IX Fighter Command
| IX Fighter Command | |
|---|---|
 CommandP-47 Thunderbolt,the most common tactical aircraft in the command[note 1] | |
| Active | 1942–1945 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army(1942-47) United States Air Force(1947-48) |
| Role | Command offighterunits |
| Engagements | European Theater of Operations[1] |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maj GenElwood Richard Quesada |
TheIX Fighter Commandwas aUnited States Army Air Forcesformation. Its last assignment was with theNinth Air Force,based atErlangen,Germany, where it was inactivated on 16 November 1945.
IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter air arm ofNinth Air Forcein theWestern Desert Campaignin North Africa during 1942–1943. Transferred to England, it became the dominant tactical air force over the skies of Western Europe during the 1944Battle of Normandyand theWestern Allied invasion of Germanyin 1945.
After its inactivation, the majority of its (along withTwelfth Air Force) units were incorporated into the postwarUnited States Air ForceTactical Air Command.
History
[edit]North Africa
[edit]In Egypt during January 1943, IX Fighter Command became the control organization forNinth Air Forcefighter units assigned to theWestern Desert Campaign(Libya and Tunisia).
Although wings were officially subordinate to the command, combat groups were attached to theDesert Air Force,which included squadrons of theRoyal Air Force,Royal Australian Air ForceandSouth African Air Force.
IX Fighter Command moved to England in November 1943 as part of Normandy invasion planning. Its subordinate units were reassigned to theTwelfth Air Force.
Western Europe
[edit]
During the winter of 1943/44 IX Fighter Command expanded at an extraordinary rate so that by the end of May 1944, its complement ran to 45 flying groups operating some 5,000 aircraft. Initial missions from England consisted of fighter sweeps over troop concentrations and attacks on enemy positions and airfields, primarily on German15th Armyunits in thePas-de-Calaisregion of France as well as aroundNormandyandCotentin Peninsula.OnD-DayIX Fighter Command units carried out massive air attacks on German forces in Normandy area withNorth American P-51 MustangandRepublic P-47 Thunderboltfighter bombers.Air cover during the morning amphibious assault by Allied forces on the beaches of France was flown byLockheed P-38 Lightnings.
With the beaches secure, groups began deploying to France on 16 June 1944, ten days after the Normandy invasion by moving P-47 Thunderbolts to a beach-head landing strip. During the Battle of Normandy, its tactical air units then provided the air power for the Allied break-out from the Normandy beachhead in the summer of 1944 during theBattle of Cherbourg,Battle for Caen,and the ultimate breakout from the beachhead,Operation Cobra.
By early August most IX Fighter Command groups moved to bases in France and were assigned to missions supporting theTwelfth United States Army Group.The command then reorganized, with units transferred to three tactical air commands and which directly supportedUnited States Armyground units, along with an air defense command to defend Allied-controlled areas.
- XXIX Tactical Air Commandsupported theNinth United States Armyin the north
- IX Tactical Air Commandsupported theUnited States First Armyin the center
- XIX Tactical Air Commandsupported theUnited States Third Armyin the south
- IX Air Defense Commandprovided air defense of Allied-controlled Western Europe
After its units were reassigned, it remained active until afterVE-Daywhen performed occupation duty in Germany. It was inactivated in November 1945.
In 1947, when the United States Air Force (USAF) became independent, the Army transferred all Army Air Forces, Air Service and Air Corps units (there were a number of Air Corps units that had never been in the Army Air Forces, and a few Air Service units) to the USAF. A year later, the newly forming USAF permanently disbanded the command.
Lineage
[edit]- Constituted as the9th Interceptor Commandon 19 January 1942[note 2]
- Activated on 1 February 1942
- Redesignated9th Fighter Commandon 15 May 1942
- RedesignatedIX Fighter Commandc. 18 September 1942
- Inactivated on 16 November 1945
- Disbanded on 8 October 1948[1]
Assignments
[edit]- Third Air Force,1 February 1942[citation needed]
- Ninth Air Force,23 December 1942 – 16 November 1945[2]
Components
[edit]North Africa
[edit]- Wings
- 8th Fighter Wing:assigned 24 July – 22 December 1942 (attached to 3d Fighter Command (laterIII Fighter Command)) 26 July – c. 28 October 1942; attached 22 December 1942 – c. April 1943[3]
- 9th Fighter Wing:December 1942 – 31 March 1943
- Groups
- 57th Fighter Group,c. 16 July 1942 – July 1942; 12 November 1942 – 30 August 1943, (attached toWestern Desert Air Force,21 February 1943;Desert Air Force,c. April 1943; 7 South African Air Force (No. 7 (South African) Wing?), 21 May 1943;XII Air Support Command22 August 1943)[4]
- 79th Fighter Group:24 February – 22 August 1943 (attached toNo. 7 (South African) Wing– c. 2 June 1943; XII Air Support Command – c. 14 June 1943; No. 7 (South African) Wing – c. 21 August 1943)[5]
- 324th Fighter Group,23 December 1942 – 1 August 1943, (attached to Western Desert Air Force, 23 December 1942; Desert Air Force, c. April–1 August 1943)
Western Europe
[edit]- Wings
- 70th Fighter Wing:29 November 1943 – 3 October 1944
- 71st Fighter Wing:4 December 1943 – 1 July 1944
- 84th Fighter Wing:30 April 1944 – 12 August 1944
- 100th Fighter Wing:27 November – 12 December 1943; 4 January − 1 February 1944; 1 March − 15 April 1944 (remained under operational control until 31 July 1944)[6]
- 303d Fighter Wing:8 March–1 November 1944
- Groups
- 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group:November 1943 – February 1944[7]
- 354th Fighter Group:c. 3 November 1943 – 27 November 1943[8]
- 358th Fighter Group:20 October 1943 – 1 August 1944 (attached toVIII Fighter Command)
- 363d Fighter Group(later 363d Reconnaissance Group), 30 December 1943 – February 1944; 1 December 1944 – 18 May 1945 (Attached toXXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional))[9]
- 366th Fighter Group:28 January – 28 June 1945 (attached toXXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional)until 21 June 1945)[10]
- 368th Fighter Group:13 January–1 August 1944
- 370th Fighter Group:12 February–1 August 1944
- 371st Fighter Group:4 April–1 August 1944
- 404th Fighter Group:4 April–1 August 1944
- 405th Fighter-Bomber Group(later 405th Fighter Group): 6 March – March 1944; 8 February − February 1945 (attached toXXIX Tactical Air Command (Provisional))[11]
- 406th Fighter Group:4 April–1 August 1944
- 474th Fighter Group:12 March–1 August 1944
- Squadrons
- 4th Air Support Control Squadron:19 November – 12 December 1943[12]
- 6th Air Support Communications Squadron (later 6th Tactical Air Communications Squadron): 30 December 1943 – 31 January 1944; 1 December 1944 – 1 July 1945 (attached to XXIX Tactical Air Command [Provisional])[13]
- 11th Air Support Control Squadron:11 December 1943 – c. 1 February 1944[14]
- 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron;30 December 1943 – 4 January 1944[15]
- 125th Liaison Squadron;1 December 1944 – 20 June 1945 (attached toXIX Tactical Air Command(Provisional), further attached toTwelfth Army Group)[16]
- 153d Liaison Squadron;12 December 1943 – 14 March 1944 (attached toFirst Armyafter 4 February 1944)[16]
Stations
[edit]
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References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- Explanatory notes
- ^Aircraft is Republic P-47D-28-RA Thunderbolt, serial 42-29259 of the358th Fighter Group.
- ^Maurer indicates unit was constituted as the "IX" Interceptor Command. However, the unit was constituted and activated with anarabic numberin its name. The use ofroman numeralsto designate Army Air Forces combat commands did not begin until September 1942."Air Force Historical Research Agency Organizational Reconds: Types of USAF Organizations".Air Force History Index. 9 January 2008.Retrieved19 September2016.
- Citations
- ^abMaurer,Combat Units,pp. 447-448
- ^Ream, Margaret (5 October 2020)."Factsheet Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved20 December2021.
- ^"Factsheet 57 Air Division".Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 13 October 2012.Retrieved2 April2014.
- ^Robertson, Patsy (29 July 2009)."Factsheet 57 Operations Group (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved1 January2022.
- ^Stevens, Maj Sonia (11 July 2017)."Factsheet 53 Test and Evaluation Group (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved7 January2022.
- ^Robertson, Patsy (16 December 2008)."Factsheet 404 Air Expeditionary Group (USAFE)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved17 January2022.
- ^Ream, Margaret (21 March 2021)."Factsheet 67 Cyberspace Operations Group (AFSPC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved7 January2022.
- ^Robertson, Patsy (5 April 2012)."Factsheet 354 Operations Group (PACAF)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved13 January2022.
- ^Robertson, Patsy (10 July 2017)."Factsheet 363 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Group (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved13 January2022.
- ^Dollman, TSG David. (18 October 2016)."Factsheet 366 Operations Group (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved13 January2022.
- ^Haulman, Daniel L. (21 November 2014)."Factsheet 405 Air Expeditionary Group (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved17 January2022.
- ^Dollman, TSG David (5 August 2016)."Factsheet 4 Air Support Operations Group (USAFE)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved14 January2022.
- ^Robertson, Patsy (31 July 2009)."Factsheet 6 Combat Training Squadron (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved4 July2018.
- ^Dollman, TSG David (16 May 2019)."Factsheet 11 Air Support Operations Squadron (ACC)".Air Force Historical Research Agency.Retrieved15 January2022.
- ^Maurer,Combat Squadrons,pp. 85-87
- ^abMaurer,Combat Squadrons,p. 350
- ^Station number in Anderson, p. 31.
- ^Station number in Johnson, p. 23.
- ^Station number in Johnson, p. 77.
- ^Station number in Johnson, p. 54.
- ^Station number in Johnson, p. 42.
- ^Station information in Maurer, pp. 447-448, except as noted.
Bibliography
[edit]
This article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom theAir Force Historical Research Agency- Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985).Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II(PDF).Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center.Retrieved1 March2021.
- Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988).U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day(PDF).Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 29 September 2015.Retrieved26 June2017.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961].Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF)(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-912799-02-1.LCCN61060979.Retrieved17 December2016.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969].Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II(PDF)(reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History.ISBN0-405-12194-6.LCCN70605402.OCLC72556.Retrieved17 December2016.
