4th Composite Group

4th Composite Group
Emblem of the 4th Composite Group
Active	1920-1941
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Force
Type	Air Defense

The 4th Composite Group is an inactive United States Army Air Force unit. It was last was assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department, stationed at Nichols Field, Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was inactivated on 1 November 1941.

History

The 4th Composite Group was the primary command and control organization in the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1920 until the eve of World War II in November 1941. The unit was formed from the World War I 2d, 3d and 28th Aero Squadrons in 1920, all of which served on the western front in France (it's emblem represents the three combat squadrons with Maltese crosses).

In the Philippines, the group largely received second-line aircraft from the United States, its mission being tactical training for coastal defense. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular and important part of its mission. Another mission of the 4th Composite Group during the 1920s was aerial mapping, largely carried out by the 2d Observation Squadron.

In 1940, political relations between the United States and the Japanese Empire reached a crisis with the Japanese occupation of French Indochina. With war clouds forming, a reinforcement effort was made to the Air Corps units in the Philippines. With the large number of units being deployed, the Group organization was disbanded and it's elements were assigned to the new Philippine Department Air Force.

Lineage

• Organized as 1st Observation Group on 10 March 1920

Re-designated as: 4th Group (Observation) on 23 May 1921

Re-designated as; 4th Group (Composite) on 29 June 1922

Re-designated as; 4th Composite Group on 25 January 1923

Disbanded on 1 November 1941.

Assignments

• Philippine Department, 10 March 1920-1 November 1941

Components

• 2d Aero (later, 2d Observation) Squadron, 10 March 1920-unknown

Stationed at Kindley Field, Corregidor Island, Philippine Islands

• 3d Aero (later, 3d Pursuit) Squadron, 10 March 1920-unknown

Stationed at Clark Field, Philippine Islands

• 17th Pursuit Squadron, by 31 December 1940-unknown
• 20th Pursuit Squadron, by 31 December 1940-unknown
• 28th Bombardment Squadron, 2 December 1922-unknown
• 66th Service Squadron, by 27 May 1922-1 January 1938

• 6th Photo Section, 10 March 1920-unkn
• Branch Intelligence, no. 12 (later, 42d Air Intelligence Section), by 27 May 1922-1 January 1925

Stations

• Philippines (specific station not identified), 10 March 1920
• Manila, Philippine Islands, 23 May 1921
• Camp Nichols (Later Nichols Field), Philippine Islands, December 1921-1 November 1941

References

	United States Air Force portal
	Military of the United States portal

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• 4th Composite Group organizational record card, AFHRA, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
• Mauer, Mauer (1987), Aviation in the United States Army, 1919-1939 United States Air Force Historical Research Center

External links