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Escuadrón 201

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Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201

P-47D Thunderbolt using both USAAF and FAM insignia

Active: July 24, 1944

Country: Mexico

Allegiance: Mexican Air Force (FAM)

Branch: Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana

Type: Fighter-bomber squadron

Role: Air support

Size: 25 P-47 aircraft, 36 pilots, 300 personnel

Part of U.S. Fifth Air Force

Battles/wars Battle of Luzon

El Escuadrón 201 (also known as "The Aztec Eagles") was a Mexican fighter squadron, part of the Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana (FAEM—"Mexican Expeditionary Air Force") that aided the Allied war effort during World War II.

The Aztec Eagles were 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 "Thunderbolt" single-seat fighter aircraft carrying out tactical air support missions.

Formation and training

Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 201 (201st Fighter Squadron) was composed of more than 300 volunteers—36 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 providing fuel and materials to the Allies. These attacks eventually caused the Mexican government to declare war on Germany.

The squadron left Mexico for 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 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 or engineering.

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 troopship 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.

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 1

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 its own new P-47D aircraft in July, marked with the insignia of both the USAAF and FAM. The "Aztec Eagles" 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 Aztec Eagles were 53 ground support missions flown in support of the U.S. 25th Infantry Division 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.

The squadron was the subject of the Mexican film Escuadrón 201, directed by Jaime Salvador and released in 1945.

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