received by the group on 15 November that due to the tense international situation between the United States and Japanese Empire , all pursuit aircraft on the flight line would be placed on alert 24 hours each day , be armed , fully fueled with pilots available on a 30 minute ' s notice . During the period 30 November to 6 December all squadrons underwent intensive training in day and night enemy interception and air - to - air gunnery . Also training in escorting B - 17 Flying Fortresses of the 19th Bombardment Group was undertaken . During the first days of December , on four consecutive nights ( 2d - 6th ) an unidentified aircraft was sighted over Clark Field at approximately 05 : 30 . After the first sighting , instructions were given to force the aircraft to land or destroy it . On three succeeding nights it was impossible to make the interception , due to the inability to see the aircraft in the dark or the aircraft not getting close enough to be picked up by the ground searchlights . On the fifth morning all aircraft were kept on the ground and the anti - aircraft batteries were alerted for the interception ; however the aircraft was not located . During this same period , many other undetermined aircraft were tracked by Iba Radar . On the night of 7 December 1941 , the 24th Pursuit Group status was reported to Far East Air Force as follows : 8 December 1941 . On 8 December at about 03 : 30 the commercial radio station at Clark Field intercepted a message from Pearl Harbor , Hawaii about the Japanese attack there . However the group was unable to verify this interception through official channels , no other action was taken other than notifying the Base Commander . However , all squadrons were put on alert . At about 04 : 00 the radar at Iba Field reported a formation of unidentified aircraft approximately 75 miles off the West Coast of Luzon heading towards Corregidor . The 3d Pursuit Squadron was dispatched to intercept the formation , but no planes were sighted and the squadron returned to Iba . However , the radar tracks showed the interception was successful and the unidentified aircraft swung off to the west out of the range of the Radar . It was believed that the 3d went underneath the formation . At 04 : 45 notification was received of a state of war between the United States and the Japanese Empire . At approximately 09 : 30 , a large formation of Japanese bombers was spotted over Lingayen Gulf reported heading towards Manila . The 20th Pursuit Squadron was immediately dispatched to intercept the formation over Roselas . The 17th Pursuit Squadron was ordered from Nichols Field to cover the airspace over Clark . Again , the interception was not successful , as the bombers turned to the northeast and attacked Baguio and Tagagarau then headed north off the radar . Both squadrons returned to their stations and were refuled and put back on alert . Again at approximately 11 : 30 a large formation of bombers was reported over the China Sea heading towards Manila . The 3d was again dispatched to intercept ; the 17th was dispatched to cover Bataan and the 34th was placed on a standing patrol over Manila . Uncertainties of time and place , however , made it doubtful if the 3d would accomplish the interception . At 11 : 45 an unverified report was received of another bomber formation over Lingayen Gulf , heading south . The 20th was still being refuled and was unable to take of , so the 21st was ordered to cover Clark Field . At 12 : 15 the 20th completed refueling and was also ordered to cover Clark , At 12 : 20 54 Japanese bombers and an undetermined number of naval dive bombers attacked Clark Field . The 20th was in the process of taking off when the attack came . Only 4 squadron aircraft had cleared the runway , another five were destroyed on the ground while taking off . The remaining 5 planes were destroyed by a strafing attack after the bombardment . At the time of the attack on Clark Field , four squadrons of pursuit planes were in the air , but a complete breakdown of communications occurred when the communications center at Clark was destroyed by a bomb and little more than a dozen American aircraft met the Japanese attackers , none of which could climb to the altitude of the bombers As a result , the 17th and 21st planes over Manila were not notified of the attack . The P - 35s at Del Carmen Field took to the air after seeing the clouds of smoke over Clark Field , but were no match for the Japanese Zeros , which were much faster and more maneuverable . Although none were shot down , all were damaged and its use as a pursuit fighter ended . Clark Field , the main air base on Luzon was devastated , and nearly half of Far East Air Force ' s aircraft were destroyed on the ground , and a third of the 24th Pursuit Group ' s aircraft lost in the attack . Clark Field was so heavily damaged it was essentially eliminated as an effective combat airfield . The 3d Pursuit Squadron , which was dispatched to intercept a formation of planes over the China Sea failed to make the interception and was returning to its base at Iba . Iba , however was plotting an incoming formation and was transmitting the information to the Air Warning Center at Nielson Field . However , to a communications breakdown the 3d was unaware of the incoming formation and as they were circling Iba Field on their landing approach , 54 Japanese bombers and an unknown number of Naval dive bombers approached the field . The 3d broke the landing formation and attacked the incoming enemy aircraft . In the ensuing battle , one enemy bomber was shot down and a number of straffers were claimed to have been destroyed . The 3d lost 5 P - 40s in the air . Although the 3d was unable to prevent to bombing of Iba Field , it did prevent the strafing of the ground station . After the Japanese raid , three additional P - 40s were forced to crash land on the beaches after running out of fuel . The remainder of the squadron landed at the O ' Donnell airport , but were forced to remain there until ammunition and gasoline were dispatched from Clark Field . Iba Field , however was completely destroyed by the enemy bombardment . Three other planes on the ground at Iba in hangars for maintenance were destroyed . December 1941 . On 9 December shortly after midnight , telephonic communications were re - established with Headquarters , FEAF . Intelligence reported that an unidentified number of enemy aircraft were approaching from the north . A flight of six P - 40s from the 17th Pursuit Squadron was dispatched from Del Carmen to intercept . However two of the aircraft were demolished on takeoff due to an accident . The remaining planes proceeded to Nichols Field but were unable to accomplish any interception of enemy aircraft in the dark . For the remainder of the day , the only activity was miscellaneous elements of Japanese ships patrolling and aircraft reconnoitering , and the night bombing of Nichols Field at 03 : 15 . In order to try and bring some of the units up to strength , the P - 40s of the 17th were transferred to Clark Field along with some P - 40s from the 3d Pursuit Squadron which were moved from Iba Field . The remainder of the 3d was sent to Nichols Field to bring the 34th with its P - 35s up to strength . On the night of the 10th , a Japanese invasion convoy was reported approaching Lingayen Bay . The 17th and 34th Pursuit Squadrons were readied to attack the convoy at daylight and furnish cover for some B - 17s that were repaired and put back on the line at Clark to join in the attack . The B - 17s took off with the 17th providing top cover during the attack . P - 35s from the 34th failed to reach the objective due to their low speed , and only at the end of the attack did the 34th proceed to attack the convoy . Two P - 35s were lost , one when the plane flew into a large explosion on a ship the aircraft attacked as the pilot was passing over it . After the attack , both squadrons returned for re - fueling and re - arming and went back on alert . Later that morning at 11 : 15 a warning was received of large formations of Japanese aircraft approaching from the north . The 17th was dispatched to intercept the planes over Manila Bay , the 34th was sent over Manila to cover the port area . The 21st was sent for intercepton over the Bataan Penensula . Contact was made with the enemy aircraft by all three squadrons , an estimated 100 + Japanese aircraft with fighters escorting the bombers . The interceptors of the 24th were attacked by the escort Zeros and were unable to attack the bombers due to the large number of enemy fighter strength . Only two planes were able to attack the bombers , after they carried out their attacks . The other squadrons engaged in dog - fighting over Manila Bay until they were forced to land , out of gasoline . At the end of the 10th , Group fighter strength had been reduced to about 30 aircraft , with 8 being P - 35s . Due to the depleted strength of the Group , orders were received from FEAF Headquarters that pursuit planes were not to be dispatched other than upon orders from Headquarters . The planes would be employed mainly as reconnaissance aircraft to replace the 2d Observation Squadron , which was made inoperable after being mostly destroyed on the ground . It ' s remaining planes being unarmed and sitting ducks if attacked . In the days that followed , the 24th flew patrol and reconnaissance missions in various areas . The 3d and 34th squadrons were combined to cover the southern part of Luzon . The 17th and 20th were used to cover the northern part of the Island . The 21st was non - operational . However , occasional attacks were made in the course of these reconnaissance missions . Lt . Wagner , while performing a reconnaissance mission over Aparri , strafed the captured airport there and shot down four enemy aircraft in the area . The strafing also destroyed a number of aircraft on the ground . Lt Mahoney , on a reconnaissance mission over Legaspi , strafed the airport there and destroyed several enemy aircraft on the ground . He also destroyed the enemy radio station as well as a fuel dump . With no supplies or replacements available from the United States , ground crews , with little or no spares for repairing aircraft , used parts which were cannibalized from wrecks . Essentials , such as oil , was reused , with used oil being strained though makeshift filters , and tailwheel tires were stuffed with rags to keep them usable . The aircraft which were flying and engaging the Japanese seemed to have more bullethole patches on the fuselage than original skin . On the morning of 23 December the Japanese made a landing in San Miguel Bay along the east cost of the Lingayen Gulf . All available aircraft of the 24th were loaded with fragmentation bombs and dispatched to attack the enemy landing . Twelve P - 40s and six P - 35s was the entire striking force of the Group . The attack was made with a loss of two of the P - 35s which were shot down by anti - aircraft fire and it proved sufficient to create confusion among enemy personnel in landing barges and around supply dumps ashore . Spring 1942 . The ground combat situation on Luzon quickly became desperate when a second set of major landings occurred along the shore of Lamon Bay in southern Luzon . With the withdrawal from Clark Field on 20 December , the 24th used dispersed landing fields on Luzon , some little more than grass to carry on the fight . Japanese forces were rapidly advancing from both the north and south . MacArthur ordered all American and Philippine forces to withdraw to the Bataan Peninsula and all FEAF aircraft to withdraw from Clark and Nichols Fields . Field order # 4 , HQ Philippines Department on 10 January 1942 appointed the ground echelons of the 24th Pursuit Group as the 2d Infantry Regiment ( Provisional ) of the 71st Division . The unit was ordered to establish defenses on the beach of the peninsula . What was left of the group were based at temporary fields at Orani and Pilar in northern Bataan , and later withdrawn on 8 January to " Bataan Field , " located several miles from the southern tip of the peninsula . Bataan field consisted of a dirt runway , hacked out of the jungle by Army engineers in early 1941 and lengthened after the FEAF was ordered into Bataan . However , it was well camouflaged . It was attacked and strafed daily by the Japanese , however no aircraft were lost on the ground as a result of the attacks . Bataan Field , along with airfields at Cabcaben and Mariveles were kept in operation for several months during the Battle of Bataan . The remaining pilots continued operations with the few planes that were left , cannibalizing aircraft wreckage to keep a few planes airborne in the early months of 1942 . After Bataan . With the surrender of the United States Army on Bataan , Philippines on 8 April 1942 , the remaining air echelon of the 24th Pursuit Group withdrew to Mindanao Island and began operating from Del Monte Airfield with whatever aircraft were remaining . The last of the group ' s aircraft were captured or destroyed by enemy forces on or about 1 May 1942 . With the collapse of organized United States resistance in the Philippines on 8 May 1942 , a few surviving members of the squadron managed to escape from Mindanao to Australia where they were integrated into existing units . The 24th Pursuit Group and its squadrons were never remanned after the battle . They were simply left on the active list of Fifth Air Force organizations throughout the war . The unit and its subordinate squadrons were inactivated on 2 April 1946 . Over the years , the 3d , 20th and 17th Squadrons were re - activated by the United States Air Force and currently are on active duty . The 21st and 34th Squadrons , along with the 24th Group designation have never been . Stations and components . . * * Far East Air Force units were ordered moved to Bataan Airfield , along with airfields at Cabcaben and Mariveles , effective 8 January 1942 – c . 8 April 1942 After the fall of Bataan , some aircraft and personnel managed to escape to Mindanao , and operate from Del Monte Airfield , c . 8 April – c . 1 May 1942 . * * Unneeded Ground Echelon personnel were assigned to the 5th Interceptor Command and fought as a ground infantry unit during the Battle of Bataan 18 January – 8 April 1942