MUSEUMS PHILIPPINE AIR FORCE MUSEUM
B
ordering the South China
Sea, on the western rim
of the Pacific Ocean,
the Philippine archipelago
has always been a focus of
territorial ambitions in the area.
Administered by Spain in the
late 19th century, the Philippines
was ceded to the USA in 1898.
Independence was granted in
1934, but the nation has remained
firmly within the American sphere
of influence ever since.
This status was violently
interrupted within hours of the
strike on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
when Japanese forces
moved to occupy
the complex chain
of islands in
December 1941.With the Japanese surrender in
September 1945, the Philippines
was established as a republic
although it endured some
turbulent political regimes into the
21st century.
The armed forces of the
Philippines were established
in late 1935 and the renowned
US General Douglas MacArthur
was brought in to organise
them. He created an air corps
equipped initially with Boeing
P-26 ‘Peashooter’ fighters and
Curtiss JN-4s and Stearman 73
biplane trainers. All these aircraft
were lost during the Japanese
occupation, which began in
December 1941.
In July 1947, the Army Air
Corps was re-designated asthe Philippine Air Force (PAF).
The museum was set up in 1974
and moved to its new purpose-
built site in 2007 at the air
force headquarters, Villamor
Air Base. Located within Manila
International Airport, the PAF
facility is named in honour of
Colonel Jesus Villamor.Airlifters
Very few of the world’s air force
museums do not have a Douglas
Dakota or Skytrain on display.
The Villamor exhibit carries the
legend ‘Hukbong Himpapawid
NG Pilipinas’ along the fuselage,
which translates as Philippine Air
Force. This C-47B started life with
the USAAF and served across the
world with nations including Spain,Bolivia, Colombia, Japan and
South Korea, as well as the US.
It joined the PAF in 1976 and
was disposed of 12 years later
to serve locally with the civilian
Manila Aero Transport System as a
cargo carrier. Over the years, the
PAF has operated more than 60
different ‘DC-3s’; the last example
was withdrawn in the early 1980s.
A transport from another era is
a NAMC YS-11A twin turboprop.
Powered initially by Rolls-Royce
Darts, the Japanese YS-11 first
appeared in 1962 and was aimed at
the short to medium-range airliner
market. The last of a production
run of 182 was delivered in 1974.
A small number still serve with
the Japan Air Self-Defense Force
as navigation aid checkers and asPacific Gem
Gerry Manning visits the Philippine Air Force Museum
110 FLYPAST August 2018The museum’s P-51D has a distinctive ‘shark
mouth’ design and carries the name ‘Shark
of Zambales’.