1.
III Tactical Air Command
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The III Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force stationed at Barksdale Field and it was inactivated on 24 October 1945 Constituted as, III Ground Air Support Command on 15 May 1942 Activated on 19 May 1942. 1 April 1944 –24 October 1945. afhra. af. mil/, Maurer, Maurer, ed. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Washington, DC, Office of Air Force History
2.
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
3.
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
4.
Third Air Force
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The Third Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa. Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany and it is responsible for all U. S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa operations and support activities in the U. S. European Command and U. S. Africa Commands areas of responsibility, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sergeant Phillip L. Easton, the command directs all USAFE and AFAFRICA forces engaged in contingency and wartime operations in the United States European Command and United States Africa Command areas of responsibility. It also has a mission as the U. S. militarys primary liaison to the British government. Through the Partnership for Peace program, Third Air Force manages military contact, Third Air Force is also responsible for contingency planning and support of American security interests in Africa. It is composed of more than 25,000 military people, Third Air Force is assigned more than 200 aircraft, while tasked to provide support servicing to thousands of other transient aircraft that visit its bases each year. It was redesignated Third Air Force on 26 March 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Southeast and it moved to offices in downtown Tampa on 8 January 1941. MacDill Field was one of two major Army Air Corps bases established in the Tampa Bay area in the prior to World War II. Tampas Drew Field Municipal Airport, established in 1928 was leased by the Air Corps in 1940, a major expansion of the airport was initiated and Drew Army Airfield was opened in 1941. Two secondary Army Airfields, Brooksville Army Airfield and Hillsborough Army Airfield were built and opened in early 1942 to support the operations of MacDill. The Bonita Springs Auxiliary Field, located near Fort Myers provided an emergency landing field for MacDill. All of these came under the jurisdiction of Third Air Force. III Fighter Command, the arm, was headquartered at Drew Field. Third Air Force initially provided air defense for the southeastern United States and flew patrols along coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean. Third Air Force primarily trained B-25 Mitchell and B-26 Marauder medium bomber groups and A-20 Havoc, Third Air Force also provided support to the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics in Florida. Also by 1944, the majority of the Numbered Air Forces of the AAF were fighting in parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. When the Army Air Forces reorganized in 1946, Tactical Air Command was established as one of its three major commands
5.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
6.
Ellsworth Air Force Base
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Ellsworth Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately 10 miles northeast of Rapid City, South Dakota just north of Box Elder, South Dakota. The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Commands Eighth Air Force. The 28 BW is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas. Since 2015 the 28th Bomb Wing is commanded by Colonel Gentry Boswell, a controversial expansion of a bomber training area encompassing the Northern Plains known as the Powder River Training Complex began in 2008. Ellsworth AFB is 10 miles east of Rapid City, S. D, the mission of the 28th Bomb Wing is to deliver combat power for global military response. It is divided into the 28th Operations Group, the 28th Maintenance Group, the 28th Mission Support Group, Ellsworths population of approximately 8,000 includes military members, family members and civilian employees. The bases sister city, Rapid City, has a population of just more than 62,500, there are about 3,800 military retirees in Western South Dakota. 28th Operations Group Provides combat-ready B-1 aircraft and crews to support Joint Chiefs of Staff taskings, including conventional theater operations and power projection. The 28th Operations Group has three squadrons under its command to assist in accomplishing its mission—the 28th Operations Support Squadron, the 34th Bomb Squadron, additionally, the group directs the implementation of plans supporting pre-planned and contingency mobility taskings in support of national objectives. 28th Mission Support Group Provides mission essential “city” services at home, additionally, the group supports the base community through fire protection, disaster preparedness, family support. Recreational opportunities are provided in the form of clubs, fitness facilities. 28th Medical Group Tenant Units Air Force Financial Services Center Area Defense Counsel Detachment 226 AFOSI Detachment 8,372 TRS Ellsworth AFB was established in 1941 as Rapid City Army Air Base. It is named in honor of Brigadier General Richard E. Ellsworth, during World War II Ellsworth flew 400 missions in the China Burma India Theater. At the time of his death he commanded the 28th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, on 2 January 1942, the U. S. War Department established Rapid City Army Air Base as a location for B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber units. The airfield had three runways, 7050x300, 7000x300, 7872x300. Rapid City AAF was assigned to the 17th Bombardment Training Wing, the 88th Bombardment Group was reassigned to the new base in October 1942 to be the bases Operational Training Unit. The fields instructors taught thousands of pilots, navigators, radio operators and gunners from nine heavy bombardment groups, all training focused on the Allied drive to overthrow the Axis powers in Europe
7.
South Dakota
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South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, South Dakota is the 17th most expansive, but the 5th least populous and the 5th least densely populated of the 50 United States. Once the southern portion of the Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2,1889, Pierre is the state capital and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 171,000, is South Dakotas largest city. South Dakota is bordered by the states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, the state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as East River and West River. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the states population, West of the Missouri, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are located in West River, the Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, are located in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is located there, South Dakota experiences a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The ecology of the state features species typical of a North American grassland biome, humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a rush in the Black Hills. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy in areas to attract and retain residents. South Dakotas history and rural character still strongly influence the culture of the state, South Dakota is situated in the north-central United States, and is considered a part of the Midwest by the U. S. Census Bureau, it is also part of the Great Plains region. The culture, economy, and geography of western South Dakota have more in common with the West than the Midwest, South Dakota has a total area of 77,116 square miles, making the state the 17th largest in the Union. Black Elk Peak, formerly named Harney Peak, with an elevation of 7,242 ft, is the states highest point, while the shoreline of Big Stone Lake is the lowest, with an elevation of 966 ft. South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, the geographical center of the U. S. is 17 miles west of Castle Rock in Butte County. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located between Allen and Kyle,1,024 mi from the nearest coastline, the Missouri River is the largest and longest river in the state. Other major South Dakota rivers include the Cheyenne, James, Big Sioux, Eastern South Dakota has many natural lakes, mostly created by periods of glaciation. Additionally, dams on the Missouri River create four large reservoirs, Lake Oahe, Lake Sharpe, Lake Francis Case, South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions, eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social, at times the Black Hills are combined with the rest of western South Dakota, and people often refer to the resulting two regions divided by the Missouri River as West River and East River
8.
First Air Force
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The First Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida and its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Its mission lineage can be traced to the Air Defense Command, during the war, its primary mission became the organization and training of combat units prior to their deployment to the overseas combat air forces. First Air Force is commanded by Lieutenant General R. Scott Williams and its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. The command has responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the Contiguous United States, United States Virgin Islands. As the CONUS Region for NORAD, the bi-national North American Aerospace Defense Command, 1AF is also the designated air component for the United States Northern Command. USNORTHCOMs area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Alaska, Canada and Mexico, the command is unique in both its mission and composition. First Air Force has been an Air Combat Command organization since 1 June 1992 and its subordinate units are located throughout the continental United States. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Northeast, AAFSC would eventually expand that mission to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean until the antisubmarine mission was taken over completely by the Navy in mid-1943. The First Air Force became predominantly a fighter OTU and RTU organization, most P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups were trained by I Fighter Command, along with P-39/P-63 Airacobra groups, C-47 Skytrain and later C-46 Commando groups by I Troop Carrier Command. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the metropolitan areas along the northeast coast. By 1944 the likelihood of an air attack along the eastern seaboard was remote, and these air defense wings were reduced to paper units. By 1944, the vast majority of the USAAF was engaged in operations in various parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe. First Air Force Headquarters was located at Fort Slocum, New York, the command was originally assigned the region of the New England states, along with New York and New Jersey. The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958 for budgetary reasons, First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base, Newburgh, N. Y. on 20 January 1966 due to the inactivation of the ADC Air Defense Sectors. First Air Force assumed responsibility for the ADC 21st, 33d, 34th, 35th and it also was responsible for the air defense of Greenland, Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed responsibility for the air defense of the eastern seaboard. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces, ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated First Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 20th, 21st or 23d Air Divisions
9.
127th Command and Control Squadron
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The 127th Command and Control Squadron was a unit of the Kansas Air National Guard 184th Intelligence Wing stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita, Kansas. The 127th was a squadron operating the Distributed Common Ground System. The unit was inactivated on 29 September 2014, the squadron is a descendant organization of the Kansas National Guard 127th Observation Squadron, established on 30 July 1940. It is one of the 29 original National Guard Observation Squadrons of the United States Army National Guard formed before World War II and these agencies are provided redundant communities during Peace Time, Natural Disasters and National Emergencies. Equipment utilized in support of the mission is flexible and state of the art, established by the National Guard Bureau on 30 July 1940 as the 127th Observation Squadron, and activated in August 1941. Initially the squadron had 115 men in its ranks and it was, however, still short of officers since it only had nine officers but was authorized a total of thirty-one. Moved to Sherman Field at Fort Leavenworth, by November 1941 the squadron had one BE-1, one O-47A, one O-38E, all of the aircraft were single engine observation/liaison planes. The 127th was ordered to service on 6 October 1941. According to the plans, the squadron was to be based at Brownwood Army Airfield, Texas until the emergency was over. The 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed all plans for American military units, a number of 127th personnel were off the base that Sunday and returned to find it almost impossible to get back on base. Was moved to Tullahoma Army Air Base, Tullahoma, Tennessee, Tullahoma Army Air Base was situated in close proximity to Camp Forrest, Tennessee, the site of a major infantry center. Trained on missions cooperating with the 33d and 80th Infantry divisions, at the same time the 124th Observation Squadron from the Iowa National Guard was stationed at Tullahoma. Beginning in 1942, the squadron was assigned to the 75th Observation Group for its higher headquarters, the squadron left Tullahoma on 5 September 1942, for Barksdale Army Airfield, Shreveport, Louisiana to participate in the largest war games ever staged by the United States Army. During the Louisiana Maneuvers the 127th worked in cooperation with their higher headquarters. On 19 August 1943, the 127th was reassigned to the First Air Support Command and this command would soon become the First Tactical Air Division. Beginning in April 1944 the squadron received indications that it would not remain a training organization much longer, on 10 November 1944, three years after mobilization, the squadron left the United States for the Pacific Theater. Docked at Bombay, India on 10 December 1944 being assigned to the Tenth Air Force in the China Burma India Theater, Squadron pilots were constantly involved in duties supporting the British Army. Their missions included such activities as photographic and reconnaissance duties, evacuation of wounded, supply drops, courier duties and they were entrusted with secret messages, regular mail and with transporting fresh blood to the front
10.
Mitchel Air Force Base
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Mitchel Air Force Base also known as Mitchel Field, was a United States Air Force base located on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York, United States. During the American Revolutionary War it was known as the Hempstead Plains, in the War of 1812 and in the Mexican War, it was a training center for Infantry units. During the American Civil War, it was the location of Camp Winfield Scott, in 1898, in the Spanish–American War, Mitchels site was known as Camp Black. Curtiss JN-4 Jennies became a common sight over Long Island in 1917 and 1918, hundreds of aviators were trained for war at these training fields, two of the largest in the United States. Numerous new wooden buildings and tents were erected on Roosevelt Field and Field #2 in 1918 in order to meet this rapid expansion, Mitchel Field continued to grow after World War I and between 1929 and 1932. Much of this still exists today, being used for non-military purposes. In the 1920s and 1930s, various observation, fighter, and it became a major aerodrome for both the Air Corps as well as various civilian activity. The 1920s was considered the age of air racing and on 27 November 1920. The race consisted of four laps of a 29 miles course, thirty-eight pilots entered and took off individually. The winner was Capt. Corliss Moseley, flying a Verville-Packard VCP-R racer, in October 1923, Mitchel Field was the scene of the first airplane jumping contest in the nation. During the same year, two worlds airplane speed records were established there, in 1924, the airmail service had its inception in experimental flights begun at the airfield. In September 1929, Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle, then a Lieutenant, in 1938, Mitchel was the starting point for the first nonstop transcontinental bomber flight, made by Army B-18 Bolos. Mitchel Field also served as a base from which the first demonstration of long-range aerial reconnaissance was made, in May 1939, three B-17s, with Lt. Curtis LeMay navigating, flew 620 miles out to sea and intercepted the Italian ocean liner SS Rex. This was a example of the range, mobility. On September 21 of that year the base was struck by the Long Island Express hurricane, flooding produced water that was over knee-deep, numerous trees were toppled and the glass was smashed atop the traffic control tower. During 1943, Mitchel AAF became an area for Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. Mitchel Field was a source of supply in initial garrisoning and defense of North Atlantic air bases in Newfoundland, Greenland. From the airfield the planning for the air defense of Nova Scotia, Antisubmarine patrol missions along the Atlantic coast were carried out in 1942 by the United States Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command aircraft based at Mitchel
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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