V Bomber Command

This article is about the American Pacific Bomber Command during World War II. For the British Cold War bomber fleet, see V Bomber.

V Bomber Command
Active	14 November 1941 – 8 October 1948
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Command and Control
Commanders
Notable commanders	Brig. Gen. Kenneth Walker (KIA) Brig. Gen. Howard K. Ramey (MIA)

The V Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Irumagawa AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946.

During World War II the unit initially controlled Fifth Air Force bomber units in the Philippines. It was largely destroyed in the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42), and withdrew to Australia at the end of December 1941, although elements of some units remained in the Philippines until April 1942. Re-equipped, the command provided command and control authority of Army Air Force bombardment organizations within the Fifth Air Force Area of Responsibility (AOR).

Afterward, served with the occupation force in Japan before being inactivated in 1946.

History

Lineage

• Constituted as V Bomber Command on 28 October 1941

Activated on 14 November 1941

Inactivated on 31 May 1946

Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

• Fifth Air Force, 14 November 1941 – 8 October 1948

Stations

• Clark Field, Luzon, 14 November 1941
• RAAF Base Darwin, Australia, December 1941
• Java, January–March 1942
• RAAF Base Townsville, Australia, 5 September 1942
• Jackson Airfield, Port Moresby, New Guinea, December 1942
• Nadzab Airfield, New Guinea, 21 February 1944
• Owi Airfield, Schouten Islands, Netherlands East Indies, c. 15 August 1944

• Bayug Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, November 1944
• McGuire Field, Mindoro, Philippines, January 1945
• Clark Field, Luzon, March 1945
• Hamasaki (Motobu Airfield), Okinawa, August 1945
• Murayama, Japan, October 1945
• Irumagawa AB, Japan, c. 15 January – 31 May 1946

Units

• 3d Bombardment Group: 5 September 1942 – 31 May 1946
• 6th Reconnaissance Group: 10 October 1943 – 1 March 1944
• 7th Bombardment Group: 22 December 1941 – March 1942
• 8th Fighter Group: September–November 1942
• 19th Bombardment Group*: 16 November 1941 – September 1942
• 22d Bombardment Group*: 5 September 1942 – November 1945
• 27th Bombardment Group: c. 20 November 1941 – 4 May 1942
• 35th Fighter Group*: 10 November 1945 – 25 May 1946
• 38th Bombardment Group*: 18 January – 1 August 1942

• 43d Bombardment Group: 5 September 1942 – 3 December 1945
• 49th Fighter Group: 10 November 1945 – 1 June 1946
• 71st Reconnaissance Group*: November 1943-1 March 1944
• 90th Bombardment Group*: November 1942-23 November 1945
• 312th Bombardment Group*: 16 January 1944 – 18 October 1945.
• 345th Bombardment Group*: 5 June 1943 – 10 December 1945
• 380th Bombardment Group*: May 1943-20 February 1946
• 417th Bombardment Group*: 28 January 1944 – 1 November 1945.

*Note; Does not include periods detached to combat wings

Operational history

Participated in the defense of the Philippines in December 1941. Late in December the remaining bombers and some men were evacuated to Australia, and in January 1942 they were moved to Java to help delay the Japanese advance in the Netherlands Indies.

The command ceased to function in March 1942 (the AAF bombardment organizations in the Southwest Pacific being under the control of American-British-Dutch-Australian Command (ABDA) and later Allied Air Forces). Headquarters was remanned in September 1942 and shortly afterward it assumed control of AAF bombardment groups in Australia and New Guinea.

The command served in combat with Fifth Air Force until the end of the war. Brigadier General Kenneth N. Walker, who was killed during a mission over Rabaul on 5 January 1943, was awarded the Medal of Honor; he had repeatedly taken part in combat missions and had developed an effective technique for bombing when opposed by enemy interceptors and antiaircraft fire. After the war the command became part of the occupation force for Japan. Inactivated on 31 May 1946. Disbanded on 8 October 1948.

See also

• United States Army Air Forces in Australia (World War II)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.