United States Army Air Forces Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Expansion== The Air Corps at the direction of President Roosevelt began a rapid expansion from the spring of 1939 forward, partly from the [[Civilian Pilot Training Program]] created at the end of 1938, with the goal of providing an adequate air force for defense of the Western Hemisphere. An initial "25-group program", announced in April 1939, called for 50,000 men. However, when war broke out in September 1939 the Air Corps still had only 800 first-line combat aircraft and 76 bases, including 21 major installations and depots.<ref>Futrell, Historical Study 69, pp. 2β7.</ref> American fighter aircraft were inferior to the British [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] and [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]], and German [[Messerschmitt Bf 110]] and [[Messerschmitt Bf 109|109]]. [[Ralph Ingersoll (PM publisher)|Ralph Ingersoll]] wrote in late 1940 after visiting Britain that the "best American fighter planes already delivered to the British are used by them either as advanced trainersβor for fighting equally obsolete Italian planes in the Middle East. That is all they are good for." RAF crews he interviewed said that by spring 1941 a fighter engaging Germans had to have the capability to reach 400 mph in speed, fight at 30,000β35,000 feet, be simple to take off, provide armor for the pilot, and carry 12 machine guns or six cannons, all attributes lacking in American aircraft.<ref name="ingersoll1940">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/ReportOnEngland#page/n157/mode/2up |title=Report on England, November 1940 |last=Ingersoll |first=Ralph |publisher=Simon and Schuster |year=1940 |location=New York |pages=139, 156β157}}</ref> Following the successful [[Battle of France|German invasion of France and the Low Countries]] in May 1940, Roosevelt asked Congress for a supplemental appropriation of nearly a billion dollars, a production program of 50,000 aircraft a year, and a military air force of 50,000 aircraft (of which 36,500 would be Army).<ref>Tate (1998), p. 172.</ref><ref group=n>Roosevelt's address to Congress took place on 16 May 1940. Less than two weeks later Congress passed a supplemental appropriation of more than a half billion dollars greater than requested. (Tate, p. 172)</ref> Accelerated programs followed in the Air Corps that repeatedly revised expansion goals, resulting in plans for 84 combat groups, 7,799 combat aircraft, and the annual addition to the force of 30,000 new pilots and 100,000 technical personnel.<ref>Craven and Cate, Vol. 1, pp. 105β106.</ref> The accelerated expansion programs resulted in a force of 156 airfields and 152,125 personnel at the time of the creation of the Army Air Forces.<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 3 β Strength of the AAF 1912β1945</ref> {{quote box |width=30em | bgcolor=#B0C4DE |align=left |quote=In its expansion during World War II, the AAF became the world's most powerful air force. From the Air Corps of 1939, with 20,000 men and 2,400 planes, to the nearly autonomous AAF of 1944, with almost 2.4 million personnel and 80,000 aircraft, was a remarkable expansion. Robert A. Lovett, the Assistant Secretary of War for Air, together with Arnold, presided over an increase greater than for either the ground Army or the Navy, while at the same time dispatching combat air forces to the battlefronts. |source="The Evolution of the Department of the Air Force" β Air Force Historical Studies Office<ref name="sum">{{cite web|url=http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15236|title=The Evolution of the Department of the Air Force|publisher=Air Force Historical Studies Office|access-date=11 October 2012|archive-date=5 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105183532/http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=15236|url-status=dead}}</ref> }} The [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion of the Soviet Union]], occurring only two days after the creation of the Army Air Forces, caused an immediate reassessment of U.S. defense strategy and policy. The need for an offensive strategy to defeat the [[Axis powers|Axis Powers]] required further enlargement and modernization of all the military services, including the new AAF. In addition, the invasion produced a new [[Lend-Lease|Lend lease]] partner in Russia, creating even greater demands on an already struggling American aircraft production.<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 173.</ref> An offensive strategy required several types of urgent and sustained effort. In addition to the development and manufacture of aircraft in massive numbers, the Army Air Forces had to establish a global logistics network to supply, maintain, and repair the huge force; recruit and train personnel; and sustain the health, welfare, and morale of its troops. The process was driven by the pace of aircraft production, not the training program,<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 231.</ref> and was ably aided by the direction of Lovett, who for all practical purposes became "Secretary of the Air Corps".<ref>Tate (1998), p. 189.</ref><ref group=n>The assistant secretary position had been vacant for eight years, since Roosevelt's inauguration in March 1933. Lovett had been elevated Assistant Secretary for Air to resolve the unity of command organizational problems of the Air Corps and had fashioned the compromise that had resulted in creation of the AAF. (Tate, p. 179)</ref> A lawyer and a banker, Lovett had prior experience with the aviation industry that translated into realistic production goals and harmony in integrating the plans of the AAF with those of the Army as a whole.<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 235.</ref> Lovett initially believed that President Roosevelt's demand following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] for 60,000 airplanes in 1942 and 125,000 in 1943 was grossly ambitious. However, working closely with General Arnold and engaging the capacity of the [[Automotive industry in the United States|American automotive industry]] brought about an effort that produced almost 100,000 aircraft in 1944.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 233β235.</ref><ref group=n>In all, the United States produced nearly 300,000 aircraft in the years 1941β1945 inclusive. (Nalty, p. 235)</ref> The AAF reached its wartime inventory peak of nearly 80,000 aircraft in July 1944, 41% of them first line combat aircraft, before trimming back to 73,000 at the end of the year following a large reduction in the number of trainers needed.<ref name="aafsd84"/><ref group=n>First line combat aircraft in July 1944 totaled 492 very heavy bombers; 10,431 heavy bombers; 4,458 medium bombers; 1,733 light bombers; 14,828 fighters; and 1,192 reconnaissance aircraft. The most numerous individual types were the B-24 Liberator (5,906), P-47 Thunderbolt (5,483), B-17 Flying Fortress (4,525), and C-47 Skytrain (4,454).</ref> The logistical demands of this armada were met by the creation of the [[Air Materiel Command|Air Service Command]] on 17 October 1941 to provide service units and maintain 250 depots in the United States; the elevation of the [[Air Materiel Command|Materiel Division]] to full command status on 9 March 1942 to develop and procure aircraft, equipment, and parts; and the merger of these commands into the [[Air Materiel Command|Air Technical Service Command]] on 31 August 1944.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 246β248.</ref> In addition to carrying personnel and cargo, the [[Air Transport Command]] made deliveries of almost 270,000 aircraft worldwide while losing only 1,013 in the process.<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 206 β AAF Ferrying Operations Jan 42 to Aug 45</ref> The operation of the stateside depots was done largely by more than 300,000 civilian maintenance employees, many of them women, freeing a like number of Air Forces mechanics for overseas duty.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 248β249.</ref> In all facets of the service, more than 420,000 civilian personnel were employed by the AAF.<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 19 β Civilian Personnel in Continental US, by Air Force or Command: Dec 1941 to Aug 1945</ref> ===Growth, aircraft=== {{Main article|United States aircraft production during World War II}} {| class="wikitable" |- |+USAAF aircraft types by year<ref name="aafsd84">''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 84 β Airplanes on Hand in the AAF, by Type and Principal Model</ref> |-style= !Type of aircraft !31 December 1941 !31 December 1942 !31 December 1943 !31 December 1944 !31 August 1945 !Date of maximum size |- | '''Grand total''' ||align=center|12,297 || align=center|33,304||align=center|64,232||align=center|72,726||align=center|63,715||July 1944 (79,908) |-style="background: #eeeeee;" | '''Combat aircraft'''||align=center|4,477||align=center|11,607||align=center|27,448||align=center|41,961||align=center|41,163||May 1945 (43,248) |- |Very heavy bombers||align=center|-||align=center|3||align=center|91||align=center|977||align=center|2,865||August 1945 (2,865) |- |[[Heavy bomber]]s||align=center|288||align=center|2,076||align=center|8,027||align=center|12,813||align=center|11,065||April 1945 (12,919) |- |[[Medium bomber]]s||align=center|745||align=center|2,556||align=center|4,370||align=center|6,189||align=center|5,384||October 1944 (6,262) |- |[[Light bomber]]s||align=center|799||align=center|1,201||align=center|2,371||align=center|2,980||align=center|3,079||September 1944 (3,338) |- |[[Fighter aircraft]]||align=center|2,170||align=center|5,303||align=center|11,875||align=center|17,198||align=center|16,799||May 1945 (17,725) |- |[[Reconnaissance aircraft]]||align=center|475||align=center|468||align=center|714||align=center|1,804||align=center|1,971||May 1945 (2,009) |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |'''Support aircraft'''||align=center|7,820||align=center|21,697||align=center|36,784||align=center|30,765||align=center|22,552||July 1944 (41,667) |- |[[Military transport aircraft]]||align=center|254||align=center|1,857||align=center|6,466||align=center|10,456||align=center|9,561||December 1944 (10,456) |- |[[Trainer aircraft]]||align=center|7,340||align=center|17,044||align=center|26,051||align=center|17,060||align=center|9,558||May 1944 (27,923) |- |Communications<ref group=n>Includes liaison and rotary wing aircraft</ref>||align=center|226||align=center|2,796||align=center|4,267||align=center|3,249||align=center|3,433||December 1943 (4,267) |} ===Growth, military personnel=== [[File:tuskegee airman poster.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tuskegee Airmen]] [[War bond]]s poster]] The huge increases in aircraft inventory resulted in a similar increase in personnel, expanding sixteen-fold in less than three years following its formation, and changed the personnel policies under which the Air Service and Air Corps had operated since the National Defense Act of 1920. No longer could pilots represent 90% of commissioned officers. The need for large numbers of specialists in administration and technical services resulted in the establishment of an [[Officer candidate school|Officer Candidate School]] in [[Miami Beach, Florida]], and the direct commissioning of thousands of professionals.<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 250.</ref> Even so, 193,000 new pilots entered the AAF during World War II, while 124,000 other candidates failed at some point during training or were killed in accidents.<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 259.</ref> The requirements for new pilots resulted in a massive expansion of the Aviation Cadet program, which had so many volunteers that the AAF created a reserve pool that held qualified pilot candidates until they could be called to active duty, rather than losing them in the draft. By 1944, this pool became surplus, and 24,000 were sent to the [[Army Ground Forces]] for retraining as [[infantry]], and 6,000 to the [[Army Service Forces]].<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 325.</ref> Pilot standards were changed to reduce the minimum age from 20 to 18, and eliminated the educational requirement of at least two years of college. Two fighter pilot beneficiaries of this change went on to become brigadier generals in the [[United States Air Force]], [[James Robinson Risner]] and [[Chuck Yeager|Charles E. Yeager]].<ref>Nalty (1997), p. 255.</ref> [[File:WAC Air Controller by Dan V. Smith.jpg|thumb|right|1943 portrait of [[Women's Army Corps|WAC]] air controller]] Air crew needs resulted in the successful training of 43,000 [[Bombardier (aircrew)|bombardiers]], 49,000 [[navigator]]s, and 309,000 flexible gunners, many of whom also specialized in other aspects of air crew duties.<ref group=n>The exact reported figures were 193,440 pilots; 43,051 bombardiers and bombardier-navigators; 48,870 navigators in all three disciplines (celestial, dead reckoning, and radar); and 309,236 flexible gunners. (''AIR FORCE Magazine'', June 1995, pp. 260β263)</ref> 7,800 men qualified as [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29]] flight engineers and 1,000 more as [[radar]] operators in [[night fighter]]s, all of whom received commissions. Almost 1.4 million men received technical training as aircraft mechanics, electronics specialists, and other technicians. Non-aircraft related support services were provided by airmen trained by the [[Army Service Forces]], but the AAF increasingly exerted influence on the curricula of these courses in anticipation of future independence.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 260β263.</ref><ref>Correll, "The US Army Air Forces at War", p. 36.</ref> [[African Americans|African-Americans]] comprised approximately six per cent of this force (145,242 personnel in June 1944).<ref name="sd10">''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 10 β Colored Military Personnel in Continental US and Overseas, By Type of Personnel: Aug 1942 to Aug 1945</ref> In 1940, pressured by [[Eleanor Roosevelt]] and some Northern members of [[United States Congress|Congress]], General Arnold agreed to accept blacks for pilot training, albeit on a [[racial segregation|segregated]] basis. A flight training center was set up at the [[Tuskegee University|Tuskegee Institute]] in [[Alabama]]. Despite the handicapβcaused by the segregation policyβof not having an experienced training cadre as with other AAF units, the [[Tuskegee Airmen]] distinguished themselves in combat with the [[332d Expeditionary Operations Group|332nd Fighter Group]]. The Tuskegee training program produced 673 black fighter pilots, 253 [[Martin B-26 Marauder|B-26 Marauder]] pilots, and 132 navigators.<ref>Bowman (1997), p. 161.</ref> The vast majority of African-American airmen, however, did not fare as well. Mainly [[conscription|draftees]], most did not fly or maintain aircraft. Their largely menial duties, indifferent or hostile leadership, and poor morale led to serious dissatisfaction and several violent incidents.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 251β252.</ref> Women served more successfully as part of the war-time Army Air Forces. The AAF was willing to experiment with its allotment from the unpopular [[Women's Army Corps|Women's Army Auxiliary Corps]] (WAACs) and became an early and determined supporter of full military status for women in the Army ([[Women's Army Corps]] or WACs). WACs serving in the AAF became such an accepted and valuable part of the service they earned the distinction of being commonly (but unofficially) known as "Air WACs".<ref name="ccxxxvi">Craven and Cate, Vol. 7, p. xxxvi</ref> Nearly 40,000 women served in the WAACs and WACs as AAF personnel,<ref name="waaf">Craven and Cate, Vol. 7, p. 514.</ref><ref group=n>39,323 WACs were assigned to the AAF in January 1945. Approximately 1,100 were African-American women assigned to ten segregated AAF units. (Craven and Cate, Vol. 7, p. 514)</ref> more than 1,000 as [[Women Airforce Service Pilots]] (WASPs), and 6,500 as [[Registered nurse|nurses]] in the Army Air Forces, including 500 flight nurses.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 253β254.</ref> 7,601 "Air WACs" served overseas in April 1945, and women performed in more than 200 job categories.<ref>Bowman (1997), p. 158.</ref> The Air Corps Act of July 1926 increased the number of general officers authorized in the Army's air arm from two to four. The activation of GHQAF in March 1935 doubled that number to eight and pre-war expansion of the Air Corps in October 1940 saw fifteen new general officer billets created.<ref>''Official Register of the United States 1941, Volume I'', U.S. Civil Service Commission publication, p. 48.</ref><ref group=n>The 15 new slots consisted of a lieutenant general, four major generals, and ten brigadier generals. (Official Register 1941)</ref> By the end of World War II, 320 generals were authorized for service within the wartime AAF.<ref>Finney (1955), p. 25.</ref> {{center|'''USAAC-USAAF Military Personnel Strength, 1939β1945'''<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 4 β Military Personnel in Continental U.S. and Overseas, By Type of Personnel.</ref>}} {| align=center class="wikitable" |-style="background: khaki" | align=center|'''Date'''||align=center|'''Total USAAF''' ||align=center|'''Tot Officers''' ||align=center|'''Tot Enlisted''' ||align=center|'''# overseas''' ||align=center|'''Officers o/s'''||align=center|'''Enlisted o/s''' |- | 31 July 1939 ||align=center|24,724|| align=center|2,636||align=center|22,088||align=center|3,991||align=center|272||align=center|3,719 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" | 31 December 1939||align=center|43,118||align=center|3,006||align=center|40,112||align=center|7,007||align=center|351||align=center|6,656 |- |31 December 1940||align=center|101,227||align=center|6,437||align=center|94,790||align=center|16,070||align=center|612||align=center|15,458 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |31 December 1941||align=center|354,161||align=center|24,521||align=center|329,640||align=center|25,884||align=center|2,479||align=center|23,405 |- |31 December 1942||align=center|1,597,049||align=center|127,267||align=center|1,469,782||align=center|242,021||align=center|26,792||align=center|215,229 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |31 December 1943||align=center|2,373,882||align=center|274,347||align=center|2,099,535||align=center|735,666||align=center|81,072||align=center|654,594 |- |31 March 1944 ('''Peak size''')||align=center|'''2,411,294'''||align=center|306,889||align=center|2,104,405||align=center|906,335||align=center|104,864||align=center|801,471 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |31 December 1944||align=center|2,359,456||align=center|375,973||align=center|1,983,483||align=center|1,164,136||align=center|153,545||align=center|1,010,591 |- |30 April 1945 ('''Peak overseas''')||align=center|2,329,534||align=center|388,278||align=center|1,941,256||align=center|'''1,224,006'''||align=center|163,886||align=center|1,060,120 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |31 August 1945||align=center|2,253,182||align=center|368,344||align=center|1,884,838||align=center|999,609||align=center|122,833||align=center|876,776 |} {{center|<small>1939β1940 totals were U.S. Army Air Corps</small>}} ===Growth, installations=== The Air Corps operated 156 installations at the beginning of 1941. An airbase expansion program had been underway since 1939, attempting to keep pace with the increase in personnel, units, and aircraft, using existing municipal and private facilities where possible, but it had been mismanaged, first by the [[Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)|Quartermaster Corps]] and then by the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]], because of a lack of familiarity with Air Corps requirements.<ref>Craven and Cate Vol. 6, pp. 134β136.</ref> The outbreak of war in Europe and the resulting need for a wide variety of facilities for both operations and training within the Continental United States necessitated comprehensive changes of policy, first in September 1941 by giving the responsibility for acquisition and development of bases directly to the AAF for the first time in its history,<ref>Craven and Cate Vol. 6, pp. 141β142.</ref> and then in April 1942 by delegation of the enormous task by Headquarters AAF to its user field commands and numbered air forces.<ref>Craven and Cate Vol. 6, pp. 145 and 150.</ref> In addition to the construction of new permanent bases and the building of numerous bombing and gunnery ranges, the AAF utilized civilian pilot schools, training courses conducted at college and factory sites, and officer training detachments at colleges. In early 1942, in a controversial move, the AAF Technical Training Command began leasing resort hotels and apartment buildings for large-scale training sites (accommodation for 90,000 existed in Miami Beach alone).<ref>Futrell, Historical Study 69, p. 112.</ref> The [[lease]]s were negotiated for the AAF by the Corps of Engineers, often to the economic detriment of hotel owners in rental rates, wear and tear clauses, and short-notice to terminate leases.<ref>Futrell, Historical Study 69, p. 167.</ref> In December 1943, the AAF reached a war-time peak of 783 airfields in the Continental United States.<ref name="Futrell p. 156">Futrell, Historical Study 69, p. 156.</ref> At the end of the war, the AAF was using almost 20 million acres of land, an area as large as [[Massachusetts]], [[Connecticut]], [[Vermont]], and [[New Hampshire]] combined.<ref>Craven and Cate, Vol. 6, pp. 120β121</ref> ====Installations==== {| align=center class="wikitable" |- |+CONUS installations<ref>Futrell, Historical Study 69, Chart I, p. 169.</ref> |- ! Type of facility||align=center| 7 December 1941 ||align=center| 31 December 1941 ||align=center| 31 December 1942 ||align=center| 31 December 1943 ||align=center| 31 December 1944 || [[VE Day]] || [[VJ Day]] |- | ''Total all installations''||align=center|''181''|| align=center|''197''||align=center|''1,270''||align=center|''1,419''||align=center|''1,506''||align=center|''1,473''||align=center|''1,377'' |-style="background: #eeeeee;" | '''Main bases'''||align=center|114||align=center|151||align=center|345||align=center|345||align=center|377||align=center|356||align=center|344 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" | '''Satellite bases'''||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|71||align=center|116||align=center|37||align=center|56||align=center|57 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |'''Auxiliary fields'''||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|198||align=center|322||align=center|309||align=center|291||align=center|269 |- |''Total CONUS airfields''||align=center|''114''||align=center|''151''||align=center|''614''||align=center|''783''||align=center|''723''||align=center|''703''||align=center|''670'' |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |'''Bombing & gunnery ranges'''||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|unk||align=center|-||align=center|480||align=center|473||align=center|433 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |'''Hospitals''' & other owned facilities||align=center|67||align=center|46||align=center|29||align=center|32||align=center|44||align=center|30||align=center|30 |- |Contract pilot schools||align=center|unk||align=center|unk||align=center|69||align=center|66||align=center|14||align=center|14||align=center|6 |- |Rented office space||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|unk||align=center|unk||align=center|79||align=center|109||align=center|103 |- |Leased hotels & apartment bldgs||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|464||align=center|216||align=center|75||align=center|75||align=center|75 |- |Civilian & factory tech schools||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|66||align=center|47||align=center|21||align=center|17||align=center|16 |-style= |College training detachments||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|16||align=center|234||align=center|2||align=center|1||align=center|1 |- |Specialized storage depots||align=center|-||align=center|-||align=center|12||align=center|41||align=center|68||align=center|51||align=center|43 |} {| align=center class="wikitable" |- |+Overseas airfields <ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 217 β Airfields outside CONUS 1941β1945.</ref> |- ! Location || 31 December 1941 || 31 December 1942 || 31 December 1943 || 31 December 1944 || [[VE Day]] || [[VJ Day]] |- | US possessions|| align=center|19||align=center|60||align=center|70||align=center|89||align=center|130||align=center|128 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" | North America||align=center|7||align=center|74||align=center|83||align=center|67||align=center|66||align=center|62 |- | Atlantic islands||align=center|5||align=center|27||align=center|-||align=center|20||align=center|21||align=center|21 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |South America||align=center|-||align=center|27||align=center|28||align=center|22||align=center|32||align=center|32 |- |Africa||align=center|-||align=center|73||align=center|94||align=center|45||align=center|31||align=center|21 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |Europe||align=center|-||align=center|33||align=center|119||align=center|302||align=center|392||align=center|196 |- |Australia||align=center|-||align=center|20||align=center|35||align=center|10||align=center|7||align=center|3 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |Pacific islands||align=center|-||align=center|21||align=center|65||align=center|100||align=center|57||align=center|56 |- |Asia||align=center|-||align=center|23||align=center|65||align=center|96||align=center|175||align=center|115 |-style="background: #eeeeee;" |'''Total overseas'''||align=center|'''31'''||align=center|'''358'''||align=center|'''559'''||align=center|'''751'''||align=center|'''911'''||align=center|'''634''' |} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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