César Basa

César Fernando Basa (1915 – December 12, 1941) was a Filipino pilot and World War II hero. Born in 1915, he was one of the pioneer fighter pilots of the Philippine Air Force and the first Filipino fighter pilot casualty during World War II.

Basa's fight took place at Batangas Field on the morning of December 12, 1941 when 27 Japanese bombers and 17 fighter escorts raided the base.

Five Filipino fighter pilots on Curtiss P-26A "Peashooter" fighter planes, led by Captain Jesús Villamor, engaged the numerically superior enemy in aerial combat at 12,000 feet (3,700 m).

Several dogfights ensued as Villamor and his men fought desperately to prevent the pack of bombers and their fighter escorts from reaching and bombing Batangas Field.

Lieutenant Basa, who was already two hours airborne on an air reconnaissance mission, rushed to the scene and attempted to join the aerial engagement with only 15 minutes worth of fuel left on his P-26. While still half the distance away, he was intercepted by seven Japanese fighters and shot down. Although he was able to bail out, he was strafed and killed by machine-gun fire from the A6M Zero fighters while dangling helplessly from his parachute. This made him the first Filipino fighter pilot casualty of war killed in air combat.

Captain Villamor and his pilots won the battle, with the only casualty being Basa. In recognition of his heroism, Lieutenant Basa was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.

Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, Pampanga, Philippines is named in his honor.