Mexico’s 201st “Aztec Eagles” Fighter Squadron WWII

 

201st Fighter Squadron pilots after their first combat mission in the Philippines. Photograph Dr. Mario Longoria Collection.

 

After Germany declared war on the United States (US) on December 11, 1941, the German Navy expanded the area patrolled by its submarines and increased their activity along the Canadian and US Atlantic Ocean coastline and in the Gulf of Mexico.  In May 1942 a German submarine sank two Mexican oil tankers, the Potrero del Llano and the Faja de Oro, which were carrying crude oil to the US.  After those two incidents, Mexico President Manuel Avila Camacho formally declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan on May 22, 1942.

President Camacho, after meeting with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Monterrey, Mexico, in April 1943, formed the 201st Mexican Expeditionary Air Force Fighter Squadron which became part of the Allied war effort.  It was thought that the historical and cultural connections between the Philippines and Mexico, with the sharing of the Spanish language, would make the unit valuable in the Pacific Theater of Operations.

The 201st Fighter Squadron (FS) was composed of pilots and ground crew.  Over 300 men volunteered to be part of the unit.  Training of the FS and equipping it for combat operations was accomplished under provisions in the US Lend-Lease Agreement of June 11, 1942.

 

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Formation of the 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron at Randolph Field, Texas. Photograph Dr. Mario Longoria Collection.

 

The 201st FS arrived at Randolph Field, San Antonio, Texas, in July 1944 for their initial phase of  training.

Pilots were sent for flight training to Foster Field in Victoria, Texas, Pocatello Army Air Field, Idaho, and Majors Field in Greenville, Texas.  They were trained in various aircraft including the T-6 trainer, P-40 Warhawk, and the P-47 Thunderbolt. Training for the ground crew took place at a number of military installations across the US.

It was during training in the US that the 201st FS got the nickname “Aztec Eagles.”

The 201st FS graduated at Majors Field, Greenville, Texas, on February 20, 1945, and was presented with its battle flag.  Colonel Antonio Cardenas Rodriguez was the unit commander.  Captain First Class Radames Gaxiola Andrade served as squadron commander.

In March 1945 the 201st FS left San Francisco, California, by ship and arrived in Manila, Philippines, on April 30, 1945.  The unit was assigned to the US 5th Army Air Force, 58th Fighter Group, based at Porac near the Clark Field complex on the island of Luzon.  After initially flying borrowed P-47 Thunderbolts, the 201st received 25 P-47s painted with both the insignia of the US and Mexico.

The 201st FS fought in the Battle of Luzon with the bombing of Japanese targets in Luzon and Formosa and provided ground support for the US Army 25th Infantry Division.  The unit flew an estimated 59 combat missions between June and August 1945.

The 201st Mexican Expeditionary Air Force Fighter Squadron returned to Mexico November 18, 1945.  They were welcomed back with a parade in Constitution Square in Mexico City.  During the parade, Mexico President Manuel Avila Camacho was presented with their battle flag.

 

Thank you to Dr. Mario Longoria for his invaluable assistance in providing information for this post.  The photographs are from his Mexico’s 201st Fighter Squadron Collection and are used with his permission.

 

 

S. R. O’Konski, Author
World War 2 History Short Stories
Website: ww2history.org
© All Rights Reserved

 

Great Lakes Shipbuilding in WWII: And the Tale of FP-344

 

FP-344 In Kewaunee Harbor
FP-344 in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, harbor circa 1944.  Photograph Naval History and Heritage Command.

 

The North American Great Lakes were an area of strategic importance in the United States (US) during WWII. Iron ore needed to be transported to steel making plants along the Great Lakes.  Shipyards on the shores of the Great Lakes built military vessels. Types of ships built were cargo ships, tugboats, submarines, and other vessels.

After ships were launched in the Great Lakes, they made their way down to Chicago (Illinois), transited the Chicago Drainage Canal, traveled through other waterways connecting with the Mississippi River, and sailed south to the Gulf of Mexico where they were placed in service.

The US Coast Guard was assigned duty on the Great Lakes to guard against sabotage and to keep shipping lanes open. Duties included manning lookout stations which monitored shipping lanes, patrolling harbors, and guarding bridges, docks, and ships.  The most powerful “designated” icebreaker of the time, the United States Ship (USS) Mackinaw, kept ice out of shipping channels in winter months.

Kewaunee (Wisconsin) Shipbuilding and Engineering on the shore of Lake Michigan was one of the shipbuilding locations during WWII. The company,  founded in 1941, received a government contract to build military ships. Eighty vessels, cargo ships and tugboats, were built between 1941 and 1946.  The shipyard employed 400 workers. One of the workers was my father, Stanley “Jocko” O’Konski.

It is at Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering that the tale of Freight and Passenger (FP)-344 begins.  FP-344 was a cargo ship, built originally for the US Army,  launched in April 1944, and survived WWII.  By 1967, then a US Navy ship, it was refitted for intelligence gathering and sent to the Pacific.

The US Navy had changed the name of FP-344 to the USS Pueblo.  The ship was captured by North Korea January 23, 1968, and the action is known in history as the Pueblo incident. During the capture of the ship, a sailor, Duane Hodges, was killed.  The remaining 82 crew members were held in North Korea until December 23, 1968, when they were released after US and North Korean negotiations.

The USS Pueblo is still in North Korea. The US Navy has never decommissioned the ship.

 

Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering continues today as Kewaunee Fabrications.

An area of interest, although not addressed in this post, is the history of the US Lighthouse Service.  Founded in 1910, it was merged with the US Coast Guard in 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as WWII became imminent. 

 

S. R. O’Konski, Author
World War 2 History Short Stories
Website: ww2history.org
© All Rights Reserved