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United States Army Air Forces

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United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
USAAF Shoulder Sleeve Insignia
ActiveMarch 21, 1942 - 1947
BranchRegular Army

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was a part of the U.S. Army during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947.

History

Prior to the United States's entrance into World War II, the USAAF was known as the U.S. Army Air Corps, or USAAC. The USAAC was a corps-level, subsidiary organization within the U.S. Army, and had little autonomy. Due to the efforts of several key USAAC officers, the threat of war, and the re-organization of the Army along functional lines, the Air Corps obtained greater organizational autonomy as the Army Air Force on June 20, 1941. Renamed the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on March 9, 1942, and considered a separate arm of the Army, the new USAAF had an equal "voice" with the Army and Navy.

The sixteen Air Forces

USAAF recruitment poster.

By the end of World War II, the USAAF was divided into sixteen numbered air forces (First through Fifteenth and the Twentieth) distributed across all theaters of war, plus the Zone of the Interior general air force stationed in the continental United States. To these were attached an additional eight air divisions which were sometimes detached and served as independent units when the need arose. Several of these air forces and divisions grew out of earlier Air Corps commands—for example, the Eighth Air Force was originally called VIII Bomber Command—as the service expanded in size and organization with multiple lower tiers added and yet higher echelons such as U.S. Strategic Air Forces created to control the whole. Several air forces were created de novo as the service expanded during the war. The air forces and divisions were divided into a total of 91 wings, called Bombardment, Tactical Reconnaissance, Training or Composite depending on whether their primary intended role was strategic bombing, pursuit, air support, et cetera. The air forces also had jurisdiction over a number of logistical units like the Air Transport Command, successor to the pre-war Air Corps Ferrying Command.

USAAF recruitment poster.

After the war, the Eighth Air Force was merged with several other units to become the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). In 1947, the USAFE became a component of the newly-created United States Air Force. From 1948–49, the unit was responsible for the Berlin Airlift.

The official name for the organization was the United States Army Air Forces. In colloquial speech, the old Air Corps name persisted among veteran soldiers; in addition, the singular "Air Force" often crept into popular use, possibly by analogy to the Allied Royal Air Force. This misnomer even crept onto official recruiting posters (see image on right).

List of air forces

Air Force independence

Following the immense buildup in aviation infrastructure and personnel during the war, and in recognition of the tremendous new importance and strength of airpower, then-President Harry S. Truman created the United States Department of the Air Force in 1947. This legislation renamed the aviation military group again to the United States Air Force, elevating it to a truly separate branch of the U.S. military. The Key West Agreement outlined the air assets that each service would be permitted to maintain, with the Air Force getting the bulk of strategic, tactical and transport aircraft. The Army was permitted light aircraft for reconnaissance, the transport of general officers and other miscellaneous duties, under the auspices of Army Aviation. This state-of-affairs lasted until the 1960's, when the advent of the jet-turbine helicopter and the concept of air-mobile brigades increased the size and scope of Army Aviation once again.

Notable people who served in the USAAF

Badges of the United States Army Air Forces

To denote the special training and qualifications required for membership in the USAAF, the following military badges were authorized for wear by members of the Army Air Forces during World War II:

These aviation qualification badges were often displayed formally on uniforms as a sterling silver wing ornament whose span was 3 inches long. Various forms of this wing badge featured clutch and pin backs. Some of the badges are now obsolete.

Sources

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