313th Air Division
Encyclopedia
The 313th Air Division (313th AD) is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, based at Kadena AB, Okinawa. It was deactivated on 1 October 1991.
313th Bombardment Wing (313th BW) was part of Twentieth Air Force
. The 313th BW engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress
operations against Japan.
in the spring of 1944 as a Very Heavy (VH) bombardment wing, to be equipped with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress
es. Operational groups assigned to the wing were the 6th and 9th Bombardment Groups, both were existing units with the 6th being reassigned from the Sixth Air Force in the Caribbean
, where it was performing antisubmarine missions and protecting the Panama Canal
from airfields in Panama
. The 9th was assigned to Army Air Force Training Command in South Florida as part of its school of applied tactics. Both groups were reassigned to bases in Nebraska
– to (Grand Island AAF
and McCook AAF
) respectfully where they trained initially on B-17 Flying Fortresses until their B-29 aircraft could be manufactured and made available to them. Two other groups, the 504th and 505th were formed as new units (504th at Fairmont AAF
, the 505th at Harvard AAF
), also being assigned to bases in Nebraska for training. After dealing with various training issues and also problems with the B-29s they received, the combat groups were ready to deploy to the Pacific Theater
and departed for North Field, Tinian
, in the Northern Mariana Islands
arriving during late December, 1944.
On Tinian, the wing was assigned to the XXIst Bomber Command of Twentieth Air Force
. Once in place, the groups of the 313th began flying missions, initially against Iwo Jima
, the Truk Islands, and other Japanese held areas. Later, they flew low-level night incendiary raids
on area targets in Japan; participated in mining operations in the Shimonoseki Strait, and contributed to the blockade of the Japanese Empire by mining harbors in Japan and Korea
. In April 1945 the 313th assisted the invasion of Okinawa
by bombing Japanese airfields used by kamikaze
pilots.
A fifth group, the 509th Composite Group
, was assigned to the wing in May, 1945 from Wendover AAF
, Utah
. The 509th, although assigned to the 313th Bomb Wing, was operationally controlled by Headquarters, Twentieth Air Force
. The 509th was given a base area near the airfield on the north tip of Tinian, several miles from the main installations in the center part of the island where the other groups were assigned. Also unlike the other groups in the wing, the 509th used a wide variety of tail codes from various XXI Air Force groups, instead of using its own, so that the group's planes could not be identified by the Japanese. The 509th was also self contained, and drew little in resources from the 313th Wing or its other groups.
In early August, the mission of the 509th was revealed when the group flew the Atomic Bomb missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
. In November, the 509th was relieved from assignment to the 313th Bomb Wing and was reassigned to Roswell AAF, New Mexico.
After the Japanese surrender in August, 313th Bomb Wing units dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and participated in show-of-force flights over Japan. As part of the postwar drawdown of forces, two of the Wing's groups, the 504h and 505th were inactivated in late 1945 and early 1946.
Another group, the 383d, was reassigned to the 313th Bomb Wing from Eighth Air Force
in September 1945 after the Eighth was drawn down on Okinawa. The Eighth Air Force was planned to be a second strategic Air Force to be used during the Invasion of Japan
which never materialized. The 383d was inactivated in December with its aircraft and personnel returning to the United States.
In March 1946, the 313th was reassigned to Thirteenth Air Force
in the Philippine Islands. In the Philippines, the wing was assigned the 5th Bomb Group from Seventh Air Force
where it conducted Bombardment training, aerial reconnaissance and mapping and construction projects. The 5th Reconnaissance Group conducted many clandestine mapping missions over non-friendly areas of Asia during the postwar era. The wing itself began phasing down for inactivation in late 1947, with the 6th and 9th bomb groups being inactivated in June 1947, and finally the 5th bomb group in January 1948. The 313th Bombardment Wing was itself inactivated in June, 1948.
In March 1955, the organization was redesignated as the United States Air Force 313th Air Division (313th AD) as part of Far East Air Forces Fifth Air Force
, being assigned to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Throughout the years of the Cold War
, the 313th AD assumed responsibility for air defense of the Ryukyu Islands
and tactical operations in the Far East, maintaining assigned forces at the highest possible degree of combat readiness. In addition, it supported Fifth Air Force in the development, planning, and coordination of requirements for future Air Force operations in the Ryukyu Islands. The division also supported numerous PACAF exercises such as Cope Thunder, Cope Diamond, Team Spirit, and Cope North.
The 313th was inactivated on 1 October 1991 as part of a general drawdown of USAF forces in the Pacific after the end of the Cold War
.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, based at Kadena AB, Okinawa. It was deactivated on 1 October 1991.
History
The unit's origins begin with its predecessor, the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
313th Bombardment Wing (313th BW) was part of Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
. The 313th BW engaged in very heavy bombardment B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
operations against Japan.
Lineage
- Established as 313th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy on 15 April 1944
- Activated on 23 April 1944
- Inactivated on 15 June 1948
- Redesignated 313th Air Division on 3 January 1955
- Activated on 1 March 1955
- Inactivated on 1 October 1991
Assignments
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 23 April – 8 June 1944 - XXI Bomber CommandXXI Bomber CommandThe XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force in Guam for strategic bombing during World War II.- Lineage:* Constituted as XXI Bomber Command on 1 Mar 1944, and activated the same day.-Assignments:...
, 8 June 1944 – 16 July 1945 - Twentieth Air ForceTwentieth Air ForceThe Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
, 16 July 1945 – 13 March 1946 - Thirteenth Air ForceThirteenth Air ForceThe Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
, 13 March 1946 – 15 June 1948 - Fifth Air ForceFifth Air ForceThe Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, 1 March 1955 – 1 October 1991
Stations
- Peterson Field, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, 23 April – 5 November 1944 - North FieldNorth Field (Tinian)North Field is a former World War II airfield on Tinian in the Mariana Islands. Abandoned after the war, today North Field is a tourist attraction....
, TinianTinianTinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, Mariana IslandsMariana IslandsThe Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, 24 December 1944 – 17 February 1946 - Clark Field (later, Air Base)Clark Air BaseClark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
, LuzonLuzonLuzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
, Philippine Islands, 17 February 1946 – 15 June 1948 - Kadena AB, Okinawa, 1 March 1955 – 1 October 1991
Groups
- 5th Bombardment (later, 5 Reconnaissance)5th Bomb WingThe 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot...
:
- 10 June 1946 – 5 February 1947
- 15 March 1947 – 10 January 1948
- 6th Bombardment6th Air Mobility WingThe United States Air Force's 6th Air Mobility Wing is the host wing for MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. It is part of Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force....
: 28 December 1944 – 1 June 1947 - 9th Bombardment9th Reconnaissance WingThe 9th Reconnaissance Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Beale Air Force Base, California...
: 28 December 1944 – 9 June 1947 - 383d Bombardment383d Bombardment GroupThe 383d Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Army Service Forces, being stationed at Camp Azna, California. It was inactivated on 3 January 1946....
: 12 September – 19 December 1945 - 504th Bombardment504th Bombardment GroupThe 504th Bombardment Group was a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It was inactivated on 15 June 1946....
: 23 December 1944 – 15 June 1946 - 505th Bombardment505th Command and Control WingThe United States Air Force's 505th Command and Control Wing is organized under the USAF Warfare Center. The 505th CCW is dedicated to improving warfighter readiness through integrated training, tactics development and testing for operational-level command and control of air, space and cyberspace...
: 23 December – 30 June 1946 - 509th Composite509th Operations GroupThe 509th Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing , assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers...
: 29 May – c. 17 October 1945
- 6th Bombardment
- Assigned to wing but reported directly to 20th Air Force CC
Wings
- 18th Fighter-Bomber (later, 18th Tactical Fighter)18th WingThe United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force’s largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force....
:
- Attached 1 March 1955 – 1 February 1957
- Assigned 10 November 1958 – 1 October 1991
- 51st Fighter Interceptor51st Fighter WingThe 51st Fighter Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force and the host unit at Osan Air Base, South Korea.The 51st Fighter Wing is under Pacific Air Forces' Seventh Air Force...
: 1 March 1955 – 31 May 1971 - 374th Tactical Airlift374th Airlift WingThe 374th Airlift Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to Fifth Air Force. It is stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan. It is part of Pacific Air Forces ....
: 1 November 1968 – 31 May 1971 - 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing/Group581st Air Resupply and Communications WingThe 581st Air Resupply and Communications Wing is an inactive United States Air Force wing. Its last duty assignment was at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.-Units:...
:
- 51st Fighter Interceptor
- 1 March 1955 – 1 September 1956
Squadrons
- 5th Reconnaissance: 15 June 1946 – 3 February 1947
- 24th Combat Mapping: 1 April – 15 June 1946.
- 38th Reconnaissance: 15 March – 20 April 1947
- 322d Troop Carrier: 18 September 1956 – 12 February 1957
Operational history
The 313th Bombardment Wing was organized at Peterson Field, ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the spring of 1944 as a Very Heavy (VH) bombardment wing, to be equipped with the Boeing B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
es. Operational groups assigned to the wing were the 6th and 9th Bombardment Groups, both were existing units with the 6th being reassigned from the Sixth Air Force in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, where it was performing antisubmarine missions and protecting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
from airfields in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. The 9th was assigned to Army Air Force Training Command in South Florida as part of its school of applied tactics. Both groups were reassigned to bases in Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
– to (Grand Island AAF
Central Nebraska Regional Airport
Central Nebraska Regional Airport is a public use airport located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Grand Island, a city in Hall County, Nebraska, United States...
and McCook AAF
McCook Army Airfield
McCook Army Airfield was activated on 1 April 1943. It is located nine miles northwest of McCook, a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States and is southwest of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was constructed in 1943...
) respectfully where they trained initially on B-17 Flying Fortresses until their B-29 aircraft could be manufactured and made available to them. Two other groups, the 504th and 505th were formed as new units (504th at Fairmont AAF
Fairmont Army Airfield
Fairmont State Airfield is a public use airport located three nautical miles south of the central business district of Fairmont, in Fillmore County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics. The airport serves the general aviation community, with no scheduled...
, the 505th at Harvard AAF
Harvard Army Airfield
Harvard State Airport , also known as Harvard State Airfield, is a public use airport located two nautical miles northeast of the central business district of Harvard, a city in Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics...
), also being assigned to bases in Nebraska for training. After dealing with various training issues and also problems with the B-29s they received, the combat groups were ready to deploy to the Pacific Theater
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
and departed for North Field, Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
, in the Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
arriving during late December, 1944.
On Tinian, the wing was assigned to the XXIst Bomber Command of Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
. Once in place, the groups of the 313th began flying missions, initially against Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, officially , is an island of the Japanese Volcano Islands chain, which lie south of the Ogasawara Islands and together with them form the Ogasawara Archipelago. The island is located south of mainland Tokyo and administered as part of Ogasawara, one of eight villages of Tokyo...
, the Truk Islands, and other Japanese held areas. Later, they flew low-level night incendiary raids
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
on area targets in Japan; participated in mining operations in the Shimonoseki Strait, and contributed to the blockade of the Japanese Empire by mining harbors in Japan and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
. In April 1945 the 313th assisted the invasion of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
by bombing Japanese airfields used by kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
pilots.
A fifth group, the 509th Composite Group
509th Operations Group
The 509th Operations Group is the flying component of the United States Air Force 509th Bomb Wing , assigned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. It is equipped with all 20 of the USAF's B-2 Spirit stealth bombers...
, was assigned to the wing in May, 1945 from Wendover AAF
Wendover Air Force Base
Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit which dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The 509th, although assigned to the 313th Bomb Wing, was operationally controlled by Headquarters, Twentieth Air Force
Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.20 AF's primary mission is Intercontinental Ballistic Missile operations...
. The 509th was given a base area near the airfield on the north tip of Tinian, several miles from the main installations in the center part of the island where the other groups were assigned. Also unlike the other groups in the wing, the 509th used a wide variety of tail codes from various XXI Air Force groups, instead of using its own, so that the group's planes could not be identified by the Japanese. The 509th was also self contained, and drew little in resources from the 313th Wing or its other groups.
In early August, the mission of the 509th was revealed when the group flew the Atomic Bomb missions to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
. In November, the 509th was relieved from assignment to the 313th Bomb Wing and was reassigned to Roswell AAF, New Mexico.
After the Japanese surrender in August, 313th Bomb Wing units dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners and participated in show-of-force flights over Japan. As part of the postwar drawdown of forces, two of the Wing's groups, the 504h and 505th were inactivated in late 1945 and early 1946.
Another group, the 383d, was reassigned to the 313th Bomb Wing from Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
in September 1945 after the Eighth was drawn down on Okinawa. The Eighth Air Force was planned to be a second strategic Air Force to be used during the Invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
which never materialized. The 383d was inactivated in December with its aircraft and personnel returning to the United States.
In March 1946, the 313th was reassigned to Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...
in the Philippine Islands. In the Philippines, the wing was assigned the 5th Bomb Group from Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....
where it conducted Bombardment training, aerial reconnaissance and mapping and construction projects. The 5th Reconnaissance Group conducted many clandestine mapping missions over non-friendly areas of Asia during the postwar era. The wing itself began phasing down for inactivation in late 1947, with the 6th and 9th bomb groups being inactivated in June 1947, and finally the 5th bomb group in January 1948. The 313th Bombardment Wing was itself inactivated in June, 1948.
In March 1955, the organization was redesignated as the United States Air Force 313th Air Division (313th AD) as part of Far East Air Forces Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, being assigned to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Throughout the years of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, the 313th AD assumed responsibility for air defense of the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyushu in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...
and tactical operations in the Far East, maintaining assigned forces at the highest possible degree of combat readiness. In addition, it supported Fifth Air Force in the development, planning, and coordination of requirements for future Air Force operations in the Ryukyu Islands. The division also supported numerous PACAF exercises such as Cope Thunder, Cope Diamond, Team Spirit, and Cope North.
The 313th was inactivated on 1 October 1991 as part of a general drawdown of USAF forces in the Pacific after the end of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.