1.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
2.
United States Air Force
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The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a branch of the military on 18 September 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. It is the most recent branch of the U. S. military to be formed, the U. S. Air Force is a military service organized within the Department of the Air Force, one of the three military departments of the Department of Defense. The Air Force is headed by the civilian Secretary of the Air Force, who reports to the Secretary of Defense, the U. S. Air Force provides air support for surface forces and aids in the recovery of troops in the field. As of 2015, the service more than 5,137 military aircraft,406 ICBMs and 63 military satellites. It has a $161 billion budget with 313,242 active duty personnel,141,197 civilian employees,69,200 Air Force Reserve personnel, and 105,500 Air National Guard personnel. According to the National Security Act of 1947, which created the USAF and it shall be organized, trained, and equipped primarily for prompt and sustained offensive and defensive air operations. The stated mission of the USAF today is to fly, fight, and win in air, space and we will provide compelling air, space, and cyber capabilities for use by the combatant commanders. We will excel as stewards of all Air Force resources in service to the American people, while providing precise and reliable Global Vigilance, Reach and it should be emphasized that the core functions, by themselves, are not doctrinal constructs. The purpose of Nuclear Deterrence Operations is to operate, maintain, in the event deterrence fails, the US should be able to appropriately respond with nuclear options. Dissuading others from acquiring or proliferating WMD, and the means to deliver them, moreover, different deterrence strategies are required to deter various adversaries, whether they are a nation state, or non-state/transnational actor. Nuclear strike is the ability of forces to rapidly and accurately strike targets which the enemy holds dear in a devastating manner. Should deterrence fail, the President may authorize a precise, tailored response to terminate the conflict at the lowest possible level, post-conflict, regeneration of a credible nuclear deterrent capability will deter further aggression. Finally, the Air Force regularly exercises and evaluates all aspects of operations to ensure high levels of performance. Nuclear surety ensures the safety, security and effectiveness of nuclear operations, the Air Force, in conjunction with other entities within the Departments of Defense or Energy, achieves a high standard of protection through a stringent nuclear surety program. The Air Force continues to pursue safe, secure and effective nuclear weapons consistent with operational requirements, adversaries, allies, and the American people must be highly confident of the Air Forces ability to secure nuclear weapons from accidents, theft, loss, and accidental or unauthorized use. This day-to-day commitment to precise and reliable nuclear operations is the cornerstone of the credibility of the NDO mission, positive nuclear command, control, communications, effective nuclear weapons security, and robust combat support are essential to the overall NDO function. OCA is the method of countering air and missile threats, since it attempts to defeat the enemy closer to its source
3.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
4.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war
5.
Numbered Air Force
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A Numbered Air Force is a type of organization in the United States Air Force that is subordinate to a Major Command and has assigned to it operational units such as wings, squadrons, and groups. A Component Numbered Air Force has the role as an Air Force Component Command exercising command and control over air. Unlike MAJCOMs, which have a management role, a NAF is a organization with an operational focus. Numbered air forces are commanded by a major general or a lieutenant general. Numerical designations for Numbered Air Forces are written out, but Arabic numerals are used in abbreviations, units directly subordinate to a NAF are generally numbered 6XX. For example, the 618th Air and Space Operations Center is a subordinate to the Eighteenth Air Force. Numbered air forces began as named organizations in the United States Army Air Corps before World War II, the first four NAFs were established as the Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest Air Districts on 19 October 1940 to provide air defense for the United States. These Air Districts were redesignated as the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Air Forces, respectively, on 26 March 1941. Over a year after the establishment of the United States Army Air Forces on June 20,1941, the Arabic numerals were changed to the First, Second, Third, after World War II, the US Air Force continued to use both named and numbered air forces. While named air forces were used in tactical and support roles, numbered air forces were generally employed only in tactical roles. These commands reflected the air combat missions that evolved during the war, and each reported directly to General Carl Spaatz. Numbered air forces served as an intermediate headquarters between these commands and the wings and groups. Eleven of the sixteen wartime air forces remained, Second Air Force would later be transferred to SAC in 1949. The numbered air forces had both operational and administrative authority, and existed as a level between major commands and air divisions. Although variations existed, and number air forces were often reassigned, the role of numbered air forces changed in the 1990s during the Air Force reorganization initiated by Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak. The goal of the reorganization was to streamline, take out, flatten organizational charts. Numbered air forces were reorganized into tactical echelons focused on operations and this reorganization also reduced the number of major commands, and eliminated the air divisions to place numbered air forces directly in command of operational wings. The role of numbered air forces was changed in 2006 with the implementation of the Component Air Force concept
6.
United States Pacific Command
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United States Pacific Command is a unified combatant command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. It is the oldest and largest of the combatant commands. The Commander reports to the President of the United States through the Secretary of Defense and is supported by Service component and subordinate unified commands, including U. S. Army Pacific, Pacific Air Forces, U. S. Marine Forces Pacific, U. S. Forces Korea, Special Operations Command Korea, and Special Operations Command Pacific, USPACOM also has three direct reporting units, including Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, U. S. Pacific Command Joint Intelligence Operations Center, Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the USPACOM headquarters building, the Nimitz-MacArthur Pacific Command Center, is located on Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. United States Pacific Command protects and defends, in concert with other U. S. Government agencies, the territory of the United States, its people and this approach is based on partnership, presence and military readiness. We recognize the significance of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and understand that challenges are best met together. Consequently, we will remain an engaged and trusted partner committed to preserving the security, stability and we will collaborate with the Services and other Combatant Commands to defend Americas interests. Its origins can be traced to the structure established early in World War II to wage the war in the Pacific. Each had command of all U. S. armed forces assigned to his area, efforts to establish a unified command for the entire Pacific AOR proved impossible during the war. The divergent interests of the Army and the Navy precluded the subordination of either of the two commanders in the Pacific Theatre. The plan called for the establishment of seven unified combatant commands as a measure for the immediate postwar period. The first three unified commands were established in the Pacific, the Joint Chiefs of Staff implementing directive of 16 December 1946 established the Far East Command, Pacific Command, and Alaskan Command effective 1 January 1947. The commands, their areas of responsibility, and their missions were as follows, Far East Command, U. S. forces in Japan, Korea, the Ryukyus, the Philippines, Forces in China in an emergency. Pacific Command, U. S. forces allocated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff within the Pacific Area, Alaskan Command, U. S. forces in Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands. General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was appointed CINCFE, Army Major General Howard A. Craig was assigned as CINCAL, U. S. Navy Admiral John Henry Towers was designated CINCPAC. At the time of appointment, he was serving as Admiral Nimitz direct successor as CINCPAC/CINCPOA, Admiral Towers retained his position as Commander-in-Chief, U. S. Pacific Fleet, his title was abbreviated CINCPACFLT to avoid confusion with the newly established Pacific Command, Headquarters for both CINCPAC and CINCPACFLT were located at Makalapa, Pearl Harbor, in the Territory of Hawaii
7.
United States Forces Japan
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The United States Forces Japan is an active subordinate unified command of the United States Pacific Command. It was activated at Fuchū Air Station, Tokyo, Japan on 1 July 1957 to replace the Far East Command, USFJ is commanded by the Commander, U. S. Forces, Japan. COMUSJAPAN is also the Commander, Fifth Air Force, at present, USFJ is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Tokyo, Japan. COMUSJAPAN, plans, directs and supervises the execution of missions and he establishes and implements policies to accomplish the mission of the United States Armed Forces in Japan. As USCINCPACs resident representative, COMUSJAPAN supports the Security Treaty and administers the Status of Forces Agreement between the United States and Japan and he is responsible for coordinating various matters of interest with the service commanders in Japan. These include matters affecting US-Japan relationships among and between Department of Defense agencies, DOD agencies and the U. S. Ambassador to Japan, and DOD agencies and the Government of Japan. After the Japanese surrender in the end of World War II in Asia, the Japanese Imperial Army and Navy were decommissioned, and the U. S. Armed Forces took control of their military bases until the new government could be formed and positioned to reestablish authority, Allied forces planned to demilitarize Japan, and new government adopted the Constitution of Japan with a no-armed-force clause in 1947. In 1951 the Treaty of San Francisco was signed by the countries and Japan. At the same time, the U. S. and Japan signed the Japan-America Security Alliance, by this treaty, USFJ is responsible for the defense of Japan. At the expiration of the treaty, the United States and Japan signed the new Treaty of Mutual Cooperation, the status of the United States Forces Japan was defined in the U. S. –Japan Status of Forces Agreement. This treaty is still in effect, and it forms the basis of Japans foreign policy, in the Vietnam War, the US military bases in Japan, especially those in Okinawa Prefecture, were used as important strategic and logistic bases. In 1970, Koza riot occurred against the US military presence in Okinawa, the USAF strategic bombers were deployed in the bases in Okinawa, which was still administered by the U. S. government. The United States Seventh Fleet is based in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force is based in Okinawa. 130 USAF fighters are stationed in the Misawa Air Base and Kadena Air Base, the Japanese government paid ¥217 billion in 2007 as annual host-nation support called Omoiyari Yosan. As of the 2011 budget, such payment was no longer to be referred to as Omoiyari Yosan or sympathy budget, the U. S. government employs over 8,000 Master Labor Contract /Indirect Hire Agreement workers on Okinawa not including Okinawan contract workers. Immediately after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,9,720 dependents of United States military and government civilian employees in Japan evacuated the country, mainly to the United States. The relocation of the U. S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma to Henoko had been resolved in December 2013 with the signing of the agreement by the governor of Okinawa
8.
Pacific Air Forces
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Pacific Air Forces is a Major Command of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Pacific Command. The mission of Pacific Air Forces is to provide air and space power to promote U. S. interests in the Asia-Pacific region during peacetime, through crisis. PACAF comprises three numbered Air Forces, nine main bases and nearly 375 aircraft. The commands area of responsibility extends from the west coast of the United States to the east coast of Asia and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the area is home to nearly two billion people who live in 44 countries. Not to be confused with Far East Air Force, the military organization of the United States Army in the Philippine Islands from 1941 to 1942. The beginnings of PACAF can be traced back to June 1944, Far East Air Forces was activated on 3 August 1944, at Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. FEAF had actually created on 15 June 1944, and Fifth Air Force assigned to it. FEAF was subordinate to the U. S. Army Forces Far East, the creation of FEAF consolidated the command and control authority over United States Army Air Forces units widely deployed throughout the southwest Pacific in World War II. A realignment of forces was needed by the USAAF to better organize its forces in the Pacific for peacetime. Shortly afterwards, Eighth Air Force was reassigned to the newly established Strategic Air Command on 7 June 1946, the major mission of PACUSA in the postwar years was occupation duty in Japan and the demilitarization of the Japanese society in conjunction with the United States Army. In addition, PACUSA helped to support atomic bomb testing in the Pacific Proving Grounds beginning with the Operation Crossroads test on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. With the impending establishment of the United States Air Force as an independent service later that year, on that same date, Seventh Air Force in Hawaii was inactivated with its organization absorbed by HQ, FEAF. On 25 June 1950, the forces of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea invaded South Korea. On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion, president Harry Truman authorized General of the Army Douglas MacArthur to commit units to the battle. MacArthur ordered General George E. Stratemeyer, CIC of FEAF, despite the post-World War II demobilization of United States armed forces, the U. S. Air Force still had substantial forces in the Pacific to oppose the North Korean military. Support units were equipped with the Douglas C-54 Skymaster cargo aircraft and the Boeing RB-17 Flying Fortress, the 512th and 514th Weather Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 2143d Air Weather Wing were located at Yokota Air Base, Japan, and Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. On 29 June 1950, the unit began flying missions over the Korean Peninsula in their RB-29 Superfortresses to provide FEAF Bomber Command with target. Eventually, these USAF F-86 units would establish a kill ratio of 10,1 versus their KPAF adversaries, during the Korean War FEAFs Fifth Air Force was the main United Nations combat air command until the Korean Armistice Agreement ended the combat 1953
9.
Yokota Air Base
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Yokota Air Base, is a United States Air Force base in the city of Fussa, one of 26 cities in the Tama Area, or Western Tokyo. The base occupies an area of 7.07 km2 and has a 3,353 m ×61 m runway. The host unit at Yokota is the 374th Airlift Wing and is used for airlift missions throughout East Asia. The 374th includes four groups, operations, mission support, maintenance, each group manages a various number of squadrons in order to carry out the wings mission. 374th Operations Group The 374th Operations Group maintains a presence by providing rapid responsive movement of personnel, equipment. 374th Maintenance Group The 374th Maintenance Group maintains C-130H1, C-12 and UH-1N aircraft supporting intratheater airlift, 374th Medical Group The 374th Medical Group, ensures medical readiness of 374 AW,5 AF, and US Forces Japan personnel. They also maintain 64 War Reserve Materiel projects, including the USAFs largest Patient Movement Item inventory, associate/Tenant Units U. S. Forces, Japan -- a nonoperational, politico-military unit that serves as the USPACOM front for US-Japanese military discussions. Fifth Air Force -- the air component to USFJ, 730th Air Mobility Squadron Air Force Band of the Pacific-Asia Stars & Stripes American Forces Network U. S. Coast Guard Activities Far East. Yokota Cadet Squadron, Civil Air Patrol The Civil Air Patrols Yokota Cadet Squadron conducts operations at Yokota Air Base, the newly renovated Air Mobility Command Passenger Terminal is on the main part of the base next to the flightline. The facility which houses Yokota Air Base was originally constructed by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1940 as Tama Airfield, and used as a flight test center. During World War II Yokota became the center of Japanese Army Air Forces flight test activities, Tama was first identified by United States military forces in November 1944 by a 3d Reconnaissance Squadron F-13 Superfortress photo-reconnaissance aircraft, flying from Tinian in the Marianas. It was identified as being associated with a nearby Musashino-Nakajima aircraft manufacturing plant, along with the Showa Air Base to the northwest, and Tachikawa Air Base to the east, it was compared to the aircraft development complex of the USAAF Wright-Paterson Field in Ohio. According to the USAAF intelligence at the time, the three bases conducted all IJA flight testing, in the spring of 1945, XXI Bomber Command attacked the base eight times along with the aircraft manufacturing plant, but each time heavy clouds forced the bombers to attack secondary targets. The Nakajima plant was attacked in April 1945, but the Tama airfield never was bombed. With the end of hostilities and the Japanese surrender in September 1945, the airfields buildings were largely intact, and some 280 of the IJAs most modern aircraft were discovered in hangars. When the old runway deteriorated under heavy usage, the runway was repaired, additional construction during the 1940s and 1950s was completed and the base reached its current size around 1960. On the occasion of extension, the course of Hachiko Line and national highway Route 16 was changed, 6th Night Fighter Squadron Inactivated and personnel, mission and equipment transferred to 339th Fighter Squadron with F-82F/G Twin Mustangs at Nagoya AB Japan. During the Korean War, Yokota was used for missions over North and South Korea
10.
Asiatic-Pacific Theater
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The Asiatic-Pacific Theater, was the area of operations of U. S. forces during World War II in the Pacific War during 1941-45. From mid-1942 until the end of the war in 1945, there were two U. S. operational commands in the Pacific. The Pacific Ocean Areas, divided into the Central Pacific Area, the North Pacific Area, the South West Pacific Area, including New Guinea, Philippines, Borneo, and the Dutch East Indies, was commanded by General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander South West Pacific Area. During 1945, the United States added the U. S. Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, commanded by General Carl Spaatz. Because of the roles of the United States Army and the United States Navy in conducting war in the Pacific Theater. There was no command, rather, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater was divided into the SWPA, the POA. The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, in the Service of the Emperor, Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army. Kafka, Roger, Pepperburg, Roy L. Warships of the World, the Campaigns of the Pacific War. A History of Us, War, Peace and all that Jazz, joint Operational Warfare, Theory and Practice. Newport, Rhode Island, United States Naval War College, the Battle for Leyte,1944, Allied and Japanese Plans, Preparations, and Execution
11.
Dutch East Indies campaign
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The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–42 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted unsuccessfully to defend the islands, the East Indies were targeted by the Japanese for their rich oil resources which would become a vital asset during the war. The campaign and subsequent three and a half year Japanese occupation was also a factor in the end of Dutch colonial rule in the region. S. The oil made the enormously important to the Japanese, so they sought to secure the supply for themselves. In addition, the Dutch government in exile, at the urging of the Allies and with the support of Queen Wilhelmina, broke its economic treaty with Japan, Japans military and economic reserves included only a year and a halfs worth of oil. As a U. S. declaration of war against Japan was feared if the latter took the East Indies, Pacific Fleet, allowing them to overtake the islands, this led to the attack on Pearl Harbor. In late November, the East Indies government began preparing for war, ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy were sent to sea and this was in the hopes that the Dutch would not preemptively destroy oil installations before the Japanese were ready to invade. On 8 December 1941, in a proclamation, the Netherlands declared war on Japan. By 7,00 a. m. on the day of the attack, at that hour, the governor general made a public announcement over the radio that the Netherlands accepts the challenge and takes up arms against the Japanese Empire. Instructions had been telegraphed to the embassy in Tokyo at 2,30 a. m. even before news of the attack on Pearl Harbor had reached the Dutch government in London at 4,00. The instructions were received on the evening of the next day. Pabst, on the morning of 10 December, the Swedish ambassador agreed to handle Dutch interests for the duration of the conflict. The Dutch declaration did not alter the Japanese decision, and the declaration of war did not come until 11 January 1942. The tribunal rejected this, on the grounds that Japans sole intention was to give time to the Netherlands for destroying oil wells. They found that the Netherlands declaration was in self-defence, General Hisaichi Terauchi, commander of the Southern Expeditionary Army Group, began the campaign by sending the 16th Army under command of General Hitoshi Imamura to attack Borneo. On 17 December, Japanese forces successfully landed on Miri, an oil production centre in northern Sarawak, with support from a battleship, initially, the Japanese forces launched air strikes on key areas and gained air superiority. Following the airstrikes, landings were made at several locations targeting airfields, in addition to the landings at Miri, the Japanese forces made landings at Seria, Kuching, Jesselton and Sandakan between 15 December 1941 and 19 January 1942. After these main objectives in Borneo were completed, the Japanese forces planned a three-pronged assault southward using three forces named Eastern Force, Center Force and Western Force, the aim of this assault was to capture the oil resources in the East Indies
12.
New Guinea campaign
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The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. The campaign resulted in a defeat and very heavy losses for Empire of Japan. As in most Pacific War campaigns, disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action, most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces, and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by the US Navy. Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies, according to John Laffin, the campaign. was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II. The struggle for New Guinea began with the capture by the Japanese of the city of Rabaul at the tip of New Britain Island in January 1942. Rabaul overlooks Simpson Harbor, a natural anchorage, and was ideal for the construction of airfields. Over the next year, the Japanese built up the area into a major air, the Japanese 8th Area Army, under General Hitoshi Imamura at Rabaul, was responsible for both the New Guinea and Solomon Islands campaigns. The Japanese 18th Army, under Lieutenant General Hatazō Adachi, was responsible for Japanese operations on mainland New Guinea, the colonial capital of Port Moresby on the south coast of Papua was the strategic key for the Japanese in this area of operations. Capturing it would both neutralize the Allies principal forward base and serve as a springboard for the invasion of Australia, for the same reasons, General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander Allied Forces South West Pacific Area was determined to hold it. MacArthur was further determined to conquer all of New Guinea in his progress toward the eventual recapture of the Philippines, General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area Operational Instruction No. Due north of Port Moresby, on the northeast coast of Papua, are Huon Gulf, the Japanese entered Lae and Salamaua, two locations on Huon Gulf, unopposed in early March 1942. MacArthur would have liked to deny this area to the Japanese, the Japanese at Rabaul and other bases on New Britain would have easily overwhelmed any such effort. Operation Mo was the designation given by the Japanese to their plan to take possession of Port Moresby. After this failure, the Japanese decided on a longer term, simultaneous operations from these two locations, one amphibious and one overland, would converge on the target city. Buna was easily taken as the Allies had no presence there. The Japanese occupied the village with a force of 1,500 on 21 July. Then began the grueling Kokoda Track campaign, an experience for both the Japanese and Australian troops involved. On 17 September, the Japanese had reached the village of Ioribaiwa, the Australians held firm and began their counterdrive on 26 September. the Japanese retreat down the Kokoda Trail had turned into a rout
13.
Operation Dexterity
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Operation Dexterity was a military operation, part of Operation Cartwheel in the South West Pacific Area for the Allies in the Pacific theater of World War II. The operation was directed by the Supreme Allied Commander in the SWPA, the operation ended on 10 February 1944. The Empire of Japan had largely achieved its objectives in the Pacific region in the spring of 1942, further Japanese offensives against the Allied lines were planned to force them into a single decisive battle and then request negotiations for their surrender. The allies in the South Pacific began their first counter-offensive against the Japanese-held island Guadalcanal in August 1942, to keep the Japanese cowed and begin the Allied advance towards the Japanese home islands, the Allied military leadership envisaged an advance through the Pacific over two main lines of attack. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz would lead Allied forces in the Pacific, landings along the coast of New Guinea were planned which constituted the first step towards a return to the Philippines and the conquest of the Gilbert Islands. The operation in New Guinea was known as Operation Cartwheel which began on 30 June 1943 with the objective to conquer New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Rabaul. Until mid-September 1943, the focused on the eastern part of New Guinea. This operation was never undertaken and replaced by Operation Director, units, 126th Regimental Combat Team and elements of the 32nd Infantry Division and the Sixth Army. Operation Director – Landing in southwestern New Britain at Arawe as a diversion for Operation Backhander, units, 112th Regimental Combat Team Operation Backhander – Landing in northwestern New Britain at Cape Gloucester to capture local Japanese airfields and convert them into a major Allied airbase. Operation Michaelmas – Landing in New Guinea at Saidor to prevent the withdrawal of Japanese troops retreating in the advance of the Australian Army from Finschhafen, the hot, tropical climate was rarely ameliorated by the torrential rain storms and dense clouds which afflicted the region. The high command of the 8th Area Army of the Japanese Imperial Army in Rabaul controlled the Japanese actions in the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the 8th Area Army was commanded by General Hitoshi Imamura who had at his disposal nearly 200,000 men. General Imamura therefore foresaw an attack on New Britain, at the latest after the Allies had occupied New Ireland, the 8th Area Army relied exclusively on barge and submarine traffic from Rabaul to New Guinea, because of Allied air superiority. General Matsuda, an experienced officer, established his headquarters near the airfield of Cape Gloucester. General Sakai set up his headquarters at Malalia in the vicinity of Cape Hoskins on the East Williaumez Peninsula, the 17th Divisions troops began immediately ordering the expansions of the defensive lines. The Japanese headquarters was established in a concrete bunker at the foot of Talawe Mountain. Smaller bunkers and shelters for machine gun positions were sited at possible Allied landing beaches five miles southeast of Cape Gloucester, two hills known later as Target-Hill and Hill 660 served as focal points for the Japanese defenses. Thus about half of all available Japanese troops in the west of the island were in positions that could contribute to the defense of Cape Gloucester. On 12 December 1943, General Yasushi Sakai advised all commanders of his units about an imminent Allied invasion, the large volumes of Allied landing ships along the ports of New Guinea did not convince the Japanese of the scheduled operations of Allied forces
14.
Battle of Leyte
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Japan had conquered the Philippines in 1942. Controlling it was vital for Japans survival in World War II because it commanded sea routes to Borneo and Sumatra by which rubber, for the US, capturing the Philippines was a key strategic step in isolating Imperial Japans military holdings in China and the Pacific theater. It was also a matter of pride for MacArthur. Those relief forces were non-existent, Roosevelts true intentions in ordering MacArthur to flee the Philippines had been to prevent his capture by the Japanese, still, MacArthur had vowed that he would return to the Philippines. He repeatedly stated that it was an obligation of the US to liberate the Philippines as soon as possible. In March 1944, the Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered MacArthur to plan an attack on the southern Philippines by the end of the year, halsey then recommended a direct strike on Leyte, canceling other planned operations, and the Leyte invasion date moved forward to October. Leyte, one of the islands of the Philippines, has numerous deep-water approaches and sandy beaches which offered opportunities for amphibious assaults. American air forces based on Leyte could strike at enemy bases, a heavily forested north-south mountain range dominates the interior and separates two sizable valleys, or coastal plains. The larger Leyte Valley extends from the northern coast to the eastern shore and contains most of the towns. This continued south to the port of Ormoc City, then along the shore to Baybay town. The road then turned east to cross the mountainous waist of the island, below these towns, the mountainous southern third of Leyte was mostly undeveloped. High mountain peaks over 4,400 ft, as well as the jagged outcroppings, ravines, the timing late in the year of the assault would force combat troops and supporting pilots, as well as logistical units, to contend with monsoon rains. Japanese troop strength on Leyte was estimated by US intelligence at 20,000, preliminary operations for the Leyte invasion began at dawn on 17 October with minesweeping tasks and the movement of the 6th Rangers toward three small islands in Leyte Gulf. Although delayed by a storm, the Rangers were on Suluan, on Suluan, they dispersed a small group of Japanese defenders and destroyed a radio station, while they found Dinagat unoccupied. The next day, the third island Homonhon, was taken without any opposition, on Dinagat and Homonhom, the Rangers proceeded to erect navigation lights for the amphibious transports to follow. Meanwhile, reconnaissance by underwater demolition teams revealed clear landing beaches for assault troops on Leyte, independently, the 21st Infantry Regiment on 20 Oct. landed on Panaon Strait to control the entrance to Sogod Bay. Following four hours of naval gunfire on A-day,20 October. X Corps pushed across a 4 mi stretch of beach between Tacloban airfield and the Palo River,15 mi to the south, XXIV Corps units came ashore across a 3 mi strand between San José and the Daguitan River
15.
Battle of Luzon
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The battle resulted in a U. S. and Filipino victory. The Philippines were considered to be of strategic importance because their capture by Japan would pose a significant threat to the U. S. As a result,135,000 troops and 227 aircraft were stationed in the Philippines by October 1941, however, Luzon—the largest island in the Philippines—was captured by Imperial Japanese forces in 1942 during their campaign to capture the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur—who was in charge of the defense of the Philippines at the time—was ordered to Australia, a few months after this, MacArthur expressed his belief that an attempt to recapture the Philippines was necessary. Pacific Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Ernest King both opposed this idea, arguing that it must wait until victory was certain, MacArthur had to wait two years for his wish, it was 1944 before a campaign to recapture the Philippines was launched. The island of Leyte was the first objective of the campaign and this was followed by the attack on Mindoro, and later, Luzon. Before U. S. forces could launch the attack on Luzon, airbases in particular had to be established in order to provide the advancing troops with air support. Troops under Brigadier General William C, dunckel captured the island of Mindoro, with the assistance of the 7th Fleet. By 28 December, two airbases were controlled by the U. S. and were ready to assist in the attack on Luzon, with the capture of Mindoro, U. S. forces were positioned south of Luzon. However, MacArthur intended to land his forces at Lingayen, further north and this would place his troops close to several roads and railways on Luzon, which led to Manila—the main objective—through the plains in the center of the island. U. S. aircraft constantly made reconnaissance and bombing flights over southern Luzon, in addition, transport aircraft were used to make parachute drops with dummies. Minesweepers were used to clear the bays of Balayan, Batangas, and Tayabas, located to the south of Luzon, the assault on Luzon was launched, as planned, on 9 January 1945, codenamed S-day. The Japanese forces reported more than 70 Allied warships entering the Lingayen Gulf, pre-assault bombardment of Japanese shore positions from these ships began at 7,00. The landings were commenced an hour later, the landing forces faced strong opposition from Japanese kamikaze aircraft. The escort carrier Ommaney Bay was destroyed by an attack, while a destroyer. Aircraft from the 3rd Fleet assisted the landings with close air support, the landings at the Lingayen Gulf on 9 January were carried out by the 6th Army under the command of General Walter Krueger. Approximately 175,000 troops from the 6th Army landed along the 20-mile beachhead within a few days, XIV Corps under General Oscar Griswold then advanced south toward Manila, despite Kruegers concerns that his eastern flank was unprotected and vulnerable if the Japanese forces attacked. However, no attack occurred, and the U. S. forces did not meet much resistance until they reached the Clark Air Base on 23 January
16.
Korean War
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The Korean War began when North Korea invaded South Korea. The United Nations, with the United States as the principal force, China came to the aid of North Korea, and the Soviet Union gave some assistance. Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the days of World War II. In August 1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, as a result of an agreement with the United States, U. S. forces subsequently moved into the south. By 1948, as a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea was split into two regions, with separate governments, both governments claimed to be the legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither side accepted the border as permanent. The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces—supported by the Soviet Union, on that day, the United Nations Security Council recognized this North Korean act as invasion and called for an immediate ceasefire. On 27 June, the Security Council adopted S/RES/83, Complaint of aggression upon the Republic of Korea and decided the formation, twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force, with the United States providing 88% of the UNs military personnel. After the first two months of war, South Korean forces were on the point of defeat, forced back to the Pusan Perimeter, in September 1950, an amphibious UN counter-offensive was launched at Inchon, and cut off many North Korean troops. Those who escaped envelopment and capture were rapidly forced back north all the way to the border with China at the Yalu River, at this point, in October 1950, Chinese forces crossed the Yalu and entered the war. Chinese intervention triggered a retreat of UN forces which continued until mid-1951, after these reversals of fortune, which saw Seoul change hands four times, the last two years of fighting became a war of attrition, with the front line close to the 38th parallel. The war in the air, however, was never a stalemate, North Korea was subject to a massive bombing campaign. Jet fighters confronted each other in combat for the first time in history. The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed, the agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners. However, no treaty has been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Periodic clashes, many of which are deadly, continue to the present, in the U. S. the war was initially described by President Harry S. Truman as a police action as it was an undeclared military action, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. In South Korea, the war is referred to as 625 or the 6–2–5 Upheaval. In North Korea, the war is referred to as the Fatherland Liberation War or alternatively the Chosǒn War. In China, the war is called the War to Resist U. S
17.
Presidential Unit Citation (United States)
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The unit with the most Presidential Unit Citations is the USS Parche with 9 citations. The Army citation was established by Executive Order 9075 on 26 February 1942, superseded by Executive Order 9396 on Dec.2,1943, as with other Army unit citations, the PUC is in a larger frame than other ribbons, and is worn above the right pocket. All members of the unit may wear the decoration, whether or not they participated in the acts for which the unit was cited. Only those assigned to the unit at the time of the action cited may wear the decoration as a permanent award, for both the Army and Air Force, the emblem is a solid blue ribbon enclosed in a gold frame. The Air Force PUC was adopted from the Army Distinguished Unit Citation after the Air Force became a military branch in 1947. By Executive Order 10694, dated Jan,10,1957 the Air Force redesignated the Distinguished Unit Citation as the Presidential Unit Citation. The Air Force PUC is the color and design as the Army PUC but slightly smaller. The Citation is carried on the units colors in the form of a blue streamer,4 ft long and 2.75 in wide. For the Army, only on rare occasions will a larger than battalion qualify for award of this decoration. The Navy citation was established by Executive Order 9050 on 6 February 1942, the Navy version has blue, yellow, and red horizontal stripes, and is the only Navy ribbon having horizontal stripes. These are only worn by persons who meet the criteria at the time it is awarded to the unit, unlike the Army, those who later join the unit do not wear it on a temporary basis. The current decoration is known as the Department of Homeland Security Presidential Unit Citation. A Coast Guard version of the award was awarded to all U. S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary personnel responding to Hurricane Katrina by President George W. Bush for rescue, the United States Public Health Service Presidential Citation was established in 2015. The design was finalized by the Army Institute of Heraldry on 17 August 2015, two units of the Free French Forces were awarded Presidential Unit Citations during World War II. On April 22,1986, the 1st Fighter Group Força Aérea Brasileira was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in the Po Valley region of Italy in World War II. The Brazilians, operating in Italy in support of Allied forces, destroyed in one day over 45 vehicles, strafed pontoon bridges on the River Po, eleven missions of 44 sorties were flown destroying nine motor transports and damaging 17. One Belgian-Luxembourgian battalion of the Belgian United Nations Command was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation once for actions during the Battle of the Imjin River, the Colombia Battalion received the citation while attached to the American 21st Infantry Regiment in 1951. One Dutch unit, the Netherlands Detachment United Nations, part of the Regiment Van Heutsz, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation twice for actions during the Korean War, the first citation was awarded after the battle near Wonju and Hoengson in February 1951
18.
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
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The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award is one of the unit awards of the United States Air Force. It was established in 1954 and was the first independent Air Force decoration created, the Air Force Longevity Service Award would follow in 1957 with most of the standard Air Force awards established in the early to mid 1960s. The Outstanding Unit Award is awarded to any unit of the U. S, multiple awards of the Outstanding Unit Award are denoted by oak leaf clusters on the ribbon. Until 2004, the Outstanding Unit Award was the senior most unit award in the U. S. Air Force and it is awarded to personnel who were assigned or attached to the unit receiving the award during the period it was awarded for. Non-USAF personnel personnel assigned to USAF units awarded the Outstanding Unit Award are also eligible to wear the ribbon on their uniforms, however, the ribbon does not come in the larger size of unit awards common to the U. S. Army
19.
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
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In recognition of allied military service to South Korea during the Korean War, all United States military departments were authorized the unit award for that period. When the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation is worn on the South Korea military uniform it is as a ribbon 1 3⁄8 inches wide surrounded by a gold frame, the ribbon is white, with a 15⁄64 inch red above blue Taeguk in the center. No ribbon devices are authorized for wear with this award, U. S. Marine Corps for service in South Korea between 9 December 1999 to 24 April 2002. 2nd Infantry Division was recognized in 2011, for their support of South Korea over the preceding 60 years, seventh Air Force was recognized in October 2013, for longstanding achievements in operational readiness and force employment in South Korea. Eighth Army was recognized on October 1,2014, for outstanding performance in defense of the Republic of Korea, first Marine Division, Reinforced for operations from 15 September to 11 October 1950, including the Inchon landing and the battle for Seoul. 58th Engineer Treadway Bridge Company for their bridge building efforts with the X Corps at the Chosin Reservoir, the first was for service at Inchon, the second for service during the period of 1950-1953, and finally for deployment to the Korean Peninsula from 1945-1948 and 1953-1971. One Italian unit, the Ospedale da Campo n°68 of Corpo Militare della Croce Rossa Italiana, was awarded battle honour twelve, October 6,1952. One unit of the U. S. Armys 3rd Infantry Division, the first was for service in the Uijongbu Corridor in June 1951. The second was for service in the Iron Triangle at Hill 717 in July 1951, one South African unit, the 2 Squadron SAAF was also awarded this battle honour. It was presented on November 1,1951 and it reads This unit was dispatched from South Africa in support of the United Nations Forces in Korea. It was equipped with P-51 aircraft and has functioned continually in support of operations of the Eighth Army, through all gallantry and devotion to duty of its personnel it has earned high praise and its losses in pilots have been heavy. It continued to meet cheerfully all tasks allotted to it,16 Field Regiment of the Royal New Zealand Artillery. A Dutch battalion embedded into the US 2nd Infantry Division was awarded the U. S, Presidential Unit Citation in February 1951, for the capture of Hill 325, north of Manjong Station. The under-strength A Company, reinforced by personnel from B and heavy weapons companies, was ordered to recapture Hill 325 on the 15th of February 1951. At 0230 hrs the next morning, the Dutch were beaten back by heavy fire, at 0345 hrs they tried again. Just before dawn the exhausted Dutch, their ammunition almost expended, fixed bayonets and, shouting their battle cry, for these actions the Van Heutsz received its first U. S. This came at a cost, however, as the battalion had suffered over a hundred casualties. watv. org
20.
George Kenney
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George Churchill Kenney was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, Kenney enlisted as a flying cadet in the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps in 1917, and served on the Western Front with the 91st Aero Squadron. He was awarded a Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross for actions in which he fought off German fighters, after hostilities ended he participated in the Occupation of the Rhineland. Returning to the United States, he flew missions along the border between the US and Mexico during the Mexican Revolution. Commissioned into the Regular Army in 1920, he attended the Air Corps Tactical School and he was responsible for the acceptance of Martin NBS-1 bombers built by Curtis, and test flew them. He also developed techniques for mounting.30 caliber machine guns on the wings of an Airco DH.4 aircraft, in early 1940, Kenney became Assistant Military Attaché for Air in France. As a result of his observations of German and Allied air operations during the stages of World War II, he recommended significant changes to Air Corps equipment. In July 1942, he assumed command of the Allied Air Forces, under Kenneys command, the Allied Air Forces developed innovative command structures, weapons, and tactics that reflected Kenneys orientation towards attack aviation. The new weapons and tactics won perhaps his greatest victory, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in June 1944 he was appointed commander of the Far East Air Forces, which came to include the Fifth, Thirteenth, and Seventh Air Forces. George Churchill Kenney was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 6 August 1889, the oldest of four children of carpenter Joseph Atwood Kenney and his wife Anne Louise Kenney, née Churchill, Kenney grew up in Brookline, Massachusetts. He graduated from Brookline High School in 1907 and later year he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After his father left his family, Kenney quit MIT and took jobs before becoming a surveyor for the Quebec Saguenay Railroad. His mother died in 1913 and Kenney returned to Boston, where he took a job with Stone & Webster, in 1914 he joined the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad as a civil engineer, building a bridge in New London, Connecticut. After this was completed, he formed a partnership, the Beaver Contracting and Engineering Corporation, with a school classmate. The firm became involved in a number of projects, including the construction of a seawall at Winthrop, Massachusetts, and a bridge over the Squannacook River. The United States entered World War I in April 1917, and Kenney enlisted as a cadet in the Aviation Section. He attended ground school at MIT in June and July, and received flight training at Hazelhurst Field in Mineola, New York. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant on 5 November 1917, there, he received further flight training at Issoudun
21.
Earle E. Partridge
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Earle Everard Pat Partridge was a 4-star general in the United States Air Force and a Command Pilot. Partridge enlisted in the United States Army in July 1918 at Fort Slocum, New York and he went to France in August 1918 to join the 79th Division, participating in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Partridge graduated from the United States Military Academy in the Class of 1924 and he received flight training at Brooks Field and Kelly Field, and was a stunt pilot in the 1927 silent film Wings. He taught mathematics at West Point, then went to the Panama Canal Zone with the 6th Composite Group and he was adjutant and assistant operations officer of the 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field, and commanding officer of the 94th Pursuit Squadron. In 1943, Partridge became chief of staff of the Fifteenth Air Force and that June, he became commander of the 3rd Bomb Division, and assisted in its reorganization and movement to Okinawa. Partridge returned to Headquarters Army Air Forces in January 1946 as assistant chief of staff for operations and he went to Japan in October 1948 as commanding general of the Fifth Air Force, serving through the first year of the Korean War. On his return to the United States in June 1951, he commanded the newly formed Air Research and Development Command at Baltimore and he retired from active duty on July 31,1959
22.
Samuel E. Anderson
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General Samuel Egbert Anderson was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as commander of the Air Material Command. He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1906 and he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery upon graduation on June 9,1928. Assigned immediately to the Air Corps Primary Flying School, Brooks Field, Texas and he then proceeded to Kelly Field, Texas, to attend the Observation Course at the Air Corps Advanced Flying School. After graduating on October 15,1929, he joined the 5th Observation Squadron at Mitchel Field, Long Island, on November 1,1929, he transferred to the Air Corps. From September 1932 to February 1939, Anderson saw service at Chanute Field, Rantoul, Illinois, acted as flying instructor and performed duties at Kelly Field. Ordered to Wheeler Field, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, in March 1939, in November 1940, he was designated Wing S-3, plans and training officer, 18th Composite Wing. Returning to Langley Field, Virginia in May 1941, he served in various capacities, in August 1941, Anderson was brought into the Air War Plans Division where he helped author AWPD-1, the American air war plan which greatly contributed to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. In October 1941, Anderson transferred to the Office of the Assistant Chief Air Staff, Headquarters Air Force, andersons next assignment was with the Operations Division, War Department General Staff, Washington, D. C. where he served from March 1942 until May 1943. During this period, he saw combat in the Pacific Theater, transferring to the European Theater of Operations in May 1943 as administrative inspector of the 3rd Bombardment Wing, he assumed command of the organization July 12. In October 1943, General Anderson was designated commanding general of the new IX Bomber Command of the revamped Ninth Air Force, during his period of command,10 of the 11 groups of IX Bomber Command were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. Returning to the United States in May 1945, General Anderson became chief of staff, Continental Air Force, Bolling Field, Washington, D. C. In February 1946, he became a member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D. C. From August 1950 to May 1953, he served as commanding general of the Eighth Air Force, with headquarters at Carswell Air Force Base, on May 31,1953, he relieved Lieutenant General Glenn O. Barcus as commanding general of the Fifth Air Force in Korea. Upon assuming command of the Fifth Air Force, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, in May 1954, he was assigned as director, Weapons Systems Evaluation Group. He held this position until his assignment as commander of Air Research, Anderson retired from the Air Force on August 1,1963, and died on September 12,1982. He was buried at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery and this article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document General Samuel E, Anderson, USAF Official Biography. Time Over Targets, The Story of the 9th Bombardment Division
23.
Richard Myers
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Richard Bowman Myers is a retired four-star general in the United States Air Force and served as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. As Chairman, Myers was the highest ranking uniformed officer of the United States military forces, General Myers became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs on October 1,2001. On September 30,2005, he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace and his Air Force career included operational command and leadership positions in a variety of Air Force and Joint assignments. He began serving as the interim President of Kansas State University in late April,2016, Myers was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1960 and he graduated from Kansas State University with a B. S. in mechanical engineering in 1965 where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He was commissioned by Detachment 270 of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at KSU and he graduated from Auburn University Montgomery with a M. B. A. in 1977. General Myers entered the Air Force in 1965 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program and he received pilot training from 1965 to 1966 at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Myers is a pilot with more than 4,100 flying hours in the T-33 Shooting Star, C-37, C-21, F-4, F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from March 2000 to September 2001, in addition, he acted for the Chairman in all aspects of the Planning, Programming and Budgeting System including participation in the Defense Resources Board. From August 1998 to February 2000, General Myers was Commander in Chief of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, Space Command, Commander of the Air Force Space Command, and Department of Defense manager of the space transportation system contingency support at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. As commander, General Myers was responsible for defending America through space, prior to assuming that position, he was Commander, Pacific Air Forces, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, from July 1997 to July 1998. From July 1996 to July 1997 he served as Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, Forces Japan and 5th Air Force at Yokota Air Base, Japan. He was the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the September 11th,2001. However, at the time the Pentagon was attacked, he was on Capitol Hill and he did leave Capitol Hill and spent the remainder of the day in the Pentagon. His office was not damaged during the attack and he officially took position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1,2001. Since 1999, General Myers is an Air Force Gray Eagle and he also received the Badge of the Commander of the Military Forces. On 27 September 2005, only three days before leaving his post as Chairman, Myers said of the war in Iraq that, the outcome and consequences of defeat are greater than World War II. His rise to and stint as Chairman are chronicled in Washington Post reporter Bob Woodwards book, State of Denial, on September 30,2005, he retired and was succeeded by General Peter Pace
24.
Far East Air Force (United States)
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The Far East Air Force was the military aviation organization of the United States Army in the Philippines just prior to and at the beginning of World War II. Formed on 16 November 1941, FEAF was the predecessor of the Fifth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces, initially the Far East Air Force also included aircraft and personnel of the Philippine Army Air Corps. Outnumbered operationally more than three-to-one by aircraft of the Japanese Navy and Army, the B-17s were the only combat aircraft of the FEAF to escape capture or destruction. FEAF, with only 16 Curtiss P-40s and 4 Seversky P-35 fighters remaining of its combat force, was broken up as an air organization. Nearly all ground and flying personnel were employed as infantry at some point during their time on Bataan, the surviving personnel and a small number of aircraft received from the United States were re-organized in Australia in January 1942, and on 5 February 1942 redesignated as 5 Air Force. With most of its aircraft based in Java, the FEAF was nearly destroyed a second time trying to stem the tide of Japanese advances southward, four years later Allen recommended the establishment of an air station in the Philippines. Ultimately attriting four of the Armys first 18 airplanes, aviation went temporarily out of business when the last plane crashed into Corregidors San Jose Bay on 12 January 1915. The first U. S. aviation unit stationed overseas was the 1st Company, 2nd Aero Squadron and it used four Martin S seaplanes to adjust battery fire for Fort Mills, but was demobilized at the end of World War I. An additional squadron, the 28th, was activated on 1 September 1922 at Nichols Field, on 25 January 1923 the three squadrons, all equipped with the Boeing DH-4, were redesignated, respectively, the 2nd Observation, 3rd Pursuit, and 28th Bombardment Squadrons. The air forces in the Philippines were a component of the Armys Philippine Department and their nominal head was the Air Officer, Philippine Department, a staff member who did not exercise command of any operational units. Installations and airfields were maintained by service forces assigned to the Philippine Department, the primary observation aircraft after the retirement of the DH-4 was the Thomas-Morse O-19. After 1931 the 4th Composite Group became a ground for aircraft that had become obsolete or worn out. On 31 May 1940, Maj. Gen. George C, Grunert, a mustang officer who had entered the Army during the Spanish–American War, took command of the Philippine Department. Of thirteen fields available for use throughout the islands, only Clark Field was considered a first rate facility, the group had only 26 of the 51 pilots authorized it by its table of organization and equipment. In a limited response to Grunerts requests, on 5 August 1940 Army Chief of Staff Gen. George C and these measures were considered by the War Department to be one-shot operations and not a shift in its defense policy for the Philippines. The senior Air Corps officer in the Philippines was Col. Col. Harrison H. C, Col. Lawrence S. Churchill, commanding the 4th Composite Group, was a year his junior in rank. While both colonels were fifty-one years old in 1941, neither had the confidence of Grunert, possibly because of open animosity each displayed against the other, in March 1941, Grunert wrote Marshall requesting that a general officer be transferred to Manila to command the Departments air force. The Philippine Department Air Force was formed on 6 May 1941 as the War Department hastily reversed course, the PDAFs only major unit, the 4th Composite Group, consisted of five squadrons based at two grass fields, Clark and Nichols
25.
Nichols Field
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Nichols Field was a U. S. military airfield located south of Manila in Pasay and Parañaque, Metro Manila, Luzon, the Philippines. Camp Nichols was established by the Air Service, United States Army in 1919, the 1st Group consisted of the 2d, 3d and 28th Aero Squadrons in 1919. The 2d Aero Squadron, having served in the Philippines beginning in 1915, was transferred back from Rockwell Field, the 3d Aero Squadron, also a stateside training unit during the war, was transferred from Mitchel Field, New York in 1920. The 28th Aero Squadron, which had served in combat on the Western Front during the war, was transferred to the group in 1922, the 3d Pursuit Squadron was moved to Clark Field upon its arrival in 1920 and Nichols became home of Air Park No,11. It also became the home of the Manila Air Depot, which provided support for all Army. The primary operational mission of Nichols Field was tactical training for coastal defense of Luzon, due to its proximity to Manila, it also was the primary command and control base for the Philippine Department Air Force. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular, another mission of Nichols Field during the 1920s was aerial mapping of the Philippines, the topography of many of the islands were largely unknown. The aerial mapping mission was the mission of 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. On or about 1 November 1940, the 4th Composite was reinforced by the 17th Pursuit Squadron from the 1st Pursuit Group, being transferred from Selfridge Field, the 20th Pursuit Squadron, from the 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field, California, also was transferred to Nichols. Both of these squadrons, however, had sent their personnel. In May 1941, the 17th and 20th squadrons were re-equipped with Seversky P-35As that were manufactured for the Swedish Air Force, on 24 October 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order requisitioning all the undelivered P-35s sold to Sweden and impressing them into the USAAC. Forty of the arrived at the Manila Air Depot in Swedish markings, with Swedish language technical orders. These planes all required modification at the depot before being turned over to the squadrons for operational use, the 28th Bombardment Squadron also received some Douglas B-18 Bolos. During summer 1941, Nichols Field was undergoing construction of an east–west runway, all of the flying units at Nichols were moved to Clark Field with the exception of the 17th Pursuit Squadron. The 17th was sent to Iba Airfield on the north coast of Luzon where it was undergoing gunnery training. In September, the 17th was moved to the still uncompleted Nichols Field when word was received that space at Clark was needed for B-17 Flying Fortresses of the incoming 19th Bombardment Group, the 3d Squadron was sent up to Iba for gunnery training to free up the space. However the 17th suffered from the construction at Nichols, which caused several ground accidents
26.
Luzon
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Luzon (/luːˈzɒn/, Tagalog pronunciation, is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. It is ranked 15th largest in the world, with a population of 52.99 million as of 2015, it is the fourth most populous island in the world, containing about 53% of the countrys total population. Luzon may also refer to one of the three island groups in the country. The name Luzon is thought to derive from the Tagalog word lusong, from just before the first millennium, the Tagalog and Kapampangan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several Indianized kingdoms, notably among them those of Tundok and Namayan. The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, the first Philippine document written in 900AD, names places in and these kingdoms were based on leases between village rulers and landlords or Rajahs, to whom tributes and taxes were levied. These kingdoms were coastal thalassocracies based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities at that time, some parts of Luzon were Islamized when the Sultanate of Brunei expanded its realms from Borneo to the Philippines and set up the Kingdom of Maynila as its puppet-state. In addition, other kingdoms like the Wangdom of Pangasinan had become tributary states to China and were largely Sinified kingdoms, certain kilns were renowned over others and prices depended on the reputation of the kiln. Of this flourishing trade, the Burnay jars of Ilocos are the large clay jar manufactured in Luzon today with origins from this time. The Yongle Emperor instituted a Chinese Governor on Luzon during Zheng Hes voyages, China also had vassals among the leaders in the archipelago. China attained ascendancy in trade with the area in Yongles reign, in the 1500s, people from Luzon were called Lucoes and were actively employed in trading, seafaring and military campaigns across Southeast Asia. The Portuguese were the first European explorers who recorded it in their charts as Luçonia or Luçon, edmund Roberts, who visited Luzon in the early 19th century, wrote that Luzon was discovered in 1521. Many people from Luzon had active-employment in Portuguese Malacca and his father and wife carried on his maritime trading business after his death. Another important Malacca trader was Curia de Raja who also hailed from Luzon, the surname of de Raja or diraja could indicate that Regimo and Curia, and their families, were of noble or royal descent as the term is an abbreviation of Sanskrit adiraja. Pinto noted that there were a number of Lucoes in the Islamic fleets that went to battle with the Portuguese in the Philippines during the 16th century, the Sultan of Aceh gave one of them the task of holding Aru in 1540. Pinto also says one was named leader of the Malays remaining in the Moluccas Islands after the Portuguese conquest in 1511, pigafetta notes that one of them was in command of the Brunei fleet in 1521. However, the Luções did not only fight on the side of the Muslims, pinto says they were also apparently among the natives of the Philippines who fought the Muslims in 1538. On Mainland Southeast Asia, Lusung/Lucoes warriors aided the Burmese king in his invasion of Siam in 1547 AD, at the same time, Lusung warriors fought alongside the Siamese king and faced the same elephant army of the Burmese king in the defence of the Siamese capital at Ayuthaya. Scholars have thus suggested that they could be valued by all sides
27.
Pacific War
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The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in the Pacific and East Asia. It was fought over a vast area that included the Pacific Ocean and islands, the South West Pacific, South-East Asia, and in China. The Pacific War saw the Allied powers pitted against the Empire of Japan, the formal and official surrender of Japan took place aboard the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. In Allied countries during the war, The Pacific War was not usually distinguished from World War II in general, or was known simply as the War against Japan. Japan used the name Greater East Asia War, as chosen by a decision on 10 December 1941. Japanese officials integrated what they called the Japan–China Incident into the Greater East Asia War, in Japan, the Fifteen Years War is also used, referring to the period from the Mukden Incident of 1931 through 1945. The Phayap Army sent troops to invade and occupy northeastern Burma, also involved were the Japanese puppet states of Manchukuo and Mengjiang, and the collaborationist Wang Jingwei regime. The official policy of the U. S. Government is that Thailand was not an ally of the Axis, Japan conscripted many soldiers from its colonies of Korea and Formosa. To a small extent, some Vichy French, Indian National Army, Germany and Italy both had limited involvement in the Pacific War. The German and the Italian navies operated submarines and raiding ships in the Indian, the Italians had access to concession territory naval bases in China, while the Germans did not. After Japans attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war, mexico, Free France and many other countries also took part, especially forces from other British colonies. Between 1942 and 1945, there were four main areas of conflict in the Pacific War, China, the Central Pacific, South East Asia, U. S. sources refer to two theaters within the Pacific War, the Pacific theater and the China Burma India Theater. However these were not operational commands, in the Pacific, the Allies divided operational control of their forces between two supreme commands, known as Pacific Ocean Areas and Southwest Pacific Area. In 1945, for a period just before the Japanese surrender. By 1937, Japan controlled Manchuria and was ready to move deeper into China, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on 7 July 1937 provoked full-scale war between China and Japan. In August 1937, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to fight about 300,000 Japanese troops in Shanghai, the Japanese continued to push the Chinese forces back, capturing the capital Nanking in December 1937 and committed which was known as Nanking Massacre. In March 1938, Nationalist forces won their first victory at Taierzhuang, but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by Japanese in May. In June 1938, Japan deployed about 350,000 troops to invade Wuhan, the Japanese achieved major military victories, but world opinion—in particular in the United States—condemned Japan, especially after the Panay incident
28.
New Guinea
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New Guinea is a large Island in the South West Pacific region. It is the worlds second-largest island, after Greenland, covering an area of 785,753 km2. The island is divided between two countries, Papua New Guinea to the east, and Indonesia to the west, the island has been known by various names. The name Papua was used to refer to parts of the island before contact with the West and its etymology is unclear, one theory states that it is from Tidore, the language used by the Sultanate of Tidore, which controlled parts of the islands coastal region. The name came from papo and ua, which means not united or, ploeg reports that the word papua is often said to derive from the Malay word papua or pua-pua, meaning frizzly-haired, referring to the highly curly hair of the inhabitants of these areas. When the Portuguese and Spanish explorers arrived in the island via the Spice Islands, when the Dutch colonized it as part of Netherlands East Indies, they called it Nieuw Guinea. The name Irian was used in the Indonesian language to refer the island and Indonesian province, the name was promoted in 1945 by Marcus Kaisiepo, brother of the future governor Frans Kaisiepo. It is taken from the Biak language of Biak Island, and means to rise and this name of Irian is the name used in the Biak language and other languages such as Serui, Merauke and Waropen. The name was used until 2001, when the name Papua was again used for the island, the name Irian, which was originally favored by natives, is now considered to be a name imposed by the authority of Jakarta. New Guinea is an island to the north of Australia, and it is isolated by the Arafura Sea to the west and the Torres Strait and Coral Sea to the east. A spine of east–west mountains, the New Guinea Highlands, dominates the geography of New Guinea, stretching over 1,600 km from the head to the tail of the island. The western half of the island of New Guinea contains the highest mountains in Oceania, rising up to 4,884 m high, the tree line is around 4,000 m elevation and the tallest peaks contain permanent equatorial glaciers—which have been retreating since at least 1936. Various other smaller mountain ranges occur both north and west of the central ranges, except in high elevations, most areas possess a warm humid climate throughout the year, with some seasonal variation associated with the northeast monsoon season. At 4,884 metres, Puncak Jaya makes New Guinea the worlds fourth highest landmass, Puncak Mandala, located in Papua, is the second highest peak on the island at 4,760 metres. Puncak Trikora, also in Papua, is 4,750 metres, mount Wilhelm is the highest peak on the PNG side of the border at 4,509 metres. Its granite peak is the highest point of the Bismarck Range, mount Giluwe 4,368 metres is the second highest summit in PNG. It is also the highest volcanic peak in Oceania, another major habitat feature is the vast southern and northern lowlands. Stretching for hundreds of kilometres, these include lowland rainforests, extensive wetlands, savanna grasslands, the southern lowlands are the site of Lorentz National Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site
29.
Dutch East Indies
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The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony. It was formed from the colonies of the Dutch East India Company. During the 19th century, Dutch possessions and hegemony were expanded and this colony was one of the most valuable European colonies under the Dutch Empires rule, and contributed to Dutch global prominence in spice and cash crop trade in the 19th to early 20th century. The colonial social order was based on racial and social structures with a Dutch elite living separate from. The term Indonesia came into use for the location after 1880. In the early 20th century, local intellectuals began developing the concept of Indonesia as a nation state, Japans World War II occupation dismantled much of the Dutch colonial state and economy. Following the Japanese surrender in August 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared independence which they fought to secure during the subsequent Indonesian National Revolution, the word Indies comes from Latin, Indus. The original name Dutch Indies was translated by the English as the Dutch East Indies, the name Dutch Indies is recorded in the Dutch East India Companys documents of the early 1620s. Scholars writing in English use the terms Indië, Indies, the Dutch East Indies, the Netherlands Indies, centuries before Europeans arrived, the Indonesian archipelago supported various states, including commercially oriented coastal trading states and inland agrarian states. The first Europeans to arrive were the Portuguese in the late 15th century, following disruption of Dutch access to spices in Europe, the first Dutch expedition set sail for the East Indies in 1595 to access spices directly from Asia. When it made a 400% profit on its return, other Dutch expeditions soon followed, recognising the potential of the East Indies trade, the Dutch government amalgamated the competing companies into the United East India Company. The VOC was granted a charter to wage war, build fortresses, a capital was established in Batavia, which became the centre of the VOCs Asian trading network. Smuggling, the expense of war, corruption, and mismanagement led to bankruptcy by the end of the 18th century. The company was dissolved in 1800 and its colonial possessions in the Indonesian archipelago were nationalised under the Dutch Republic as the Dutch East Indies. From the arrival of the first Dutch ships in the late 16th century, to the declaration of independence in 1945, although Java was dominated by the Dutch, many areas remained independent throughout much of this time, including Aceh, Bali, Lombok and Borneo. Piracy remained a problem until the mid-19th century, finally in the early 20th century, imperial dominance was extended across what was to become the territory of modern-day Indonesia. In 1811, British forces occupied several Dutch East Indies ports including Java, Dutch control was restored in 1816. Under the 1824 Anglo-Dutch Treaty, the Dutch secured British settlements such as Bengkulu in Sumatra, in exchange for ceding control of their possessions in the Malay Peninsula, the resulting borders between British and Dutch possessions remain between Malaysia and Indonesia
30.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
31.
Philippine Department
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The Philippine Department was a regular United States Army unit whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On April 9,1942, during World War II, the unit surrendered to the Japanese, the primary force of this Department was the Philippine Division. Of the 22,532 troops,10,473 were members of the Philippine Division itself. All units of the Department wore the Philippine Department shoulder sleeve insignia, with the exception of the Philippine Division, which wore their own patch, a golden carabao on a red shield. Officially, the Philippine Department’s insignia featured the Philippine Sea Lion, in white, the Sea Lion is derived from the coat of arms of Manila. The Philippine Department and Philippine Division insignia were approved on July 8,1922. Following the creation of USAFFE, the Philippine Department became, in effect, tactical command was thenceforth under USAFFEs control. At the time of USAFFEs formation the unit consisted of 22,532 troops, of the 1,340 officers,775 were reservists. 7,293 troops were assigned to the infantry and 4,967 were assigned to the Harbor Defenses of Manila, ~2,500 troops served in a service or supply position, mainly quartermaster or medical units. The majority of the troops were stationed on Luzon. S. Ships Sunk or Damaged 1939 to 1941, usmm. org Far East Air Force Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States
32.
2d Air Refueling Squadron
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The 2d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the United States Air Force. It is part of the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the 2d ARS is the second-oldest squadron in the Air Force, having over 100 years of service to the nation. It was re-formed as an air refueling squadron by Strategic Air Command in 1949, today, it operates the KC-10 Extender aircraft, conducting aerial refueling missions. The squadron was activated on 12 May 1915 by the Aviation Section and it was the second to be organized in the United States Army, as noted by its numerical designation. It was organized at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, where the only Aviation School at that time was located, other members were taken from the 1st Aero Squadron, then the only completely equipped squadron in the Army. It was the policy of the Aviation School to completely train, the squadron consisted of six flying officers and thirty-nine enlisted men, primarily mechanics. Two officers and ten men were transferred from the 1st Aero Squadron and it sailed from San Francisco for Manila on 5 January 1916. After two weeks of quarantine, the unit reached its station on Corregidor on 14 February without aircraft and it was the first complete aviation unit assigned outside of the United States. The 2d received four Martin S-Hydro seaplanes on 13 March and 15 April, a radio transmitter was set up in one aircraft, giving the aircraft a broadcast range of 29 miles. On 28 June, the company provided artillery spotting and adjustment for target practice with the Fort Mills batteries, personnel for a second company were assembled and the unit was re-designated the 2d Aero Squadron on 20 July 1917. After the United States entered World War I, the squadron was ordered back to the United States and it sailed from Manila on 15 October 1917, arriving in San Francisco on 17 November. It was immediately transferred to Kelly Field, Texas, reaching the post on 22 November, many of the men of the squadron were assigned to Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas. The remainder of the squadron was sent to Kelly Field #2, at Field #2, the mechanics began assembling Curtiss JN-4D Trainers. After a few months, the men had time to worry about their assignment at Kelly Field when suddenly various squadrons began to be ordered for overseas duty in France. The men of the squadron began to submit requests to be included in these outgoing squadrons. Some transfers were approved, however, most were retained at Kelly Field, the 2d squadron was assigned to Advanced Cross Country and Aerobatic flight training. The squadron was re-designated as Squadron A, Kelly Field, on 1 July 1918, at the end of the war, only six members of the squadron remained from the initial cadre that was formed up in San Diego in 1915. The squadron was demobilized on 18 November 1918, after World War I, the unit was re-organized as a new organization, designated as the 2d Aero Squadron on 3 June 1919 at Rockwell Field, California
33.
Fort Bonifacio
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Fort Bonifacio, is the national headquarters of the Philippine Army and is located in southeastern Metro Manila in an area disputed between Taguig, Makati and Pateros. It is located near the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force. The camp is named after Andres Bonifacio, the leader of the Katipunan during the revolutionary period of the Philippines against Spain - Philippine Revolution. Fort William McKinley, now Fort Bonifacio, was established during the Philippine–American War in 1901 and this expropriation was later challenged by then President Ferdinand E. Marcos and the US agreed to compensate, through him, in trust deposits. In 1916, the 3rd Battalion of the 31st Infantry Regiment was formed here, until December 1920, this was the home of the 31st Infantry Regiment. During World War II, the USAFFE headquarters for the Philippine Department, the bulk of the Philippine Division was stationed there and this was where, under the National Defense Act of 1935, specialized artillery training was conducted. On May 14,1949, Fort McKinley was turned over to the Philippine government, the facility became the home of the Philippine Army and later the Philippine Navy and was renamed Fort Bonifacio. It lies in the cities of Pasay, Parañaque, Makati, the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial was established here. Later, it was turned into a real estate development area called Bonifacio Global City, Military History of the Philippines Military History of the United States
34.
Martin S
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The Martin S was a two-seat observation seaplane produced in the United States in 1915. Designed along the general lines as the preceding Model T. The fuselage was not directly attached to the wings, but was carried on struts in the interplane gap. The undercarriage consisted of a large pontoon below the fuselage. The Model S was 23-year-old Donald Douglass first and only design for the Martin company, six, possibly fourteen, of these aircraft were operated by the Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps, and another two by the United States Navy. All of the Army aircraft, S. C, 56-59 and 94-95, were assigned to the first U. S. United States United States Army United States Navy Data from aerofiles, the Early Years of Douglas Aircraft, the 1920s. Taylor, Michael J. H. Janes Encyclopedia of Aviation
35.
American entry into World War I
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The American entry into World War I came in April 1917, after two and a half years of efforts by President Woodrow Wilson to keep the United States neutral. Apart from an Anglophile element supporting the British, American public opinion went along with neutrality at first, the sentiment for neutrality was strong among Irish Americans, German Americans and Scandinavian Americans, as well as among church leaders and women. On the other hand, even before World War I broke out, the citizenry increasingly came to see the German Empire as the villain after news of atrocities in Belgium in 1914, and the sinking of the passenger liner RMS Lusitania in May 1915. Wilson made all the key decisions and kept the economy on a basis, while allowing banks to make large-scale loans to Britain. However, he did enlarge the United States Navy, in early 1917, Germany decided to resume all-out submarine warfare on every commercial ship headed toward Britain, realizing that this decision would almost certainly mean war with the U. S. Germany also offered to help Mexico regain territories lost in the Mexican–American War in the Zimmermann Telegram, publication of that offer outraged Americans just as German U-boats started sinking American ships in the North Atlantic. Wilson asked Congress for a war to end all wars that would make the safe for democracy. On December 7,1917, the U. S. declared war on Austria-Hungary, United States insisted on maintaining the traditional rights of neutrals, protested strongly against violations by Britain and especially by Germany. The British seized American ships for supposed violations, the Germans sank them without warning, in violation of international law that said sailors must be allowed an opportunity to reach their lifeboats. A critical indirect strategy used by both sides was the blockade, the British Royal Navy successfully stopped the shipment of most war supplies and food to Germany. Neutral American ships that tried to trade with Germany were seized or turned back by the Royal Navy who viewed such trade as in conflict with the Allies war efforts. The strangulation came about slowly, because Germany and the Central Powers controlled extensive farmlands. It was eventually successful because Germany and Austria-Hungary had decimated their agricultural production by taking so many farmers into their armies, by 1918, German cities were on the verge of starvation, the front-line soldiers were on short rations and were running out of essential supplies. England wants to starve us, said Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the man who built the German fleet and we can play the same game. We can bottle her up and destroy every ship that endeavors to break the blockade, unable to challenge the more powerful Royal Navy on the surface, Tirpitz wanted to scare off merchant and passenger ships en route to Britain. While Germany had only nine long-range U-boats at the start of the war, furthermore, Americans insisted that the drowning of innocent civilians was barbaric and grounds for a declaration of war. The British frequently violated Americas neutral rights by seizing ships, Wilsons top advisor, Colonel Edward M. House commented that, The British have gone as far as they possibly could in violating neutral rights, though they have done it in the most courteous way. When Wilson protested British violations of American neutrality, the British backed down, German submarines torpedoed ships without warning, causing sailors and passengers to drown
36.
Fort Stotsenburg
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Also based here were the 12th Ordnance Company and a platoon of the 12th Quartermaster Regiment. Fort Stotsenburg is situated at Barrio Sapang Bato in Angeles City and is approximately 80 km north of Manila and this was one of the locations where, under the National Defense Act of 1935, field artillery training was conducted. C.1917, Fort Stotsenburg was home to the 1st Philippine Artillery Regiment, by October 1902, American forces had established more or less permanent quarters near the Angeles railroad station in an area of the town known as Talimundoc. The rumor is that cavalry foragers had come across a fertile plain further to the north, the U. S. cavalry forces had encountered problems caused by the fact that their horses became sick and often died after eating Philippine sawgrass. By the latter part of 1902, plans were under consideration to relocate the American military reservation to this area near the barrio of Sapang Bato, the preliminary survey dates from 1902. In the following year, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order, the entrance pillars to Fort Stotsenburg were originally located on what is now known as Dau Highway. During the Japanese occupation of Clark Air Base from 1942 to 1945 and they were unearthed intact in the vicinity of the old Base Operations Building in 1965. Following their discovery, the pillars were relocated near the Consolidated Base Personnel Office. In 1984, as part of a plan to highlight the bases long history. Because putting them at their original site would have placed them in an area which possessed low visibility, special crews and a giant crane rented from a company in Manila moved the posts in what turned out to be an all-day affair. Quite a number of onlookers viewed the move and cheered as the last post was dropped into its new position, the post flagpole has always been in its present location in front of Building 2122 with the original flagstaff constructed on September 16,1906 at a cost of $220. It was the location for reveille at 6 a. m. a cannon was fired at 5 p. m. for retreat ceremonies, and taps was sounded at 10 p. m. In accordance with the provisions of the Military Bases Agreement as revised in 1979, the camp gymnasium was completed in 1912 and this building has been used for many purposes over the years, including Post Exchange and Charlie Corns Canteen. It last housed the offices of the Thirteenth Air Force Chief of Staff for Operations and Intelligence and the 6200th Tactical Fighter Training Group. In the early decades of Fort Stotsenburgs history, it housed Charlie Corns canteen and restaurant in the basement, the post exchange on the first floor, following the American recapture of Clark in February 1945, it served as the Fifth Air Force Headquarters building. Years of renovation and modification have all but disguised the original structure, the first building on this site was made of nipa and bamboo in 1902 and served as post headquarters. In 1906, it was rebuilt of lumber and roofed with tarpaper and it was reconstructed of concrete in 1912 and, for a time, housed a bowling alley. Throughout most of its history, this served as the office of post commanders and their executive officers
37.
United States Army Air Service
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The Air Service, United States Army was the military aviation service of the United States between 1918 and 1926 and a forerunner of the United States Air Force. It was established as an independent but temporary branch of the U. S and its life was extended for another year in July 1919, during which time Congress passed the legislation necessary to make it a permanent establishment. The National Defense Act of 1920 assigned the Air Service the status of combatant arm of the line of the United States Army with a general in command. By the end of the war, the Air Service used 45 squadrons to cover 137 kilometers of front from Pont-à-Mousson to Sedan,71 pursuit pilots were credited with shooting down five or more German aircraft while in American service. Overall the Air Service destroyed 756 enemy aircraft and 76 balloons in combat,17 balloon companies also operated at the front, making 1,642 combat ascensions. 289 airplanes and 48 balloons were lost in battle, the Air Service was the first form of the air force to have an independent organizational structure and identity. Although officers concurrently held rank in various branches, after May 1918 their branch designation in official correspondence while on aviation assignment changed from ASSC to AS, after July 1,1920, its personnel became members of the Air Service branch, receiving new commissions. Airmen such as Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell supported the concept, the Armys senior leadership from World War I, the United States Navy, and the majority of the nations political leadership favored integration of all military aviation into the Army and Navy. Aided by a wave of pacifism following the war that drastically cut military budgets, opponents of an independent air force prevailed, the Air Service was renamed the Army Air Corps in 1926 as a compromise in the continuing struggle. The declaration of war against Germany on April 6,1917, putting the United States in World War I, came too quickly to solve emerging engineering and production problems. The reorganization of the Aviation Section had been inadequate in resolving problems in training, leaving the United States totally unprepared to fight an air war in Europe, the Aviation Section consisted of 131 officers,1087 enlisted men, and approximately 280 airplanes. The Board dispatched Major Raynal C, by the time the bill passed, the term Air Service was in widespread if unofficial usage to collectively describe all aspects of Army aviation. Even so, the Aircraft Board in practice had little control over procurement contracts, nor did the Equipment Division of the Signal Corps exercise such control. Though individual areas within the industry responded well, the industry as a whole failed. Efforts to mass produce European aircraft under license largely failed because the aircraft, at the same time the Aeronautical Division of the OCSO was renamed the Air Division with continued responsibility for training and operations but with no influence on acquisition or doctrine. In the end the process in aircraft procurement was badly fragmented. Borglum had exchanged letters with President Wilson, a friend, from which he assumed an appointment to investigate had been authorized. Both the U. S. Senate and the Department of Justice began investigations into possible fraudulent dealings, Kenly brought back from France to be its head, to separate supervision of aviation from the duties of the Chief Signal Officer
38.
3d Fighter Training Squadron
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The 3rd Fighter Training Squadron is part of the 71st Operations Group under the 71st Flying Training Wing. It operates the T-1A Jayhawk aircraft conducting advanced phase tanker/transport flight training and it was not re-activated until 1973. To qualify warriors with the skills and attitude necessary to become the worlds best combat airlift, the 3d Fighter Training Squadron dates to the organization of the 3d Aero Squadron on 1 November 1916 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Most of the officers and men of the Squadron were transferred from the Aviation School at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, where, at the time, all Army aviators were trained. There, it replaced the 1st Aero Squadron, whose members were sent to Columbus Airfield, there, the squadron may have operated some Curtiss JN-3s and possibly some Curtiss N-8s, preparing them to be sent south to Columbus. By March 1917, men from the 3d Aero Squadron were hard at work clearing the cotton plants from the land and laying foundations for hangars and mess halls at what would become Kelly Field. On 5 April 1917, one day before the United States entered World War I, on 29 August 1917 the 3d Aero Squadron left Kelly Field for Fort Sill, Oklahoma with 12 Curtiss R4 airplanes under the command of a Captain Weir to establish a new training airfield. The squadron was assigned to Henry Post Field and it was re-designated as Squadron A, Henry Post Field, Oklahoma. At Post Field, the 3d was most likely a training unit in support of the United States Army Field Artillery School. In September 1917, the 4th Aero Squadron was transferred to Post Field from Fort Sam Houston, the 3d was ordered to transfer 135 men to the 4th to bring the squadron up to its authorized strength. The 3d was redesignated as Squadron A, with the 4th being redesignated as Squadron B in July 1918, both squadrons were demobilized at the end of World War I on 2 January 1919. The unit was re-formed as a new unit, designated as the 3d Aero Squadron, on 13 May 1919 at Mitchel Field, many of the men were experienced mechanics and officers who had served either in France or at training units in the United States during World War I. After being organized, the squadron was transferred by train to San Francisco, California, the squadron was assigned to the Philippine Department, and was stationed initially at Camp Stotsenburg on Luzon. Some Dayton-Wright DH-4s, which were used as trainers during the war in the United States, on 10 March 1920, along with the 2d Aero Squadron, which had arrived in December 1919, the squadrons were organized into the 1st Group. On 14 March 1921, the squadron was re-designated as the 3d Squadron, its mission was to provide aerial defense as part of the 4th Composite Group. In 1924, the squadron was consolidated with its World War I predecessor organization. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular, the 3d had received P-26 Peashooters in 1937, the latest in the 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
39.
Airco DH.4
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The Airco DH.4 was a British two-seat biplane day bomber of World War I. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber to have a defensive armament. It first flew in August 1916 and entered service with the Royal Flying Corps in March 1917, the majority of DH. 4s were actually built as general purpose two-seaters in the United States, for service with the American forces in France. The DH.4 was tried with several engines, of which the best was the 375 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. Armament and ordnance for the aircraft consisted of one 0.303 in Vickers machine gun for the pilot, two 230 lb bombs or four 112 lb bombs could be carried. The DH.4 entered service on 6 March 1917 with No.55 Squadron in France, the DH.4 was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland as a light two-seat day bomber powered by the new Beardmore Halford Pullinger engine. The prototype first flew in August 1916, powered by a prototype BHP engine rated at 230 hp, while the DH.4 trials were promising, the BHP engine required major redesign before entering production, and the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine was selected as the DH. 4s powerplant. The first order for 50 DH. 4s, powered by 250 hp Eagle III engines was placed at the end of 1916, the aircraft was a conventional tractor two bay biplane of all-wooden construction. The crew of two were accommodated in widely spaced cockpits, separated by the fuel tank and it was armed with a single forward-firing synchronised Vickers machine gun and one or two.303 in Lewis guns fitted on a Scarff ring fired by the observer. A bomb load of 460 lb could be fitted to external racks, as production continued, DH. 4s were fitted with Eagle engines of increasing power, settling on the 375 hp Eagle VIII, which powered the majority of frontline DH. 4s by the end of 1917. None of these engines could match the Rolls-Royce Eagle, however, in American production, the new Liberty engine proved suitable as a DH.4 powerplant. The Liberty was also to power the British DH. 9A. Production was by Airco, F. W. Berwick and Co, Glendower Aircraft Company, Palladium Autocars, Vulcan Motor and Engineering, a total of 1,449 aircraft were made in the UK for the RFC and RNAS. SABCA of Belgium made a further 15 in 1926, a total of 9,500 DH-4s were ordered from American manufacturers, of which 1,885 actually reached France during the war. After the war, a number of firms, most significantly Boeing, were contracted by the U. S. Army to remanufacture surplus DH-4s to DH-4B standard. Known by Boeing as the Model 16, deliveries of 111 aircraft from this manufacturer took place between March and July 1920, with 50 of them returned for further three years later. In 1923, the Army ordered a new DH-4 variant from Boeing and these three prototypes were designated DH-4M-1 and were ordered into production alongside the generally similar DH-4M-2 developed by Atlantic Aircraft. A total of 22 of the 163 DH-4M-1s were converted by the Army into dual-control trainers, the DH.4 entered service with the RFC in January 1917, first being used by No.55 Squadron
40.
Clark Air Base
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Clark Air Base is a Philippine Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was previously a United States military facility, operated by the U. S. Air Force under the aegis of Pacific Air Forces, the base covered 14.3 square miles with a military reservation extending north that covered another 230 square miles. The base was a stronghold of the combined Filipino and American forces during the months of World War II. Following the departure of American forces in 1991, the base became the site of Clark International Airport, the Clark Freeport Zone. In April 2016, an Air Contingent of USAF A-10s and HH-60s was deployed from U. S. air bases in Pyeongtaek, the air contingent builds upon previous deployments by U. S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft to Clark. Clark Air Base was originally established as Fort Stotsenburg in Sapang Bato, a portion of Fort Stotsenburg was officially set aside for the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps and named Clark Field in September 1919 after Harold M. Clark. Clark later served as a field for U. S. Army Air Corps medium bombers. It was very large for an air field of its day, however, most of them were destroyed on the ground during an air raid nine hours after the Pearl Harbor attack. The base was overrun by Japanese forces in early January 1942, Japanese aircraft flying out of Clark participated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of the Second World War. During the war, the Allied prisoners on the Bataan Death March passed by the gate of Clark Air Base as they followed the railway tracks north towards Camp ODonnell. Clark Air Base was recaptured by Americans in January 1945, after three months of fighting to liberate the Philippines. It was immediately returned to U. S. Army Air Forces control, Clark grew into a major American air base during the Cold War, serving as an important logistics hub during the Vietnam War. The base was closed by the United States in the early 1990s due to the refusal by the then- Philippine government to renew the lease on the base. In November 1991, the United States Air Force lowered the U. S. flag, with the United States militarys withdrawal from Clark, the base was systematically looted by the local population and was left abandoned for several years. It finally became the Clark Freeport Zone, the site of Clark International Airport and parts of it are owned and operated by the Philippine Air Force, retaining the same name. In June 2012, the Philippine government, under pressure from Chinese claims to their seas and it also hosted an interceptor squadron and a flight school, all of which flew a variety of other combat aircraft. Transient aircraft of many types, especially cargo jets, were common, fighter planes regularly visited to participate in aerial warfare exercises at Crow Valley about 30 miles to the northwest. In November 1973, headquarters for the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing was transferred to Clark Air Base, with this move came two squadrons of C-130E transport aircraft, the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron and the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron
41.
1st Observation Group
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The 4th Composite Group is an inactive United States Army Air Corps unit. It was last was assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department at Nichols Field and it was disbanded on 1 November 1941. The Group was the command and control organization for all Army Air Corps units in the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1919 until the eve of World War II in November 1941. The unit was formed from the World War I 2d, 3d, the 2d Aero Squadron, having served in the Philippines beginning in 1915, was transferred back from Rockwell Field, California in 1920 after training duties in the United States during the war. The 3d Aero Squadron, also a training unit during the war, was transferred from Mitchel Field. The 28th Aero Squadron, which had served in combat on the Western Front during the war, was transferred to the group in 1922. The units were re-designated as the 2d Observation Squadron, 3d Pursuit Squadron, and the 28th Bombardment Squadron and its mission was tactical training for coastal defense. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular, another mission of the 4th Composite Group during the 1920s was aerial mapping of the Philippines, the topography of many of the islands were largely unknown. The areal mapping mission was the mission of the 2d Observation Squadron. Beginning in 1934, the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps was created, 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, on or about 1 November 1940, the 4th was reinforced by the 17th Pursuit Squadron from the 1st Pursuit Group, being transferred from Selfridge Field, Michigan. The 20th Pursuit Squadron, from the 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field, both of these squadrons, however, had only sent their personnel and both were equipped in the Philippines with the obsolete Boeing P-26 Peashooter. In May 1941, the 3d, 17th and 20th squadrons were re-equipped with Seversky P-35As that were manufactured for the Swedish Air Force, on 24 October 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order requisitioning all the undelivered P-35s sold to Sweden and impressing them into the USAAC. 40 of the arrived at the Manila Air Depot in Swedish markings, with Swedish language technical orders. These planes all required modification at the depot before being turned over to the squadrons for operational use, the 28th Bombardment Squadron also received some Douglas B-18 Bolos. During the summer of 1941, Nichols Field was undergoing construction of an east-west runway, the 4th was forced to move all of its squadrons to Clark Field with the exception of the 17th Pursuit Squadron. The 17th was sent to Iba Airfield on the north coast of Luzon where it was undergoing gunnery training, in July, the 20th Pursuit Squadron was upgraded to the P-40B Warhawk. At the same time, about 100 new pilots out of training school at Randolph Field arrived, a training unit was set up to provide transition training for the new pilots into pursuit aircraft
42.
Rockwell Field
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This airfield played a fundamental role in the development of United States military aviation in the period before and during World War I. Originally it was The Curtiss School of Aviation, founded by Glenn Curtiss, in November 1912, the Army established a permanent flying school on the island. It served as a flying school during World War I. The facility was transferred to the United States Navy on 31 January 1939, today, Rockwell Field forms the southeastern quadrant of what is today the Naval Air Station, North Island. The facility was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the field was originally called the Signal Corps Aviation School. It was the first U. S. Army school to provide flying training for military pilots, the Aviation School was officially established on North Island in 1912. At that time North Island really was an island, separated from South Coronado on the Silver Strand peninsula by a narrow bight of water, both North Island and South Coronado were privately owned, but North Island had not been developed. In January 1911, Curtiss signed a contract with the owner of North Island to use the land for three years for a school, which was established in February 1911. Curtiss invited the Army and the Navy to send officers to his new school for flying training, the Army sent three airmen to the Curtiss school in early 1911, but they were ordered to Texas before completion of their training. During the winter of 1911 to 1912, the Navy sent three pilots to the Curtiss school for flying training, the Wright group, organized as the 1st Provisional Aero Squadron, came to North Island after mobilizing in Texas in March. The Army flyers established a tent camp at the end of North Island, and for about a year. None of the buildings from this period, constructed on the north end of the island. Existing historic and architecturally significant buildings reflect the use and development of Rockwell Field from 1918 to 1935, on July 20,1917, the Signal Corps Aviation School was named Rockwell Field in honor of 2nd Lt. Lewis C. Rockwell, killed in the crash of Wright Model B, Signal Corps 4, also in July, the United States Congress authorized the President to proceed with the taking of North Island for Army and Navy aviation schools. There was a needed for trained pilots as the United States had entered World War I earlier in the year. President Woodrow Wilson signed an Executive Order in August 1917 for condemnation of the land, the Army turned over the north end of the island to the Navy and relocated to the south end of North Island, the location of the Rockwell Field Historic District. The Navys first occupancy of North Island occurred on September 8,1917, the Army selected well-known Detroit industrial architect, Albert Kahn, to develop a site and building designs. Permanent construction of Kahns design began in mid-1918, during World War I, Rockwell Field provided training for many of the pilots and crews sent to France
43.
28th Bombardment Squadron
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The 28th Bomb Squadron is a squadron of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 7th Operations Group, Global Strike Command, stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, the squadron is equipped with the Rockwell B-1B Lancer. The 28 BS is one of the oldest and most decorated units in the United States Air Force, being organized as the 28th Aero Squadron on 22 June 1917 at Kelly Field, Texas. The squadron deployed to France and fought on the Western Front during World War I as a pursuit squadron, the unit was demobilized after the war in 1919. Withdrawn to Australia, it fought in the Dutch East Indies campaign before returning to the United States and it returned to the Pacific Theater of Operations in early 1945 to carry out strategic bombing missions over the Japanese Home Islands. During the Cold War it carried out B-29 bombardment missions over North Korea during the Korean War, later being a B-47 Stratojet, the 28 BS flies the B-1B Lancer intercontinental strategic bomber. It is the largest bomb squadron in the Air Force, the squadrons mission is to provide all B-1 initial qualification, requalification, and instructor upgrade training for Global Strike Command. See, 28th Aero Squadron for a complete World War I history of the squadron Established in 1917 as the 28th Aero Squadron after the United States entry into World War I. Formed at Camp Kelly, Texas, then sent to Quebec for combat flying training units of the Royal Air Force. Deployed to the Western Front in France and served with British Second, the 28th also saw combat as pursuit unit with American First Army from,2 September 1918 –10 November 1918. Squadron returned from France in June 1919, demobilized and was inactivated, during World war I, it had two aces in its ranks, Martinus Stenseth and Thomas Cassady. After World War I, the 28th Squadron, was constituted as a new unit on 30 August 1921 and it was organized on 20 September at Mather Field, California and assigned to the IX Corps Area. The squadron was equipped with Dayton-Wright DH-4s and was used for aerial forest fire patrols along the side of the Sierra Mountains and Sacramento. On 19 January 1922, it was consolidated with its World War I predecessor unit. The unit was inactivated on 28 June 1922 with the closure of Mather Field, the squadron was re-activated on 1 September 1922 at Clark Field, Philippine Islands and assigned to the Philippine Department. It was moved to Kindley Field, on Corregidor Island and again equipped with DH-4s, assigned to the 1st Observation Group, the 28th was re-designated as a Bombardment Squadron on 25 January 1923. Along with the 2d Observation and 3d Pursuit Squadrons, the 28th provided the bombardment capability of the Air Service in the Philippines during the 1920s and 1930s and its mission was tactical training for coastal defense. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular, the squadron was moved to the Manila area in 1922, operating from time to time from either Clark or Nichols fields
44.
Thomas-Morse MB-3
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The Thomas-Morse MB-3 was an open-cockpit biplane fighter primarily manufactured by the Boeing Company for the U. S. Army Air Service in 1922. The MB-3A was the fighter for the Air Service between 1922 and 1925. The MB-3 was a single seat two-bay biplane of similar layout to the SPAD XIII that it was intended to replace and it was of wood and fabric construction with a fixed conventional landing gear. Powerplant was the expected Wright-Hispano water-cooled V-8 engine driving a two-bladed propeller, the pilot sat in an open cockpit under a cut-out in the upper wing, with two 0.30 in Marlin machine-guns mounted ahead of the pilot. The first MB-3 made its flight on 21 February 1919. Testing showed that the fighter had good performance and handled well, the prototypes were plagued with fuel leaks and suffered serious engine vibration, while maintenance was difficult, often requiring holes to be cut in the fuselage structure to allow access. Despite these problems, the Air Service was sufficiently impressed with the MB-3 to place an order for 50 aircraft with Thomas-Morse in June 1920. Additionally, the Army ordered three MB-6, another racing version of the MB-3 with shorter wings and a more powerful engine in May 1921. The 1st Pursuit Group began to receive MB-3s in January 1922, supplementing its elderly SPADs, in service, the new type was troublesome, being unreliable and continuing to suffer the vibration problems encountered by the prototypes, eventually traced to the rigid engine mount. The first delivery of the improved MB-3As took place on 29 July 1922, the last 50 MB-3As were fitted with larger tail surfaces. From 1926, the MB-3A started to be replaced by the Curtiss PW-8, a number of aircraft were refurbished and used as MB-3M advanced trainers at Kelly Field, remaining in use until 1929. MB-3A200 built by Boeing with a cooling system. Dorr, Robert F. and David Donald, fighters of the United States Air Force. Pelletier, Alain J. Made in America, Thomas Morse MB-3, swanborough, F. G. and Peter M. Bowers. United States Military Aircraft since 1909, general Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors, London, Putnam,1990. Media related to Thomas-Morse MB-3 at Wikimedia Commons
45.
4th Composite Group
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The 4th Composite Group is an inactive United States Army Air Corps unit. It was last was assigned to the United States Army Philippine Department at Nichols Field and it was disbanded on 1 November 1941. The Group was the command and control organization for all Army Air Corps units in the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1919 until the eve of World War II in November 1941. The unit was formed from the World War I 2d, 3d, the 2d Aero Squadron, having served in the Philippines beginning in 1915, was transferred back from Rockwell Field, California in 1920 after training duties in the United States during the war. The 3d Aero Squadron, also a training unit during the war, was transferred from Mitchel Field. The 28th Aero Squadron, which had served in combat on the Western Front during the war, was transferred to the group in 1922. The units were re-designated as the 2d Observation Squadron, 3d Pursuit Squadron, and the 28th Bombardment Squadron and its mission was tactical training for coastal defense. Exercises and maneuvers with Army ground forces and Naval forces were a regular, another mission of the 4th Composite Group during the 1920s was aerial mapping of the Philippines, the topography of many of the islands were largely unknown. The areal mapping mission was the mission of the 2d Observation Squadron. Beginning in 1934, the Philippine Constabulary Air Corps was created, 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, on or about 1 November 1940, the 4th was reinforced by the 17th Pursuit Squadron from the 1st Pursuit Group, being transferred from Selfridge Field, Michigan. The 20th Pursuit Squadron, from the 35th Pursuit Group at Hamilton Field, both of these squadrons, however, had only sent their personnel and both were equipped in the Philippines with the obsolete Boeing P-26 Peashooter. In May 1941, the 3d, 17th and 20th squadrons were re-equipped with Seversky P-35As that were manufactured for the Swedish Air Force, on 24 October 1940, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order requisitioning all the undelivered P-35s sold to Sweden and impressing them into the USAAC. 40 of the arrived at the Manila Air Depot in Swedish markings, with Swedish language technical orders. These planes all required modification at the depot before being turned over to the squadrons for operational use, the 28th Bombardment Squadron also received some Douglas B-18 Bolos. During the summer of 1941, Nichols Field was undergoing construction of an east-west runway, the 4th was forced to move all of its squadrons to Clark Field with the exception of the 17th Pursuit Squadron. The 17th was sent to Iba Airfield on the north coast of Luzon where it was undergoing gunnery training, in July, the 20th Pursuit Squadron was upgraded to the P-40B Warhawk. At the same time, about 100 new pilots out of training school at Randolph Field arrived, a training unit was set up to provide transition training for the new pilots into pursuit aircraft
United States of America
United States Air Force (18 September 1947 – present)
United States Army (
Army Air Forces, 16 August 1941 – 18 September 1947)
Pacific Air Forces
U.S. Pacific Command
U.S. Forces Japan
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This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
