VIII Air Support Command
Encyclopedia
The VIII Air Support Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces
unit. Its last assignment was with Eighth Air Force
, stationed at Sunninghill, Berkshire
, England. It was inactivated on 1 December 1943.
VIII Air Support Command engaged in training, with one reconnaissance and one troop carrier group assigned, until July 1943. Afterward, carried out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent until October 1943 when all components and personnel were withdrawn from the command
The command was inactivated and its units reassigned to other Eighth and Ninth Air Force units on 1 December 1943.
The mission of VIII Ground Air Support Command was initially training and reconnaissance and troop transport. The transport units were reassigned to the new Twelfth Air Force in late 1942. In February 1943, the command's mission was expanded to carrying out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent.
In February 1941, the first Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers were accepted by the USAAF. It was to be in the European theatre where the Marauder was to achieve its greatest success. In the United Kingdom, the Marauder formed the basis of the medium bomber forces of the VIII Air Support Command. The first B-26s arrived in the United Kingdom in February 1943. They were to be used in low-level missions against German military targets on the Continent.
On 16 October 1943, the B-26 Marauder units were reassigned to IX Bomber Command, leaving VIII Air Support Command without any operational units. Its command staff was reassigned to other units, and the command was inactivated on 1 December 1943
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
unit. Its last assignment was with 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....
, stationed at Sunninghill, Berkshire
Sunninghill, Berkshire
Sunninghill is a village in the civil parish of Sunninghill and Ascot in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English shire county of Berkshire-Location:...
, England. It was inactivated on 1 December 1943.
VIII Air Support Command engaged in training, with one reconnaissance and one troop carrier group assigned, until July 1943. Afterward, carried out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent until October 1943 when all components and personnel were withdrawn from the command
The command was inactivated and its units reassigned to other Eighth and Ninth Air Force units on 1 December 1943.
Lineage
- Constituted as VIII Ground Air Support Command and activated on 24 April 1942
- Redesignated VIII Air Support Command in September 1942
- Disbanded on 1 December 1943.
Components
- 3d Bombardment Wing98th Bombardment Wing (World War II)The 98th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Force Reserve, based at Bedford Field, Massachusetts...
: (B-26B/C Marauder), 7 June 1942 – 16 October 1943
- Reassigned to IX Bomber Command (Ninth Air ForceNinth Air ForceThe Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command . It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina....
) on 16 October 1943 (Redesignated as 98th Bombardment Wing) - 322d Bombardment Group
- RAF Bury St. Edmunds (USAAF Station 468), 1 December 1942
- RAF Andrews FieldRAF Andrews FieldRAF Station Andrews Field is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately east-northeast of Great Dunmow; about north-northeast of London...
(USAAF Station 485), 1 January – 16 October 1943
- 323d Bombardment Group
- RAF HorhamRAF HorhamRAF Horham is a World War II era airfield in England. The field is located next to the village of Horham, England, and 4 miles SE of Eye in Suffolk. The large site straddled the parishes of Denham, Horham and Hoxne.-USAAF use:...
(USAAF Station 119), 1 May 1943 - RAF Earls Colne (USAAF Station 358), 14 June – 16 October 1943
- RAF Horham
- 386th Bombardment Group
- RAF Snetterton HeathRAF Snetterton HeathRAF Snetterton Heath is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located on the A11, 6 miles SW of Attleborough in Norfolk.-Overview:...
(USAAF Station 138), 3 June 1943 - RAF BoxtedRAF BoxtedRAF Boxted is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northeast of Colchester; about northeast of London...
(USAAF Station 150), 10 June 1943 - RAF Great DunmowRAF Great DunmowRAF Station Great Dunmow is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately mi west of Great Dunmow, north of the A 120; about miles northeast of London...
(USAAF Station 164), 24 September – 16 October 1943
- RAF Snetterton Heath
- 387th Bombardment Group
- RAF Chipping OngarRAF Chipping OngarRAF Station Chipping Ongar is a former World War II airfield in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately northeast of Chipping Ongar; about northeast of London...
(USAAF Station 162), 25 June – 16 October 1943
- RAF Chipping Ongar
- 51st Troop Carrier Wing51st Troop Carrier Wing (World War II)The 51st Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the United States Air Forces in Europe. It was inactivated on 5 January 1948....
, (C-47 Skytrain), 19 July – 15 November 1942
- Reassigned to Twelfth Air Force on 23 November 1942
- 60th Troop Carrier Group60th Operations GroupThe 60th Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing. It is stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California....
- RAF ChelvestonRAF ChelvestonRAF Station Chelveston was a military airfield located on the south side of the A45, 5 miles east of Wellingborough, near the village of Chelveston in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom....
(USAAF Station 105), 12 June 1942 - RAF AldermastonRAF AldermastonRAF Aldermaston was a World War II airfield. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Eighth and Ninth Air Force as a troop carrier group base, and was assigned USAAF station No 467.-Origins:...
(USAAF Station 467), 7 August – 7 November 1942
- RAF Chelveston
- 62d Troop Carrier Group62d Operations GroupThe 62d Operations Group is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 62d Airlift Wing. It is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington....
- RAF KeevilRAF KeevilRAF Keevil is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 4 miles east of Trowbridge, Wiltshire.The airfield was built on a site previously ear-marked for the purpose in the mid 1930s...
(USAAF Station 471), 25 September – 15 November 1942
- RAF Keevil
- 64th Troop Carrier Group (Attached from Twelfth Air Force)
- RAF RamsburyRAF RamsburyRAF Station Ramsbury is a former World War II airfield in Wiltshire, England. The airfield is located approximately east-northeast of Marlborough; about west of London. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force. During the war it was used primarily...
(USAAF Station 469), 1 August – 7 November 1942
- RAF Ramsbury
Stations
- Bolling Field, DC, 28 April 1942
- Savannah, AAB, GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, 29 May-c. 20 July 1942 - Bushy Park (AAF-586), England, July 1942
- RAF MemburyRAF MemburyRAF Station Membury is a former World War II airfield built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately mi north-northwest of Hungerford, at the Membury services stop of the M4 motorway; about miles west-southwest of London...
(AAF-466), England, 21 August 1942 - Sunninghill Park (AAF-472), England, 19 October 1942 – 1 December 1943.
Operational history
The VIII Ground Air Support Command (GASC) was constituted on 28 April 1942 at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. commanded by Col. Robert C. Candee and assigned to Eighth Air Force. Col. Candee was promoted to Briadier General and deployed the VIII GASC to England, but did not open its headquarters at Membury in Berkshire until 17 August where took control of a troup carrier wing whose two groups, the 60th and 64th, were stationed at Aldermarston and Ramsbury, both places in the vicinity of Membury.The mission of VIII Ground Air Support Command was initially training and reconnaissance and troop transport. The transport units were reassigned to the new Twelfth Air Force in late 1942. In February 1943, the command's mission was expanded to carrying out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent.
In February 1941, the first Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers were accepted by the USAAF. It was to be in the European theatre where the Marauder was to achieve its greatest success. In the United Kingdom, the Marauder formed the basis of the medium bomber forces of the VIII Air Support Command. The first B-26s arrived in the United Kingdom in February 1943. They were to be used in low-level missions against German military targets on the Continent.
On 16 October 1943, the B-26 Marauder units were reassigned to IX Bomber Command, leaving VIII Air Support Command without any operational units. Its command staff was reassigned to other units, and the command was inactivated on 1 December 1943