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14th Air Force

Emblem of the 14th Air Force
Active 10 March 1943
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
Role operation support for AF space forces and commands
Part of Air Force Space Command
Garrison/HQ Vandenberg Air Force Base
Commanders
Current
commander		 Lt Gen William L. Shelton
Notable
commanders		 Claire Chennault

The United States Fourteenth Air Force, also 14th Air Force (14 AF), is a Numbered Air Force (NAF) of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC). Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force. Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a Spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Lieutenant General William L Shelton commands the 14th Air Force and Joint Functional Component Command for Space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force. It is a functional echelon dedicated to space systems operations, responsible for missile warning, space surveillance, and range operations for the Department of Defense, NASA, and commercial space launches. The United States Department of Defense ( DOD or DoD) is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Fourteenth Air Force is headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a Spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The 14th Air Force is currently under the command of Lieutenant General William L. Shelton. Lieutenant General is a Military rank used in many countries The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the Lieutenant General William L Shelton commands the 14th Air Force and Joint Functional Component Command for Space from Vandenberg Air Force Base in

Contents

Component wings and groups

History

Fourteenth Air Force operated in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater during World War II as the Flying Tigers and subsequently served Air Defense Command, Continental Air Command, and the Air Force Reserves (AFRES). Joint Space Operations Center ( JSpOC) is a command and control (C2 weapon system focused on planning and executing US Strategic Command 's Joint Functional Component The 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. The 30th Space Wing ( 30 SW) is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a Spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. The 45th Space Wing ( 45 SW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. Patrick Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, in Brevard County, Florida Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The 50th Space Wing ( 50 SW) is a wing of the United States Air Force under the major command of Air Force Space Command (AFSPC Schriever Air Force Base (Schriever AFB is a base of the United States Air Force located approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers east of Peterson AFB near Colorado The 460th Space Wing is located at Buckley Air Force Base, east of Aurora Colorado. Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, that was established in 1943 China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country China Burma India Theater (CBI (later IBT or India-Burma theater was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjuction with Allied air World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout CONAD (all caps redirects here for the Italian supermarket chain see Conad (upper and lower case Aerospace Defense Command ( Continental Air Command (ConAC (1948 - 1968 was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF responsible primarily for administering the Air National In 1993, Fourteenth Air Force was transferred from AFRES to AFSPC.

World War II

The Fourteenth Air Force was constituted on 5 March 1943 and activated in China on 10 March. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing It served in combat against the Japanese, operating primarily in China, until the end of the war. It moved to the U. S. over the two months of December 1945 and January 1946. The 14th Air Force was inactivated on 6 January 1946. Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King [2]

After the Japan and the United States entered World War II the American Volunteer Group (AVG) known as the Flying Tigers were incorporated into the USAAF. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Claire Chennault their commander was reinstated into the USAAF as a colonel, promoted to Brigadier General and later Major General as commander of the U. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout S. Army's Fourteenth Air Force. After July 14 1942, the AVG was replaced by the 23d Fighter Group. The 23d Fighter Group is an air combat unit of the United States Air Force. Only five pilots accepted commissions in China. However, US pilots and US press went on using the name Flying Tigers after the AVG's dissolution. Especially the 23d Fighter Group was often called by the same nickname — they too were "Flying Tigers". Most AVG pilots became transport pilots in China, went back to America into civilian jobs, or rejoined the other military services and fought elsewhere in the war. An example was Major Pappy Boyington who rejoined the United States Marine Corps. Colonel Gregory "Pappy" Boyington USMC, (December 4 1912 - January 11 1988 was an American fighter ace.

The Fourteenth Air Force official web site[3] says:

After the China Air Task Force was discontinued, the Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF) was established by the special order of President Roosevelt on 10 March 1943. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Chennault was appointed the commander and promoted to Major General. The "Flying Tigers" of 14 AF (who adopted the "Flying Tigers" designation from the AVG) conducted highly effective fighter and bomber operations along a wide front that stretched from the bend of the Yellow River and Tsinan in the north to Indochina in the south, from Chengtu and the Salween River in the west to the China Sea and the island of Formosa in the east. The Yellow River or Huang He / Hwang Ho ( Hatan Gol Queen river) is the second-longest river in China (after the Yangtze River) and the Jinan ( in some literatures the pinyin without tones is given as Ji'nan, to disambiguate from a possible misreading as Jin'an is a Sub-provincial city Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ( located in southwest People's Republic of China, is the capital of Sichuan province and a Sub-provincial city. The Salween River (သံလွင်မြစ် θànlwìn myiʔ also spelled Salwine) rises in Tibet ( after which it flows through Yunnan The China Seas consists of the seas of the Western Pacific Ocean Yellow Sea East China Sea South China Sea Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. They were also instrumental in supplying Chinese forces through the airlift of cargo across "The Hump" in the China-Burma-India theater. The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew from India By the end of World War II, 14 AF had achieved air superiority over the skies of China and established a ratio of 7. 7 enemy planes destroyed for every American plane lost in combat. Overall, military officials estimated that over 4,000 Japanese planes were destroyed or damaged in the China-Burma-India theater during World War II. In addition, they estimated that air units in China destroyed 1,100,000 tons of shipping, 1,079 locomotives, 4,836 trucks and 580 bridges. The United States Army Air Corps credits 14 AF with the destruction of 2,315 Japanese aircraft, 356 bridges, 1,225 locomotives and 712 railroad cars.

Chinese-American Composite Wing

In addition to the core Fourteenth Air Force (14AF) structure, a second group: The Chinese-American Composite Wing, existed as a combined bomber and fighter group with pilots from both the United States and the Republic of China. U. S. service personnel destined for the CACW entered the China theater in mid-July 1943. Aircraft assigned to the CACW included late-model P-40 Warhawks with the Nationalist Chinese Air Force 12-pointed star national insignia, rudder markings and squadron/aircraft numbering and B-25 "Mitchell" light bombers. In late 1944, USAAF-marked P-51 Mustangs began to be assigned to CACW pilots -- first, P-51B and C models, then, in early 1945, "D" and "K" model (sharing many of the external characteristics of the "D" model aircraft including the bubble canopy) reduced-weight versions. All U. S. pilots assigned to the CACW were listed as rated pilots in Chinese Air Force, and were authorized to wearing both nations' pilot's wings.

Most CACW bases existed near the boundary of Japanese-Occupied China, and one "Valley Field" existed in an area within Japanese-held territory. Specific field locations include Hanchung, Ankang, Hsian, Laohokow, Enshih, Liangshan, Peishyi, Chihkiang, Hengyang, Kweilin, Liuchow, Chanyi, Suichwan, and Lingling. ^ 

Campaigns

Campaigns India-Burma; China Defensive; China Offensive. [2]

Command

Its headquarters while in China were Kunming from 10 March 1943 and Peishiyi, from 7 August to 15 December 1945. Kunming ( kʊn'mɪŋ UN/LOCODE: CNKMG is a Prefecture-level city and capital of Yunnan province in Southwestern China. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 322 BC - Battle of Crannon between Athens and Macedon following the death of Alexander the Great. Events 533 - Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar [2]

Commanders[2]:

World War II Units

  • 68th Composite Wing
    Constuted as 68th Fighter Wing, 9 August 1943.
    Redesignated 68th Composite Wing, December 1943.
    Inactivated 10 October 1945.
    • 23d Fighter Group (Flying Tigers) (P-40, P-51). The 23d Fighter Group is an air combat unit of the United States Air Force.
      Formerly American Volunteer Group (AVG). The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the government of the USA in order to aid the Nationalist government of China against
      Jul 1942 - Dec 1945
  • 69th Composite Wing
    Constuted as 69th Bombardment Wing, 9 August 1943.
    Redesignated 69th Composite Wing, December 1943.
    Reassigned to Tenth Air Force, August 1945. Tenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas
  • 312th Fighter Wing
    Constuted as 312th Fighter Wing, 7 March 1944. The 51st Fighter Wing (51 FW is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Osan Air Base, South Korea.
    Reassigned to United States, December 1945.
  • Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) (1943-1945)
    • 3rd Fighter Group (P-40, P-51)
      • 7th Fighter Squadron
      • 8th Fighter Squadron
      • 28th Fighter Squadron
      • 32nd Fighter Squadron
    • 5th Fighter Group (P-40, P-51)
      • 17th Fighter Squadron
      • 26th Fighter Squadron
      • 27th Fighter Squadron
      • 29th Fighter Squadron
    • 1st Bombardment Group (Medium) (B-25)
      • 1st Bombardment Squadron
      • 2nd Bombardment Squadron
      • 3rd Bombardment Squadron
  • Other assigned units:
    • 402d Fighter Group:
      May - Jul 1943. The 81st Training Wing ( 81 TRW) is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host wing at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi The 33d Fighter Wing ( 33 FW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. The 311th Human Systems Wing ( 311 HSW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, The 402d Aircraft Sustainment Wing ( 402 MXW) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Robins Air Force Base, Georgia Assigned but never equipped.
    • 476th Fighter Group:
      May - Jul 1943. Assigned but never equipped.
    • 308th Bombardment Group:(B-24)
      Mar 1943 - Feb 1945
    • 341st Bombardment Group: Xfer from 10th AF (B-25)
      Jan 1944 - Nov 1945
    • 443d Troop Carrier Group: Xfer from 10th AF (C-47/C-54)
      Aug - Nov 1945
    • 426th Night Fighter Squadron: Xfer from 10th AF (P-61)
    • 427th Night Fighter Squadron: Xfer from 10th AF (P-61)

An Intelligence Operation

American missionary John Birch was recommended to Chennault for intelligence work by Jimmy Doolittle, whom he had assisted when Doolittle's crew landed in China after the raid on Tokyo. The United States Air Force 's 308th Armament Systems Wing (308 ARSW is a non-flying wing based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. John Morrison Birch ( May 8, 1918 &ndash August 25, 1945) was an American Military Intelligence Officer and a Baptist General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle USAF (14 December 1896 &ndash 27 September 1993 was an American Aviation pioneer The Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942, was the first air raid by the United States to strike the Japanese home island of Honshū Inducted into the Fourteenth on its formation, and later seconded to the OSS, he built a formidable network of Chinese informants to provide the Flying Tigers with intelligence on Japanese land and sea military positions and the disposition of shipping and railways. The Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. He was shot by Chinese Communists 10 days after the war ended, which led to him being chosen as the namesake of the John Birch Society. The John Birch Society is a political education and action organization founded by Robert W

Cold War

Fourteenth Air Force served as a Numbered Air Force during the Cold War years, supervising Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard activities. This is a list of Numbered Air Forces (NAF of the United States Air Force Historically a NAF is a level of command below a MAJCOM (Major Command Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM of the U The Air National Guard ( ANG), often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the several states and

The command was reactivated on 24 May 1946 at Orlando Army Air Base (later, AFB), Florida and assigned to Air Defense Command, then reassigned to Continental Air Command. McCoy Air Force Base (1940-1947 1951-1975 is a former United States Air Force base located 10 miles (16 km south of Orlando, Florida. CONAD (all caps redirects here for the Italian supermarket chain see Conad (upper and lower case Aerospace Defense Command ( Continental Air Command (ConAC (1948 - 1968 was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF responsible primarily for administering the Air National Moved to Robins AFB, Georgia, in October 1949. Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in Houston County, Georgia, United States.

The mission of 14th AF was to administer Air Defense Command/Continental Air Command functions in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. It supervised the air defense training of active duty units, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units. Continental Air Command later expanded the mission of 14 AF to include the equipping and combat preparation of units.

During the Korean War, 14 AF participated in the mobilization of Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve units and individuals from its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base (AFB), Georgia. The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the After the Korean War, the reserve wings of 14 AF participated in various airlift operations, such as Operation SIXTEEN TONS, Operation SWIFT LIFT and Operation READY SWAP. 14th AF was inactivated on September 1, 1960.

The command was reactivated on January 20, 1966, and assigned to Air (later, Aerospace) Defense Command. CONAD (all caps redirects here for the Italian supermarket chain see Conad (upper and lower case Aerospace Defense Command ( Organized on April 1, 1966, at Gunter AFB, Alabama. Gunter Annex is a United States Air Force installation located in the North-northeast suburbs of Montgomery Alabama. The reactivated 14 AF supported the North American Aerospace Defense Command Southern Region's air defense mission. Later, it provided for Aerospace Defense Command training, testing and evaluation missions.

14th AF moved without personnel or equipment to Colorado Springs, Colorado, on July 1, 1968, absorbing resources of 9th Aerospace Defense Division. Redesignated Fourteenth Aerospace Force on July 1, 1968. The 14th Aerospace Force was responsible for detecting foreign missile launches, tracking missiles and satellites in space, providing space vehicle launch services, maintaining a satellite data base of all man-made objects in space and performing anti-satellite actions. The 14th Aerospace Force also equipped, trained, administered and provided personnel to operate and maintain space surveillance, space defense and missile warning systems. Inactivated on October 1, 1976.

Redesignated Fourteenth Air Force (Reserve), and activated on October 8, 1976, at Dobbins AFB (later, ARB), Georgia, and assigned to Air Force Reserve where it managed airlift forces for Military Air Command and participated in such missions as Operation JUST CAUSE. The Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM of the U Redesignated Fourteenth Air Force on December 1, 1985. Inactivated on July 1, 1993.

Post-Cold War

On 1 July 1993, 14 AF returned to its former space role and became a Numbered Air Force for Air Force Space Command, responsible for performing space operations. Air Force Space Command ( AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force. In 1997, 14 AF established the Space Operations Center at Vandenberg AFB in California for the 24-hour command and control of all space operations resources. In 2002, 14 AF became the Air Force space operational component of United States Strategic Command.

In 2005, 14 AF officially opened up its newly renovated operations center. The new command and control capabilities of the Joint Space Operations Center ensured unity of effort for all space capabilities supporting joint military operations around the globe. Joint Space Operations Center ( JSpOC) is a command and control (C2 weapon system focused on planning and executing US Strategic Command 's Joint Functional Component

See also

References

External links

Footnotes

  1. ^  Fourteenth Air Force official website
  2. ^ a b  c Air Force Combat Units of World War II - Part 8 See References Maurer
  3. ^  Fourteenth Airforce History Information presented on DefenseLINK is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified
  4. ^  Wing to Wing Air Combat in China, 1943 - 1945, Molesworth, Carl Orion Books, New York 1990 ISBN0-517-57568-X
  5. ^  a Transferred from the Tenth Air Force
  6. ^  The 341st Bomb Group usually functioned as if it were two groups and for a time as three. The South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was the name given to the campaigns of the Pacific War in India, Thailand, The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United Operation Ichi-Go was a campaign of a series of major battles between the Imperial Japanese Army forces and the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of The RAF Third Tactical Air Force (Third TAF which was formed in South Asia in December 1943 was one of three Tactical air forces formed by the Royal Air Force Tenth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas Soon after its activation in September 1942, 341st Bomb Group Headquarters and three of its squadrons the 22nd, 490th and 491st, and were stationed and operating in India under direction of the Tenth Air Force, while the 11th squadron was stationed and operating in China under direction of the "China Air Task Force", which was later reorganized and reinforced to become the Fourteenth Air Force. Fourteen months later the Group Headquarters along with 22nd and the 491st squadrons joined the 11th squadron under the command of the Fourteenth Air Force. However most of the 490th "Burma Bridge Busters" remained under the command of Major-General Howard Davidson's Tenth Air Force. Still later the 11th Squadron and a detachment of the 491st operated for a time under the East China Task Force. [4]
  7. ^ Life and Times of the 341st Bomb Group: Forward


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