El Escuadrón 201 was a Mexican fighter squadron, part of the Fuerza Aérea Expedicionaria Mexicana (FAEM — "Mexican Expeditionary Air Force") that aided the Allied war effort during World War II. The squadron was commonly known, apparently coined by members of the squadron during training, by the nickname Aguilas Aztecas, or "Aztec Eagles".[1]
The squadron was attached to the 58th Fighter Group of the United States Army Air Forces during the liberation of the main Philippine island of Luzon in the summer of 1945. The pilots flew P-47D-30-RA "Thunderbolt" single-seat fighter aircraft carrying out tactical air support missions.
Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201 (201st Air Fighter Squadron) was composed of more than 300 volunteers—30 experienced pilots and the rest ground crewmen. The ground crewmen were electricians, mechanics, and radiomen.
Their formation was prompted by the attack by German submarines against Mexican oil tankers that were transporting crude oil to the United States. These attacks prompted President Manuel Avila Camacho to declare war on the Axis powers.
The squadron left Mexico for training at the United States on July 24, 1944, arrived at Laredo, Texas, on July 25, and moved on to Randolph Field in San Antonio, where they received medical examinations and weapons and flight proficiency admission tests. They received three months of training at Randolph, Foster Army Air Field in Victoria, Texas, and Pocatello Army Air Base. The pilots received extensive training in armament, communications and tactics.
Pilots of the 201st squadron
They arrived at Majors Field in Greenville, Texas on November 30, 1944. Here, the pilots received advanced training in combat air tactics, formation flying and gunnery. The men were honored with graduation ceremonies on February 20, 1945 and presented with their battle flag. This marked the first time Mexican troops were trained for overseas combat. In charge of the group was Coronel Antonio Cárdenas Rodríguez, and Captain First Class Radames Gaxiola Andrade was named squadron commander.
Before leaving to the Philippines, the men received further instructions and physical examinations in Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California, in March 1945. The men left for the Philippines on the troop ship S.S. Fairisle on March 27, 1945. They arrived in Manila on April 30, 1945, and were assigned as part of the Fifth Air Force, attached to the U.S. 58th Fighter Group, based at Porac, Luzon.
[edit] Combat operations
Escuadrón 201
Combat missions 96
Offensive sorties 785
Defensive sorties 6
Flying hours in combat 1,966:15
Flying hours in combat zone 591:00
Pre-combat flying hours 281:00
Flying hours per pilot 82
Total flying hours 2,842:00
Bombs dropped 1,000 lb.: 957
500 lb.: 500
Ammo used (cal. 0.50") 166,922 rounds
Planes lost in combat 1
Planes damaged in combat 5
Pilots lost in combat 3
Pilots lost in accidents Crash-landing 1
Fuel exhaustion 3
Beginning in June 1945, the squadron initially flew missions with the 58th FG's 310th Fighter Squadron, often twice a day, using borrowed U.S. aircraft. It received 25 new P-47D-30-RA aircraft in July, marked with the insignia of both the USAAF and FAM. The squadron flew more than 90 combat missions, totaling more than 1,900 hours of flight time. They participated in the Allied effort to bomb Luzon and Formosa to push the Japanese out of those islands. During their fighting in the Philippines, five pilots died (one was shot down, one crashed, and three ran out of fuel and died at sea), and three others died in accidents during training.
Among the missions flown by the squadron was 53 ground support missions flown in support of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division together with the Philippine Commonwealth Army forces in its break-out into the Cagayan Valley on Luzon between 4 June and 4 July 1945, 37 training missions flown 14 July–21 July 1945 (including missions of transporting new aircraft from Biak Island, New Guinea), four fighter sweeps over Formosa on 6 July–9 July 1945, and a dive bombing mission against the port of Karenko, Formosa, on 8 August.
When the 201st deployed, no provision for replacement pilots had been made and the pilot losses incurred in the Philippines hampered its effectiveness. Mexican replacement pilots were rushed through familiarization training in the United States, and two more pilots died in flight accidents in Florida. When the 58th Fighter Group left the Philippines for Okinawa on July 10, the Mexicans stayed behind. They flew their last combat mission as a full squadron on August 26, escorting a convoy north of the Philippines. The 201st returned to Mexico City in November 1945.
The 201st Fighter Squadron was commended by General Douglas MacArthur, but the FAEM was disbanded after returning from the Philippines. Escuadrón 201 is still an active duty squadron, flying the Pilatus PC-7 from Cozumel, Quintana Roo, and saw extensive counter-insurgency service during the 1994 uprising in Chiapas.
