The Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO).
Effective February 18, 1943, the NASAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943 when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Major General Jimmy Doolittle was the commander of NASAF. [1] However, during at least one critical period of the Tunisia Campaign at the end of February, 1943, General Carl Spaatz, the commander of NAAF, placed most of the strategic bombers at the disposal of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, commander of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force. [2]
The components of NASAF at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943 are illustrated below. [3] [4] [5]
5th Bombardment Wing (USAAF) Brigadier General Joseph Atkinson | 47th Bombardment Wing (USAAF) Brigadier General Carlyle Ridenour | *2686th Bombardment Wing(USAAF) Brigadier General Robert M. Webster | No. 205 Group Air Commodore John Simpson |
---|---|---|---|
2nd Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Thomas 340th Squadron, B-17 Fortress | 310th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Anthony Hunter 379th Squadron, B-25 Mitchell | 17th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Charles Greening' 34th Squadron, B-26 Marauder | No. 231 Wing (RAF) No. 37 Squadron, Wellington |
97th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Leroy Rainey 20th Squadron, B-17 Fortress | 321st Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Robert Knapp 445th Squadron, B-25 Mitchell | 319th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Gordon Austin 437th Squadron, B-26 Marauder | No. 236 Wing (RAF) No. 104 Squadron, Wellington |
99th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Fay Upthegrove 346th Squadron, B-17 Fortress | 82nd Fighter Group (USAAF) Colonel John Weltman 95th Squadron, P-38 Lightning | 320th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Karl Baumeister 441st Squadron, B-26 Marauder | No. 330 Wing (RAF) No. 142 Squadron, Wellington |
301st Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Gormly, Jr. 32nd Squadron, B-17 Fortress | 325th Fighter Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Robert Baseler 317th Squadron, P-40 Warhawk | No. 331 Wing (RCAF) No. 420 Squadron, Wellington | |
1st Fighter Group (USAAF) Major Joseph Peddie 27th Squadron, P-38 Lightning | |||
14th Fighter Group (USAAF) Colonel Oliver Taylor 37th Squadron, P-38 Lightning |
The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 Group RAF under RAF Middle East Command in North Africa in 1941 to provide close air support to the British Eighth Army against Axis forces. Throughout the Second World War, the DAF was made up of squadrons from the Royal Air Force (RAF), the South African Air Force (SAAF), the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and other Allied air forces.
The Twelfth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona.
Ninth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint Department of Defense combatant command responsible for U.S. security interests in 27 nations that stretch from the Horn of Africa through the Persian Gulf region, into Central Asia.
The 346th Bombardment Group is a former United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to the 316th Bombardment Wing at Kadena Airfield, Okinawa, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1946. The group was originally a heavy bomber training unit, but was inactivated in a general reorganization of Army Air Forces training units in 1944. It was reorganized as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress group later that year. It moved to Okinawa in 1945, but arrived too late to participate in combat.
The 98th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Force Reserve, based at Bedford Field, Massachusetts. It was inactivated on 27 June 1949.
Guanghan Airport is an airport southeast of Guanghan, Sichuan, China. Formerly a military airfield known as Kwanghan Airfield (A-3) during World War II. It is now used by Civil Aviation Flight University of China for pilot training and has no commercial flights.
Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) was a component of the Allied Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) during February–December 1943. It was responsible primarily for air operations during the Tunisian Campaign and bombing of Italy. Its commander was Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz of the United States Army Air Force. NAAF was created following a reorganization of the command structure of Allied air forces in the Mediterranean Theatre. The other components of MAC were Middle East Command (MEC), AHQ Malta, RAF Gibraltar and 216 Group.
The XII Tactical Air Command was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe, based at Bad Kissingen, Germany. It was inactivated on 10 November 1947.
The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) was the major Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean theater from mid-December 1943 until the end of the Second World War.
The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was a World War II Allied air-force command that was active in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) between February 18 and December 10, 1943. MAC was under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, whose headquarters were next to those of the Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, in Algiers, Algeria, during the planning of the Allied campaigns in Tunisia, Pantelleria, Sicily, and the invasion of mainland Italy during the war.
The Northwest African Coastal Air Force (NACAF) was a specialized functional command of the combined Northwest African Air Forces. The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) oversaw the combined air forces until superseded by the MAAF.
The Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) was a component of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself reported to the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Effective February 18, 1943, the NATAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943, when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Acting Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham was the commander of NATAF.
The Northwest African Troop Carrier Command (NATCC) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) during the Second World War. Effective from February 18, 1943, the NATCC and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943 when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Brigadier General Paul Williams was the commander of NATCC.
The Northwest African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing (NAPRW) was a composite Allied photographic reconnaissance wing operational in North Africa during World War II in 1943.
The Northwest African Air Service Command (NAASC) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Effective March 4, 1943, Brigadier General Delmar Dunton became the commander of NAASC which consisted of service units from the United States Army 12th Air Force Service Command which Dunton had overseen since September 30, 1942, and similar units from the British RAF Middle East Command. In June 1943, prior to the invasion of Sicily, Brigadier General Harold Bartron became the commander of NAASC. On December 10, 1943, MAC was disbanded and NAASC was reorganized in the newly established Mediterranean Allied Air Forces.
The Northwest African Training Command (NATC) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Effective February 18, 1943, the NATC and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943 when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established.
No. 201 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 205 Group was a long-range, heavy bomber group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) established on 23 October 1941 by boosting No. 257 Wing to Group status.
No 211 Group or No. 211 Group was a Group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed on 10 December 1941 by renaming Nucleus Group Western Desert. The group was officially disbanded from 3 February 1942 to 12 March 1943, although some references refer to some of its original squadrons during this period as being with 211 Group. On 12 March 1943, the group reformed as No. 211 Group and Air Commodore Richard Atcherley assumed command of the group on 11 April 1943. At this time, 211 Group was the principle fighter force of the Desert Air Force (DAF) commanded by Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst, and DAF was a sub-command of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham's Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF).
No. 242 Group was a group of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) formed on 24 August 1942. Its first commander was Air Commodore George Lawson.