V Fighter Command
Encyclopedia
The V Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force
, based at Fukuoka AB
, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946.
During World War II
the unit initially controlled fighter units in the Northwestern United States. In 1942, V Fighter Command became the primary command and control organization for Fifth Air Force
, fighter units operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Its assigned units participated in aerial combat in the Fifth Air Force Area of Responsibility (AOR) flying cover missions for convoys, patrols, escorted bombers, attacked enemy airfields, and supported ground forces.
Afterward, served with the occupation force in Japan before being inactivated in 1946.
*Note; Does not include periods detached to combat wings
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. It was last assigned to 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....
, based at Fukuoka AB
Fukuoka Airport
, formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m...
, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946.
During World War II
World 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...
the unit initially controlled fighter units in the Northwestern United States. In 1942, V Fighter Command became the primary command and control organization for 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....
, fighter units operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Its assigned units participated in aerial combat in the Fifth Air Force Area of Responsibility (AOR) flying cover missions for convoys, patrols, escorted bombers, attacked enemy airfields, and supported ground forces.
Afterward, served with the occupation force in Japan before being inactivated in 1946.
Lineage
- Constituted as II Interceptor Command on 26 May 1941
- Activated on 4 June 1941
- Redesignated: II Fighter Command in May 1942
- Redesignated: V Fighter Command in August 1942.
- Inactivated on 31 May 1946
- Disbanded on 8 October 1948
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....
, 4 June 1941 – 2 October 1942 - 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....
, 5 September 1942 – 8 October 1948
Units
- 3d Air Commando Group*: 13 December 1944 – 25 March 1946
- 8th Fighter Group*: November 1942-31 May 1946
- 35th Fighter Group*: 11 November 1942 – 10 November 1945
- 38th Bombardment Group38th Bombardment GroupThe 38th Bombardment Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. It was most recently assigned as the operational component of the 38th Bombardment Wing, stationed at Laon-Couvron Air Base, France, where it was inactivated on 8 December 1957.During World War II the 38th Bomb Group...
*: 1 August 1942 – 22 November 1945 - 42d Bombardment Group42d Air Base WingThe 42nd Air Base Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command Air University. It is stationed at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Alabama...
: 1946 - 49th Fighter Group*: 11 November 1942 – 10 November 1945
- 54th Fighter Group (Interceptor)54th Fighter-Interceptor GroupThe 54th Fighter-Interceptor Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit, last assigned to the Air Defense Command, being stationed at Greater Pittsburgh Airport, Pennsylvania...
: 1941 - 55th Fighter Group (Interceptor)55th WingThe 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The unit is stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska....
: 1941 - 58th Fighter Group*: 6 March – 23 November 1945
- 312th Bombardment Group: 19 November 1943 – 16 January 1944
- 348th Fighter Group348th Fighter GroupThe 348th Fighter Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with V Fighter Command, stationed at Itami Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 10 May 1946....
: 23 June 1943 – 10 May 1946 - 475th Fighter Group: 14 May 1943 – 1 February 1946
*Note; Does not include periods detached to combat wings
Stations
- Fort George WrightFort George WrightFort George Wright is a land area located in Spokane, Washington. It is named after General George Wright, who had been stationed in the area....
, Washington, 4 June 1941 - Fort LawtonFort LawtonFort Lawton is a United States Army fort located in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. The fort was included in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure list.-History:...
, Washington, 19 June 1941 – 2 October 1942 - RAAF Base TownsvilleRAAF Base TownsvilleRAAF Base Townsville is, along with RAAF Base Tindal and RAAF Base Darwin, one of northern Australia's primary defence installations. It is also Headquarters for No...
, Australia, 5 September–December 1942 - Wards Airfield (5 Mile Drome)Wards AirfieldWards Airfield is a former World War II airfield near Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The airfield was abandoned after the war and was developed into the Waigani area of Port Moresby....
, Port MoresbyPort MoresbyPort Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, December 1942 - Nadzab AirfieldLae Nadzab AirportLae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport located in Lae, Papua New Guinea. It is served by regional aircraft with domestic flight.-Airlines and destinations:-History:...
, New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, January 1944 - Owi AirfieldOwi AirfieldOwi Airfield is a World War II airfield located on Pulau Owi island in the Schouten Islands, Indonesia.The airfield was built by the Americans and used as a major command and control, as well as an operational fighter and bomber base in from the summer of 1944 until the end of the war in September...
, Schouten IslandsSchouten IslandsThe Indonesian Schouten Islands are an island group of Papua province, eastern Indonesia in the Cenderawasih Bay 50 km off the north-western coast of the island of New Guinea...
, Netherlands East Indies, July 1944
- Bayug AirfieldBayug AirfieldBayug Airfield is a World War II airfield located in the east of Burauen, Leyte, Philippines, and to the west of San Pablo Airfield, to the north of the Marabong River in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war.-History:...
, LeyteLeyteLeyte is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Tacloban City and occupies the northern three-quarters of the Leyte Island. Leyte is located west of Samar Island, north of Southern Leyte and south of Biliran...
, Philippines, November 1944 - McGuire FieldMcGuire FieldFor the airport in the United States, see San José International AirportSan Jose Airport , formerly known as McGuire Field, is an airport serving the general area of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro in the Philippines. It is one of three airports in Occidental Mindoro, the others being Mamburao...
, MindoroMindoroMindoro is the seventh-largest island in the Philippines. It is located off the coast of Luzon, and northeast of Palawan. The southern coast of Mindoro forms the northeastern extremum of the Sulu Sea.-History:...
, Philippines, January 1945 - Clark Field, 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...
, Philippines, March 1945 - Hamasaki (Motobu Airfield)Motobu AirfieldMotobu Airfield is a World War II airfield on the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa, near the East China Sea coast. The airfield was deactivated after 1945.-History:...
, Okinawa, August 1945 - Itazuke ABFukuoka Airport, formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m...
, Japan, October 1945-31 May 1946.