| VIII Air Force Service Command | |
|---|---|
 Shield of the Eighth Air Force | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| Branch |  Army Air Forces |
| Engagements | World War II |
VIII Air Force Service Command (originally VIII Air Service Command) was a logistical support formation of the United States Army Air Forces, supporting the Eighth Air Force in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1942, along with the VIII bomber, fighter and air support commands that filled out the Eighth Air Force, it was commanded by General Henry J. F. Miller. In July 1942, General Hugh J. Knerr assumed the duties of deputy commander. On 24 October 1943, Knerr became commanding general when Gen. Miller was transferred to command of the IX Air Force Service Command.
While deputy commander, Knerr had pressed for a reorganization of the Eighth Air Force that would place logistics on the same level with combat operations. He was appointed A-4 of the Eighth Air Force just days before assuming command of VIII Air Force Service Command, which thus combined in one person the chief air service offices of the entire Eighth Air Force. By December 1943 the service command had absorbed the personnel and functions of A-4 to become the sole logistical agency entitled to act in the name of the commanding general, Eighth Air Force.
The VIII Air Force Service Command's headquarters organized the policies, training and logistics of a Base Air Depot Area (BADA), Advanced Air Depot Area (AADA) and Tactical Air Depot Area (TADA). With the expansion of the Ninth Air Force and its BADA and AADA in England, the VIII Air Force Service Command focused more on policy as it integrated with the highest air headquarters to function as a de facto air service command for the European theater, operating chiefly as a staff agency for the entire theater.
Among the units in the VIII Air Force Service Command was the 7th Photographic Group (July 1943-August 1944), [1] and the 27th Air Transport Group (until 1 September 1944). [2]
Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, on the island of Oʻahu in the State of Hawaiʻi. The base neighbors Daniel K. Inouye International Airport and currently shares runways with the airport for its activities and operations.
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft.
The United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II.
Peterson Space Force Base, previously Peterson Air Force Base, Peterson Field, and Army Air Base, Colorado Springs, is a U.S. Space Force Base that shares an airfield with the adjacent Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and is home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the Space Force's 21st Space Wing, elements of the Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center, and United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) headquarters. Developed as a World War II air support base for Camp Carson, the facility conducted Army Air Forces training and supported Cold War air defense centers at the nearby Ent Air Force Base, Chidlaw Building, and Cheyenne Mountain Complex. The base was the location of the Air Force Space Command headquarters from 1987 to 20 December 2019 and has had NORAD/NORTHCOM command center operations since the 2006 Cheyenne Mountain Realignment placed the nearby Cheyenne Mountain Complex centers on standby. On 26 July 2021, the installation was renamed Peterson Space Force Base to reflect its prominent role in the new space service.
Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City.
Air Materiel Command (AMC) was a United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force command. Its headquarters was located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In 1961, the command was redesignated the Air Force Logistics Command with some of its functions transferred to the new Air Force Systems Command.
Operation Bolero was the commonly used reference for the code name of the United States military troop buildup in the United Kingdom during World War II in preparation for the initial cross-channel invasion plan known as Operation Roundup, to be implemented in mid-1943, or for its lesser contingency alternative, Operation Sledgehammer, to be executed in the fall of 1942 in the event of German setbacks or to ease Axis pressure on the Eastern Front. What later became the Bolero plan – the buildup of a strategic air force in Great Britain in preparation for Roundup – was first submitted by Commanding General of the U.S. Army Air Forces, Henry H. Arnold, to General George Marshall, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, on April 12, 1942, and set in motion a huge movement of men and material that laid the groundwork for Operation Overlord.
The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European Theater, its primary mission was air superiority. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe at RAF Honington,
The 1st Theater Sustainment Command is a major subordinate unit of US Army Central at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
The Army Air Forces Tactical Center was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditions around which new combat groups would be formed. It was established as the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) in 1942 and redesignated the following year.
The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large commands, the Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, drastically reduced the number of officers and agencies reporting directly to him. The Army Service Forces brought together elements of five different components of the Army: elements of the War Department General Staff (WDGS), especially its G-4 division ; the Office of the Under Secretary of War; the eight administrative bureaus; the nine corps areas, which became service commands; and the six supply arms and services, which became known as the technical services. The Army Service Forces was initially known as the United States Army Services of Supply but the name was changed on 12 March 1943, as it was felt that the term "supply" did not accurately describe the broad range of its activities. The Army Service Forces was abolished on 11 June 1946 and most of its functions were taken over by the War Department General Staff.
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 United States Army Air Forces was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and de facto aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1945). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply, and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff.
The VIII Air Support Command is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. It was assigned to Eighth Air Force throughout its existence, and it was last stationed at Sunninghill Park, England, where it was disbanded on 1 December 1943.
Hugh Johnston Knerr was a major general in the United States Air Force.
The European Air Materiel Command was a support organization of the United States Army Air Forces.
Air Service Command Mediterranean Theater of Operations was a United States Army Air Forces logistics organization. It had its headquarters and an HQ squadron at Naples, Italy. It was originally XII Air Force Service Command, part of Twelfth Air Force, but after 1 January 1944 became AAF Service Command, Mediterranean Theater of Operations. The unit was assigned directly to Army Air Forces, Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and controlled the Air Depots and Sub Depots in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.
The 971st Airborne Warning and Control Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit designation. It was designated on 15 January 1985 by the consolidation of the World War II 1st Troop Carrier Squadron, which was inactivated on 18 December 1945 at Fort Lawton, Washington; the 1st Strategic Support Squadron, which was inactivated on 15 January 1959 at Biggs Air Force Base, Texas, and the 1st Air Transport Squadron, which was inactivated on 20 June 1971 at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.
The 427th Aircraft Sustainment Group is an inactive United States Air Force (USAF) organization. Its last assignment was with the 327th Aircraft Sustainment Wing of Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where it was inactivated in 2010.