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58-600: On 16 January 1941, four Air Districts were established ( Northeast , Northwest , Southeast , and Southwest ). The air districts handled air defense, "organization and training of bomber, fighter and other units and crews for assignments overseas", and training maneuvers with the Army Ground Forces . The four districts were redesignated on 26 March 1941 as the First Air Force , Second Air Force , Third Air Force , and Fourth Air Force , respectively. CAF

116-639: A Distinguished Unit Citation for attacking naval aircraft factories at Kure , oil storage facilities at Oshima , and the industrial area of Nagoya , in May 1945. Raided light metal industries in Osaka in July 1945, being awarded another DUC for this mission. After V-J Day , the group dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners in Japan, Korea, and Formosa, and took part in show-of-force missions. The group returned to

174-828: A Distinguished Unit Citation for bombing iron and steel works at Yawata , Japan, on 20 August 1944. From a staging field in Ceylon , the 40th mined waters near the port of Palembang , Sumatra , in August 1944. The group was reassigned to Tinian , in the Marianas February–April 1945, for further operations against Japan with the XXI Bomb Command. The 40th made daylight attacks from high altitude on strategic targets, participated in incendiary raids on urban areas, and dropped mines in Japanese shipping lanes. Received

232-505: 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 . By 1944, most of the Operational Training of groups ended, with the command concentrating on the training of individual replacements using Army Air Force Base Units (AAFBU) as training organizations at

290-840: A fighter mission, and two air defense sectors for the Eastern and Western regions of the continental United States (CONUS). First Air Force also has operational control of the Civil Air Patrol , the USAF Auxiliary headquartered at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Administrative control of CAP, to include its Regular Air Force & Air Force Reserve CAP-USAF liaison support components, remains with Air University at Maxwell AFB. Additionally, First Air Force provides operational control of alert Air National Guard air defense fighter units and supporting non-flying units: Non-flying units On July 15, 2021, First Air Force, now AFSPACE, assumed

348-552: A major re-organization of the postwar USAAF that had included the establishment of Major Commands (MAJCOM), who would report directly to HQ United States Army Air Forces. Continental Air Forces was inactivated, and First Air Force was assigned to the postwar Air Defense Command in March 1946 and subsequently to Continental Air Command (ConAC) in December 1948 being primarily concerned with air defense. First Air Force Headquarters

406-639: A redesignation and change of command ceremony held at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , Florida, that day. Air Force Lt. Gen. Kirk Pierce, commander, First Air Force, Continental U.S. NORAD Region, AFNORTH, and now AFSPACE, said First Air Force responsibilities now included '..to plan, train and execute worldwide rescue and recovery of NASA astronauts during contingency operations.' [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency 40th Bombardment Group The United States Air Force 's 40th Air Expeditionary Wing (40 AEW)

464-798: A separate USAF had begun by fall 1945 Simpson Board to plan "the reorganization of the Army and the Air Force". In January 1946 "Generals Eisenhower and Spaatz agreed on an Air Force organization [composed of] the Strategic Air Command , the Air Defense Command , the Tactical Air Command , the Air Transport Command and the supporting Air Technical Service Command , Air Training Command ,

522-695: Is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida. Its primary mission is the air defense of the Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico . Since May 2022, it also provides the Air Force contribution to United States Space Command , as Air Forces Space (AFSPACE), including support functions for NASA human space flight. It

580-475: The 321st Air Expeditionary Group , for a time located at Jacobabad in Pakistan, and the 462d Air Expeditionary Group . It is known that the 40 AEW B-52 Stratofortresses dropped about 58 percent of the munitions used during Operation Anaconda and had flown more than 80 sorties; releasing more than 2,000 bombs supporting Operation Enduring Freedom . It is not known when the wing was inactivated or if it

638-694: The 40th Tactical Group was activated at Aviano AB , Italy, and replaced the 7227th Combat Support Group to handle the Tactical Air Command rotational units from the United States deploying a permanent basis. The redesignation was part of the USAFE takeover of the base and its support functions. On 30 July 1990, the USAF redesignated the MAJCOM group the AFCON 40th Tactical Support Wing and formally consolidated

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696-582: The Air University (15 May 1946). CAF had 13 bombardment groups transferred to its numbered air forces just before it was disestablished, e.g., 40th , 44th (2 AF), the 93d , 444th , 448th (became 92d), 449th , 467th (effectively became 301st), 485th , 498th (became 307th), 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy , and 73d Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy . Interceptor and radar network plans at CAF HQ were passed on to ADC. CAF installations reassigned on 21 March 1946 included Grandview transferred to

754-634: The Air University , and the Air Force Center ." The Continental Air Forces reorganization began by 31 January 1946 when Abilene Army Airfield was closed. On 16 October 1945 CAF's Muroc Field was transferred from CAF to Air Technical Service Command . Moody Army Airfield transferred to AAF Training Command on 1 November 1945. CAF's Bolling Field was assigned control of Andrews Field on 3 January 1946 and also Richmond Army Air Base on 2 February 1946. Tyndall Field transferred quickly to Continental Air Forces on 28 February 1946, then TAC, and

812-718: The Caribbean area, later to provide air defense of the Panama Canal after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . With the diminished need for defenses in the Caribbean, the 40th was reassigned back to the United States and redesignated the 40th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) in November 1943, being assigned to Pratt Army Airfield , Kansas and to the first B-29 Superfortress wing, the 58th Bombardment Wing. At Pratt,

870-760: The GHQ Air Force on 18 December 1940, at Mitchel Field , Long Island , New York. It was redesignated First Air Force on 9 April 1941 with a mission for the defense of the Northeast and Great Lakes regions of the United States. During the initial months after the Pearl Harbor Attack , First Air Force organized what would eventually become the core of the Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command (AAFSC), obtaining most of its forces from I Bomber Command to combat

928-513: The Pacific Ocean theater and China Burma India Theater of World War II . The 40th Bomb Group's aircraft engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. Its aircraft were identified by Triangle "S". The 40th Bombardment Group was one of the original ten USAAF bombardment groups assigned to Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946; however, it was inactivated due to budget constraints on 1 August 1946. The unit

986-476: The United States invasion of Afghanistan . Years afterwards, in 2007, Globalsecurity.org listed its flying units as including the 9th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron ; the 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron ; the 40th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron ; wing support organizations included the 40th Expeditionary Logistics Group; and also reported that it parented the 60th Air Expeditionary Group ;

1044-740: The 1950s Lincoln Transition System that became the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment . The US Army Air Forces redesignated Continental Air Forces as Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946. In 1992, the US Air Force inactivated SAC. On 7 August 2009, the US Air Force redesignated SAC as Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), and activated that same day. AFGSC continued the nuclear deterrence and global strike missions formerly held by SAC. Northeast Air District The First Air Force ( Air Forces Northern & Air Forces Space ; 1 AF-AFNORTH & AFSPACE )

1102-548: The 1970s and 1980s, the role of the Air National Guard in the defense of North America increased. As this role changed, discussions between the active Air Force and the Air National Guard commenced concerning roles and responsibilities. As the Cold War began to wind down and budgetary constraints became realities, more and more of the missions previously carried out by active duty forces began to be transferred into

1160-399: The 25th, 44th, 45th, 343d and 395th Bomb Squadrons, equipped with B-29s. Demobilization, however, was in full swing and the group turned in its aircraft and was inactivated on 1 October 1946. Many of the wing's personnel and aircraft were reassigned to the 43d Bombardment Wing , which was reactivated at Davis–Monthan on 1 October 1946 as part of the re-established Eighth Air Force . The unit

1218-807: The Army Division Engineers, Mitchel Field to ADC, and both Tyndall Field and Army Air Base, Knob Knoster , to TAC. After the HQ transfer to SAC on 21 March, numerous CAF airfields transferred to TAC, ADC, and AMC from 23 March 1946 to 16 March 1947: Air Defense Command's first Cold War network was the Lashup Radar Network , which was replaced by the Permanent System that included an improved search radar , which had been recommended by CAF. CAF's studies for computerized airborne early warning and control were developed into

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1276-535: The B-47. It carried out bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet SAC's global commitments. Attached to the 7th Air Division From 9 June to 9 September 1955 while deployed to RAF Lakenheath , England. Deployed to RAF Greenham Common , England July–October 1957. In 1959, the Department of Defense began a major renovation of Schilling AFB. During the next year, millions of dollars were spent preparing

1334-569: The CONUS NORAD Region (CONR) for North American Aerospace Defense Command , CONR provides air defense in the form of airspace surveillance and airspace control. 1AF (AFNORTH) is also the designated air component for the United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM). USNORTHCOM's area of responsibility includes the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico , and its air, land and maritime approaches. With

1392-1066: The German U-boat threat along the Atlantic Coast. 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. Beginning in May 1942, the mission of First Air Force became operational training of units and crews, and the replacement training of individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations. It received graduates of Army Air Forces Training Command flight schools; navigator training; flexible gunnery schools and various technical schools, organized them into newly activated combat groups and squadrons, and provided operational unit training (OTU) and replacement training (RTU) to prepare groups and replacements for deployment overseas to combat theaters. The First Air Force became predominantly

1450-564: The North Carolina/Virginia Border. In 1949 Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units were placed under First Air Force command, with its active-duty units being reassigned to Eastern Air Defense Force (EADF) or to the 30th, 32d or 26th Air Divisions. The command was inactivated on 23 June 1958 for budgetary reasons, its assigned units being placed under ConAC. First Air Force was reactivated at Stewart Air Force Base , Newburgh, N.Y., on 20 January 1966 due to

1508-494: The United States in November 1945, being assigned to March Field , California. It was assigned to the Fourth Air Force of Continental Air Forces. Continental Air Forces would later evolve into the Strategic Air Command on 21 March 1946. The 40th Bombardment Group was one of the ten existing bombardment groups assigned to SAC when it was first formed. The group was relocated to Davis–Monthan Field , Arizona and had

1566-803: The United States. Activation of the Continental NORAD Region on 1 October 1986, resulted in a new structure for North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The Continental NORAD Region, along with the Alaskan and Canadian regions, commanded North American air defense forces. The Air Defense Sectors were transferred by the Air Force to the National Guard Bureau and allotted to the Air National Guard on 1 October 1990. They were operationally gained by First Air Force, Tactical Air Command. First Air Force

1624-584: The air defense of the North American continent. Upon its reactivation, First Air Force was composed of units of the active Air Force and the Air National Guard. Because of its unique mission and its binational responsibilities, First Air Force works closely with the Canadian Forces. Canadian personnel are stationed at First Air Force Headquarters at Tyndall Air Force Base Florida, and at the various regional air defense sectors located throughout

1682-524: The airfields controlled by First Air Force. Air Defense Wings were also organized for the major metropolitan areas along the northeast coast, using training units attached to the Wings. 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 combat operations in various parts of

1740-599: The cause was found. The cause was traced to the fact that the B-29's R-3350 engine had not been designed to operate at ground temperatures higher than 115 °F (46 °C), which were typically exceeded in India. Modifications had also to be made to the aircraft and after these modifications, B-29 flights to India were resumed. From India, the 40th Bomb Group planned to fly missions against Japan from airfields in China. However, all

1798-403: The control of TAC, which established a component called Air Defense, Tactical Air Command (ADTAC), at the level of a numbered air force. On 6 December 1985 HQ USAF reactivated First Air Force at Langley Air Force Base , Virginia, and assigned it to Tactical Air Command (TAC), replacing ADTAC. First Air Force was given the mission to provide, train and equip combat ready air defence forces for

Continental Air Forces - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-519: The eastern seaboard, just as it had during World War II. On 16 January 1968 Air Defense Command was re-designated Aerospace Defense Command (ADCOM) as part of a restructuring of USAF air defense forces. First Air Force's second period of service was short lived, however, and the command was again inactivated as the result of a major ADCOM reorganization on 31 December 1969 of the First, Fourth, Tenth Air Forces and several Air Divisions. This reorganization

1914-584: The first Army Air Forces attack on the Japanese Home Islands since the Doolittle raid in 1942 when it took part in the bombing of Yawata . Operating from bases in India, and at times staging through fields in China, the group struck such targets as transportation centers, naval installations, iron works, and aircraft plants in Burma , Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia , and Formosa , receiving

1972-450: The future threat", e.g., a "radar [with] range of 1,000 miles, [to detect] at an altitude of 200 miles, and at a speed of 1,000 miles per hour". The HQ AAF Director of Operations responded that "until the kind of defense needed to counter future attacks could be determined, AC&W planning would have to be restricted to the use of available radar sets ". CAF's January 1946 Radar Defense Report for Continental United States recommended

2030-585: The group's squadrons (25th 44th, 45th, and 395th) began transition training on the new aircraft and its new mission. In March 1944, the group left the United States and deployed to a former B-24 Liberator airfield at Chakulia , India. In India, the group was assigned to the XX Bombardment Command of the new Twentieth Air Force . During the week of 15–22 April, no less than five 58th Bomb Wing B-29s crashed near Karachi all from overheated engines. The entire Wing had to be grounded en route until

2088-537: The inactivation of the ADC Air Defense Sectors. First Air Force assumed responsibility for the ADC 21st, 33d, 34th, 35th, and 36th Air Divisions, primarily located in the northeast and upper Midwest regions of the United States. It also was responsible for the air defense of Greenland , Iceland and parts of Canada. By July 1968, First Air Force had again assumed total responsibility for the air defense of

2146-615: The military characteristics of a post-war Air Defense System "based upon such advanced equipment", and the Plans organization of HQ AAF reminded "the command that radar defense planning had to be based on the available equipment". At the Watson Laboratories in New Jersey, AMC's Electronics Subdivision held a "Manufacturers Conference" on 26–28 June 1946 for planning the "Improved Search Radar". Planning to reorganize for

2204-599: The operational command and control of the Human Space Flight Support (HSFS) mission, previously carried out by the Combined Force Space Component Command at Vandenberg Space Force Base , California. This mission is executed by its assigned Detachment 3, First Air Force, based at Patrick Space Force Base, Florida. Detachment 3, formerly commanded by Space Launch Delta 45 , came under First Air Force control during

2262-474: The reserve components. By the 1990s, 90 percent of the air defense mission was being handled by the Air National Guard. In October 1997, First Air Force became primarily composed of Air National Guard units charged with the air defense of the North American continent. Today, First Air Force consists primarily of members of the Air National Guard. Its headquarters is located at Tyndall Air Force Base , Florida and it comprises 9 fighter wings, 1 composite wing with

2320-544: The runways and taxiways for the next generation of bombers and tankers, namely the B-52 and KC-135. The 40th Bomb Wing was reassigned to Fifteenth Air Force along with the 802d AD on 1 January 1959. With Schilling under construction, the wing was reassigned to Forbes AFB , Kansas on 20 June 1960 and the Second Air Force, 21st Air Division. In the early 1960s, the B-47 was considered to be reaching obsolescence, and

2378-713: The supplies of fuel, bombs, and spares needed to support the forward bases in China had to be flown in from India over " The Hump " (the name given by Allied pilots to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains ), since Japanese control of the seas around the Chinese coast made seaborne supply of China impossible. Many of the supplies had to be delivered to China by the B-29s themselves. For this role, they were stripped of nearly all combat equipment and used as flying tankers and each carried seven tons of fuel. The Hump route

Continental Air Forces - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-488: The transfer of responsibility for continental air defense from the active duty component of the Air Force to the Air National Guard , 1 AF became the first numbered air force to be made up primarily of citizen airmen. Furthermore, 1AF now has operational control (OPCON) of the Civil Air Patrol . One of the four original numbered air forces, First Air Force was activated as the Northeast Air District of

2494-506: The unit with the historical 40th Bombardment Wing and 40th Bombardment Group which gave the host unit at Aviano a unit with a combat lineage. With the closure of USAF operations at Torrejon AB , Spain on 4 May 1992, the 401st Tactical Fighter Wing moved to Aviano AB without personnel or equipment and administratively replaced the 40th TSW, which inactivated the same day. The wing was reactivated after January 2002 as an Air Expeditionary Wing to bomb targets and provide aerial refueling during

2552-556: The wing gained KC-97 Stratofreighters and took on a refueling mission. Replaced the propeller-driven B-29s with new B-47E Stratojet swept-wing bomber medium bombers in 1954, capable of flying at high subsonic speeds and primarily designed for penetrating the airspace of the Soviet Union and became combat ready in April 1955. Reassigned to Eighth Air Force , 802d Air Division on 1 July 1955 after becoming operationally ready with

2610-484: The wing received control and guidance from the 310th Bombardment Wing at Smoky Hill until 1 May 1953. The new wing was initially assigned to the 802d Air Division , Fifteenth Air Force . By October 1953, all tactical squadrons were minimally operational. Flew second-line Boeing B-29 Superfortresses in 1953–1954 which had returned from Kadena AB , Okinawa and the Korean War while becoming operational. In 1953,

2668-976: The world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific. The training units located within the United States (known as the Zone of the Interior , or "ZI".) under First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were all placed under the unified command of the Continental Air Forces (CAF) on 13 December 1944, with the Numbered Air Forces becoming subordinate commands of CAF. In March 1946, USAAF Chief General Carl Spaatz had undertaken

2726-465: Was activated 12 December 1944 at Andrews Field with Brigadier General Eugene H. Beebe in command and the "4 continental air forces" as components ( First Air Force through Fourth Air Force ) which consolidated the CONUS air defense mission under one command. In August 1945 CAF was assigned the AAF Radar Bomb Scoring mission for bomber training/evaluation when Mitchel Field 's 63d Army Air Force Base Unit transferred to CAF. CAF's air defense mission

2784-425: Was active in 1941–42; 1942–58; 1966–69; and with minor name and function changes from 1985 to the present. First Air Force is commanded by Lieutenant General M. Luke Ahmann. Its Command Chief Master Sergeant is Chief Master Sgt. Denny L. Richardson. It has the responsibility for ensuring the air sovereignty and air defense of the Contiguous United States (CONUS), United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico . As

2842-443: Was an Air expeditionary unit located at Diego Garcia , in the Indian Ocean, from 2002 to c. 2006. The 40 AEW's mission was to support combat forces in Afghanistan and other combat areas supporting Operation Enduring Freedom . Operations began in October 2001. Its predecessor unit, the United States Army Air Forces 40th Bombardment Group (40th BG) was part of Twentieth Air Force during World War II. The unit served primarily in

2900-457: Was being phased out of SAC's strategic arsenal. At Forbes, the 40th Bomb Wing gained an Atlas missile squadron in January 1964, and was redesignated the 40th Strategic Aerospace Wing on 1 February 1964. Began phasing down for inactivation with the retirement of its B-47s during the spring of 1964 and was designated as non-operational from 15 August, to 1 September 1964. The wing was discontinued and inactivated on 1 September 1964. On 1 April 1966,

2958-437: Was documented in AAF Regulation 20-1, dated 15 September 1945. A plan for developing Andrews Field as the headquarters of the Continental Air Forces for September 1944 was enacted. (CAF HQ eventually transferred from Andrews to Bolling Field ). After a June 1945 meeting with AAF headquarters about air defense, CAF recommended "research and development be undertaken on radar and allied equipment for an air defense system [for]

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3016-417: Was located at Fort Slocum , New York, from 1946 to 1949. The command was originally assigned the region of the New England states, along with New York and New Jersey. With the inactivation of the ADC Eleventh Air Force on 1 July 1948 due to budget restrictions, command's region of responsibility was increased to include the upper Midwest states of Michigan and Ohio, along with the Mid-Atlantic region south to

3074-451: Was one of the four original pre- World War II numbered air forces formed during the existence of the United States Army Air Corps . It was activated as the Northeast Air District on 18 December 1940, at Mitchel Field , Long Island , New York with a mission of air defense of the Northeastern United States and Great Lakes regions. Its primary mission was the organization and training of new combat units prior to their deployment overseas. It

3132-616: Was reactivated and elevated to Wing status in 1952 as a SAC B-47 Stratojet organization until the phaseout of the aircraft in 1964. Reactivated as a USAFE wing to be the host unit at Aviano Air Base , Italy in 1966 to provide support to Tactical Air Command deployed rotational elements until 1992. The 40th Bombardment Group was constituted in Puerto Rico on 22 November 1940 and activated on 1 April 1941. The unit's operational squadrons (29th, 44th and 45th) were equipped with Douglas B-18 Bolos then early Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Martin B-26 Marauder aircraft to train, and patrol

3190-448: Was reactivated as the 40th Bombardment Wing, Medium at Smoky Hill Air Force Base , Kansas on 28 May 1952. Although activated, it was not manned until early February 1953, when it gained personnel and equipment from the 40th Tactical and Maintenance Squadron (Provisional) established at Davis–Monthan AFB, Arizona as a holding unit for people and equipment surplus to the 303d Bombardment Wing being formed at Davis–Monthan. Once activated,

3248-422: Was so dangerous and difficult that each time a B-29 flew from India to China it was counted as a combat mission, The first combat mission by the group took place on 5 June 1944 when the group's squadrons took off from India to attack the Makasan railroad yards at Bangkok , Thailand. This involved a 2261-mile round trip, the longest bombing mission yet attempted during the war. On 15 June the group participated in

3306-564: Was the result of the need to eliminate intermediate levels of command in ADCOM driven by budget reductions and a perceived lessening of the need for continental air defense against attacking Soviet aircraft. ADCOM reassigned the units under the inactivated First Air Force were reassigned primarily to the 20th, 21st or 23d Air Divisions. ADCOM was reorganized on 1 October 1979. The interceptors and warning radars were reassigned to Tactical Air Command (TAC). With this move many Air National Guard units that had an air defense mission also came under

3364-424: Was transferred to Air Combat Command along with the rest of TAC on 1 June 1992. In the years since its third activation, more of the responsibility for the defense of American air sovereignty has primarily shifted to the Air National Guard . Also, reorganization of the command structure of the U.S. Air Force saw the assignment of air defense to Tactical Air Command and later, its successor, Air Combat Command . In

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