Editing United States Asiatic Fleet (section)

===Aircraft of the Asiatic Fleet: 8 December 1941===
The aviation elements of the Asiatic Fleet comprised [[Patrol Wing 10]] (Capt. [[Frank Dechant Wagner|Frank D. Wagner]]),<ref name="Alsleben">{{cite web|last = Alsleben |first = Allan |url= https://warfare.gq/dutcheastindies/patrol_wing10.html |title=US Patrol Wing 10 in the Dutch East Indies, 1942    |date=1999–2000|work=Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941-1942}}</ref> with two patrol squadrons (VPs or PatRons), a utility unit, and the aviation units aboard the Fleet's two cruisers and the large seaplane tender ''[[USS Langley (CV-1)|Langley]]''.

Patrol Wing 10 had been commissioned in December 1940, and included Patrol Squadrons 101 ([[Patrol Squadron 101|VP 101]]) and 102 ([[Patrol Squadron 102|VP 102]]), each equipped with fourteen [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|Consolidated PBY-4 Catalina]] [[flying boat]]s. By Mid-1941, these 28 PBYs were numbered 1 through 14 for VP 101, 16 through 29 for VP 102. The Utility Unit included [[Grumman J2F Duck]] [[Amphibious aircraft|amphibians]] (1 J2F-2 and 4 J2F-4s), as well as five new [[Vought OS2U Kingfisher|Vought OS2U-2 Kingfisher]] [[floatplane]]s, delivered in the late summer. Also, a number of [[Curtiss SOC Seagull]] floatplanes were present. ''Houston'' carried four, ''Marblehead'' two, and ''Langley'' two or three, and two more were under repair or in storage at the Aircraft Overhaul Shop (Shop X 34) at Cavite Navy Yard.

As of 8 December, PBYs of Patrol Wing 10 patrolled the northwest and northeast of Luzon daily. These flights were based at either [[Naval Air Station Sangley Point|NAS Sangley Point]], the Navy's auxiliary seaplane station at Olongapo on [[U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay|Subic Bay]], or seaplane tender ''Childs'' in Manila Bay. Trios of PBYs rotated down to the southern islands to base on ''William B. Preston'' at [[Malalag Bay]] on [[Davao Gulf]], [[Mindanao]]. These patrols over the [[Philippine Sea]] to the east bordered with similar patrols flown by [[Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service]] flying boats based in the Netherlands East Indies. Seaplane tender ''Heron'', with a detachment of four OS2U-2s from the Utility Unit, ran morning and evening patrols from [[Port Ciego]], [[Balabac Island]], over the strategically important [[Balabac Straits]] from 4–13 December.

Early in the morning of 8 December, ''Preston'' dispatched one aircraft on patrol and a short time later was attacked by aircraft from the small Japanese [[Aircraft carrier|carrier]] {{Ship|Japanese aircraft carrier|Ryūjō||2}}, and her other two PBYs were sunk on the water.

Patrol Wing 10 was ordered south into the [[Netherlands East Indies]] on 12 December, when the collapsing defenses of the islands made further operations untenable. Within the first 90 days of the war, Patrol Wing 10 had fallen back to [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]], [[Western Australia]], being reinforced by VP&nbsp;22 from Hawaii but losing 41 of 44 PBYs to enemy action together with ''Langley''. Patrol Wing 10 also lost all but one utility aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/about-us/leadership/director/directors-corner/h-grams/h-gram-003/h-003-3.html |title=H-003-3 the Valor of the Asiatic Fleet |website=www.history.navy.mil |access-date=18 September 2021}}</ref>

*PBY-4 (28. Added: 12 PBY-5s from VP 22 and 5 ex-Dutch Catalinas in January)
*J2F-2 or -4 (4)
*OS2U-2 (5)
*[[Curtiss SOC Seagull|SOC-1 or -2]] / [[Naval Aircraft Factory SON|SON]] (10–12)