9th Air Force

April 1942 to August 1950

United States of America

TYPE: USAAF Unit

IATA/ICAO CODES: Nil

HEADQUARTERS: New Orleans AAB, LA (1942), Bolling Field, DC (1942), Cairo Payne Field, Egypt (1942-1943), Sunninghill Park, England (1943-1944), Chantilly, France (1944-1945), Bad Kissingen, Germany (1945), Biggs Field, TX (1945-1946), Greenville AAB, SC (1946-1949), Langley AFB, VA (1949-1950)

FORMER NAME: 5^th Air Support Command (1941-1942)

SUBSEQUENT NAME: 9^th Air Force (Tactical) (from 1950)

Commandos operated by the 9^th Air Force, unit unknown:

The 9^th Air Force was established on 8 April 1942 by the redesignation of the 5th Air Support Command, which was essentially a newborn bomber force. It moved to Egypt in November 1942 as prt of the US response to the German Afrikakorps' advance in Northern Africa five month earlier. Its mission in that theatre of operations was to gain air superiority, deny the enemy the ability to replenish or replace losses and offer close support to ground forces. It chased the Afrikakorps all the way to Tunisia, and then provided support for Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. By the end of 1943, the 9^th Air Force had grown to 45 flying groups, 5,000 aircraft and 200,000 personnel.

From early 1944, the 9^th Air Force joined the 8^th Air Force in England for the final assault on Germany, and conducted fighter, bomber and troop carrier operations over Northern Europe until VE Day. It took part in all major operations and battles in that theatre of operations, including Overlord, Market Garden, the Bulge and Varsity. In parallel, it also participated in Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944. After the German surrender, some 9^th Air Force units briefly joined USAFE, before being entirely deactivated in December 1945.

It reactivated in Texas in 1946 and later took part in the Cold War as an arm of the Tactical Air Command.