line of second-line aircraft. These obsolete aircraft were replaced in early 1941 with impressed export versions of the Seversky P-35 being designated EP-106 by the company that were manufactured for the Swedish Air Force. On 24 October 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order requisitioning all the undelivered EP-106 aircraft and impressing them into the USAAC. These were designated P-35A by the Army, and 40 planes were sent to the Philippines during 1941 to bolster the islands' defenses. The P-35As were replaced by Curtiss P-40 Warhawks in late 1941. On 1 September 1941, the squadron was moved to the new Iba Airfield, in an effort to disperse the fighter strength of the 4th Composite Group. On 1 November, it was assigned to the new 24th Pursuit Group in a reorganization of the Far East Air Force assets in the Philippines. World War II The first word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was received by commercial radio between 0300–0330 hours local on 8 December 1941 in the Philippines. Within 30 minutes radar at Iba Field, Luzon plotted a formation of airplanes 75-miles (120-km) offshore, heading for Corregidor Island. P-40's from the squadron were sent out to intercept but made no contact. By 1130 hours, the fighters sent into the air earlier landed for refueling, and radar disclosed another flight of Japanese aircraft 70-miles (112-km) West of Lingayen Gulf, headed south. Fighters from the 3rd made another fruitless search over the South China Sea. The P-40's sent on patrol over the South China Sea returned to Iba with fuel running low at the beginning of a Japanese attack on the airfield. The P-40's failed to prevent the bombing but did manage to prevent the Japanese Zeros from a low-level strafe of the airfield and its ground support facilities. Zero low-level strafing had proved extremely destructive at Clark Field earlier that day. The RADAR facilities at Iba, however, were destroyed in the attack. The P-40s that survived the initial Japanese attack were able to meet the Zeros on near equal terms, but the P-40 lacked the maneuverability of the lighter Japanese plane. On 9 December, the 3rd Pursuit Squadron was ordered to move to Nichols Field, to provide air defense of the Manila area. Bad weather delayed additional attacks until 10 December However, without any early warning Radar, the squadron received only a few minutes notice of a second major