Emblem of the USAAF 16th Pursuit Group @ Albrook Field Panama
The group's emblem, approved in 1934, has four lightning bolts -- representing the four assigned squadrons -- depicting destruction from the sky.

Overview: Activated in the Panama Canal Zone in 1932 as the 16th Pursuit Group, the group was equipped with Curtiss P-40s in 1941 and redesignated the 16th Fighter Group in 1942. The group disbanded in 1943. In 1993, the group was re established and consolidated with the 1st Special Operations Wing, which had been activated in 1944 in Burma as the 1st Commando Group. Inactivated in 1945, the group was activated again at Hurlburt Field, Florida, in 1962 and elevated to wing status in 1963. Equipped with a variety of aircraft, it carries out special operations training and unconventional warfare operations worldwide. It became the 16th Special Operations Wing in 1995, and then the 1st Special Operations Wing in 2005. The 1 SOW retains all the honors the 16 SOW / 1 ACW / 1 ACG / 16 PG garnered in its 74 year existence.

Albrook Buildings 444 (Hangar #1) and 445 (Hangar 2), ca. 1934  (Source both photos: History Office, Howard AFB, RoP)

• Read a brief history of Albrook, click here
• Read an extensive history of Albrook, click here

Mell Jr. was flying a Curtiss P-36A with the 16 Pursuit Group In Panama.

His plane was Serial #38 in Panama . (Ditched with 16 PG, 24 PS) ditched into Chame Bay , Panama Nov 1, 1939.

The P-36, developed from the Curtiss Hawk Model 75 originally designed for France , was first produced for the Air Corps in 1938. The Army Air Corps obtained 243 P-46s, including 30 P-36G export models seized by the U.S. government in 1942 because of the German occupation of Norway .

A contemporary of the both the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation of combat aircraft—a sleek monoplane design making extensive use of metal in its construction and powered by a powerful radial engine. Obsolescent at the onset of World War II and best known as the predecessor of the Curtiss P-40, the P-36 saw only limited combat with the United States Army Air Forces, but it was used more extensively by the French Air Force, both during the Battle of France and by the Vichy France armed forces, and also by the British Commonwealth (where it was known as the Mohawk), and Chinese air units. Several dozen also fought in the Finnish Air Force against the Soviet Air Forces. With around 1,000 aircraft built, the P-36 was a major commercial success for Curtiss. This article also covers the YP-37 and the XP-42 prototypes based on the P-36.

Both France and England used the Hawk 75A in combat over Europe in 1939 and 1940, even though the airplane was obsolescent when compared to its major adversary, the German Messerschmitt Bf 109. During 1941, the Air Corps transferred 39 of its P-36s to Hawaii and 20 to Alaska . After World War II began, the outmoded P-36 soon was relegated to training and courier duties within the United States .

The airplane on display is the first P-36A delivered to the Air Corps. It was donated by Edward S. Perkins of Anniston , Ala. , in April 1959. It is painted to represent the P-36A flown by Lt. Philip Rasmussen during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941 .

TECHNICAL NOTES:
Armament: Two .30-cal. or two .50-cal. machine guns
Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1830 of 1,050 hp
Maximum speed: 313 mph
Cruising speed: 250 mph
Range: 830 miles
Ceiling: 32,700 ft.
Span: 37 ft. 4 in.
Length: 28 ft. 6 in.
Height: 8 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 5,650 lbs. loaded

The flag draped casket and flowers at Mell Jr's funeral. Note the design of wings of plane.