XXI Bomber Command
Encyclopedia
The XXI Bomber Command was a unit of the Twentieth Air Force
in Guam
for strategic bombing during World War II
.
, Kansas
on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization and its assigned groups receiving their B-29 Superfortress
aircraft, the command transferred first to Peterson Field
, Colorado
, the deployed to the southwest Pacific, being headquartered at Harmon Field, Guam, in the Mariana Islands
.
The XX Bomber Command was the main operational component of Twentieth Air Force
in the Pacific War
. Its assigned units engaged in very-long range bombardment operations primarily against Japan
until mid-Jul 1945. Although each wing of the command conducted general bombardment operations, the wings did have specific areas on which their units concentrated:
The history of XXI Bomber Command terminated on 16 July 1945. On that date the command was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Twentieth Air Force. This redesignation brought to an end the XXI Bomber Command as a separate establishment, as it was absorbed into the internal organizational structure of Twentieth Air Force and was placed under the command of United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific
.
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...
in Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
for strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II
Strategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature between 1939 and 1945 involving any nations engaged in World War II...
.
Lineage
- Constituted as XXI Bomber Command on 1 Mar 1944, and activated the same day.
- Inactivated 16 Jul 1945
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....
, 1 Mar - 4 Dec 1944 - 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...
, 4 Dec 1944 - 16 Jul 1945
Bases Assigned
- Smoky Hill AAFSalina Municipal AirportSalina Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Salina, a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. It is owned by the Salina Airport Authority....
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, 1 Mar - 11 Jun 1944 - 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...
, 11 Jun - 20 Oct 1944 - Harmon AirfieldHarmon Air Force BaseHarmon Air Force Base is a former World War II United States Army Air Forces airfield, and postwar United States Air Force Base on Guam in the Mariana Islands. Originally named "Depot Field", it was renamed in honor of Lieutenant General Millard F. Harmon, who was killed on a routine flight from...
, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Marianas Islands, 4 Dec 1944 - 16 Jul 1945
Units assigned
- 58th Bombardment Wing58th Air DivisionThe 58th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. It was inactivated on 1 February 1959.- B-29 development :...
: 1945 - 73d Bombardment Wing73d Air DivisionThe 73d Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Air Defense Command, based at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida. It was inactivated on 1 April 1966.-World War II:...
: 1944 - 1945 - 313th Bombardment Wing313th Air DivisionThe 313th Air Division 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.-History:...
: 1944 - 1945 - 314th Bombardment Wing314th Air DivisionThe 314th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, based at Osan AB, South Korea. It was inactivated in September 1986....
: 1944 - 1945 - 315th Bombardment Wing315th Air DivisionThe 315th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, based at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated in April 1969.-History:...
: 1945
Operational history
The XXI Bomber Command was established at Smoky Hill AAFSalina Municipal Airport
Salina Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located three nautical miles southwest of the central business district of Salina, a city in Saline County, Kansas, United States. It is owned by the Salina Airport Authority....
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
on 1 March 1944. After a period of organization and its assigned groups receiving their 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...
aircraft, the command transferred first to Peterson Field
Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement...
, Colorado
Colorado
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...
, the deployed to the southwest Pacific, being headquartered at Harmon Field, Guam, in the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The 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...
.
The XX Bomber Command was the main operational component 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...
in the Pacific War
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
. Its assigned units engaged in very-long range bombardment operations primarily against Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
until mid-Jul 1945. Although each wing of the command conducted general bombardment operations, the wings did have specific areas on which their units concentrated:
- 58th Bomb Wing, Based at West Field, 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....
.
- The first B-29 Superfortress Wing in the Pacific War, the wing was initially based in IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with XX Bomber CommandXX Bomber CommandThe XX Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based on Okinawa. It was inactivated on July 16, 1945.- History:...
. The 58th commanded the 40th, 444th, 462nd and 468th Bomb Groups, and concentrated primarily on Japanese industrial targets.
- 73d Bomb Wing, Based at Isley Field, SaipanSaipanSaipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
.
- The 73d was the second B-29 wing in the Pacific, and It was composed of the 497th, 498th, 499th and 500th Bomb Groups. The primary mission of the 73d was the firebombing of Japan, flying low-level night missions dropping incendiary bombs over wide areas to destroy Japanese industry and military capability.
- 313th Bomb Wing, Based at North FieldAndersen Air Force BaseAndersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
, 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....
.
- The 313th was initially composed of four bomb groups - the 6th, 9th, 504th, and 505th. Its participated in the fire-bombing raids, but its primary mission was the mining of Japanese sea lanes. The mining operation was conceived by the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. At the time, it was considered a secondary mission, but later analysis revealed that it had a devastating effect. Japan was an island nation highly dependent on imports, especially fuel and food. The operation resulted in imports being reduced by almost 95%. This caused enormous shortages.
- 314th Bomb Wing, Based at North FieldAndersen Air Force BaseAndersen Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam....
, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
.
- The 314th Wing began operations from Guam in February 1945. It consisted of the 19th, 29th, 39th and 330th Bomb Groups. It participated in the fire bombing, but the first ten day blitz resulting in the Army Air Forces running out of incendiary bombs. Like her sister wings, the 314th then flew conventional strategic bombing missions using high explosive bombs.
- 315th Bomb Wing, Based at Northwest Field, GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
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- The fifth and last B-29 wing to be assigned to XXI Bomber Command, it consisted of the 16th, 331st, 501st and 502d Bomb Groups. The groups of the 315th were equipped with the fast B-29B variant armed only with a radar controlled tail turret and fitted with Eagle radar. Its mission was the destruction of the Japanese petroleum industry.
The history of XXI Bomber Command terminated on 16 July 1945. On that date the command was redesignated Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Twentieth Air Force. This redesignation brought to an end the XXI Bomber Command as a separate establishment, as it was absorbed into the internal organizational structure of Twentieth Air Force and was placed under the command of United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific
United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific
The United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific was a World War II command and control authority of the strategic United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific Theater.-Overview:...
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