Thirteenth Expeditionary Air Force

Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force patch
Active	13 January 1943
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Part of	Pacific Air Forces
Garrison/HQ	Hickam Air Force Base
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant General Loyd "Chip" Utterback

Thirteenth Air Force (13 AF)/General George C. Kenney Headquarters (KHQ) is a United States Air Force "Component-Numbered Air Force" (C-NAF) and warfighting headquarters in Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). [1] It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

13th AF has never been stationed in the continental United States. It is also one of the oldest, continuously active, numbered air forces.

Mission

The mission of 13th AF is to plan, command and control, deliver, and assess air, space, and information operations in the Asia-Pacific region (less Korea Theater of Operations) across the security spectrum from humanitarian assistance to combat operations. The command is charged with performing the planning, execution, and assessment of operations in support of Commander, U.S. Pacific Command's objectives. The 13th AF commander is positioned to be the Commander, Air Force Forces (COMAFFOR), combined/joint force air component commander (C/JFACC), or joint task force commander for operational and contingency missions.

Organization

Headquarters, 13 AF is made up of an A-staff and personal staff (the Air Force Forces staff), 613th Air and Space Operations Center (AOC), known as the Maj Richard Bong AOC, and the 613th Support Group. The 613th AOC is one of the U.S. Air Force’s five full capability AN/USQ-163 FALCONER weapon systems with the ability to plan, task, execute, monitor and assess full spectrum air, space, and information operations for the COMAFFOR and/or C/JFACC. The AOC serves as the nerve center of air operations during any campaign.

Units

Two wings are permanently assigned to 13 AF:

• 15th Airlift Wing, Hickam AFB Hawaii
  Partnered with the Hawaii Air National Guard, the 15th AW provides strategic and tactical airlift with its eight C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and command airlift with one specially configured C-40 and one C-37. It also serves as an important en-route location for transient aircraft.

• 36th Wing, Andersen AFB, Guam
  The 36th WG has an expansive mission to support global projection and reach from its strategic location in the Pacific.

On Jan. 5, 2007, Detachment 1, 13 AF was activated at Yokota AB, Japan. Det 1 is responsible for planning, coordinating and executing air operations around Japan in coordination with the Japan Air Self Defense Force, through the Fifth Air Force staff at Yokota, and the 613th Air and Space Operations Center (AOC) at Hickam.

The 613th Support Group maintains a consolidated commander’s support staff providing personnel support for the entire headquarters; an operational support flight providing facility, training, readiness, and security management; and has two subordinate units: the 56th Air and Space Communications Squadron and the 17th Operational Weather Squadron.

History

Thirteenth Air Force was constutied on 14 December 1942, and activated in New Caledonia in the Coral Sea on 13 January 1943. It engaged in combat in the Pacific during World War II. Since World War II, it has provided air defense in the Far East, primarily the Philippines, until the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo forced the closure of Clark AB. Numerous Thirteenth Air Force organizations participated in Southeast Asia combat operations in the 1960s and 1970s. In 2005, the 13AF was retooled and renamed for General George Kenney, commander of the air operations in the South Pacific during World War II.

World War II

Stations

• New Caledonia (January 1943)
• Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides (January 1943 - January 1944)*
• Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (January - June 1944)*
• Los Negros (June - September 1944)
• Hollandia, New Guinea (September 1944)
• Noemfoor (September - October 1944)
• Morotai, Lete, Phillipines (October 1944 - March 1945)
• Clark AAFld, Luzon, Phillipines (March 1945 - January 1946)

.* Part of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East, Part of Far East Air Forces after June 1944.

Commands

During World War II, the command consisted of two major commands, XIII Fighter Command and XIII Bomber Command.

XIII Fighter Command

Activated on 13 January 1943. Served in combat with Thirteenth AF until the end of the war. Inactivated in the Philippines on 15 March 1946. Disbanded on 8 October 1948.

Groups

• 18th Fighter Group (1943-46)
• 347th Fighter Group (1943-45)
• 414th Fighter Group (1946)

XIII Bomber Command

Activated on 13 January 1943. Served in combat with Thirteenth AF until the end of the war. Inactivated in the Philippines on 15 March 1946. Disbanded on 8 October 1948.

Groups

• 5th Bombardment Group (1943-46)
• 11th Bombardment Group (1943)
• 42d Bombardment Group (1943-45)
• 307th Bombardment Group (1943-45)

Operational History

13th Air Force began operations as an organization composed of many widely separated and independent units scattered throughout the Pacific. From 1943-1945, 13 AF staged out of tropical jungles on more than 40 remote islands, thus earning the nickname, "The Jungle Air Force."

Initially charged with taking a defensive stand against advancing enemy forces, 13AF later took the offensive and traveled northeast from the Solomons to the Admiralty Islands, New Guinea, Morotai and the Philippines. Jungle Air Force units have participated in five different operation areas and 13 campaigns, flying a variety of aircraft, including the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, P-40 Warhawk, P-61 Black Widow, C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain, and L-5 Sentinel.

It was 13th Air Force P-38Gs of the 339th Fighter Squadron of the 347th Fighter Group which, on 18 April 1943, flew the mission which resulted in the death of Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.

File:13AFHQ.jpg

The Headquarters of the Thirteenth Air Force on Clark Air Base in 1956

Thirteenth Air Force established its headquarters at Clark Field, Philippines, in January 1946. In May of that year, it moved to Fort William McKinley, Luzon. By August 1947, 13AF returned to Clark Field. In December 1948, the unit moved to Kadena, Okinawa, where it remained for only a few months before returning to Clark in May 1949.

Korean War

During the Korean War, 13AF units provided staging areas for people and equipment destined for the war zone. During the decade of peace that followed the war, the command concentrated on training and surveillance activities to maintain a high state of readiness for contingencies.

Vietnam War

As the Vietnam War escalated during the late 1960s and early 1970s, 13AF again served as a staging base and logistics manager for units fighting in Southeast Asia. As more American aircraft and people were poured into the war effort, combat units and facilities under 13AF in Thailand increased. At its peak, 13AF was composed of seven combat wings, nine major bases, 11 smaller installations and more than 31,000 military members.

With the buildup and execution of Operations Desert Shield and Storm, 13AF provided aircraft and support staff vital to the United Nations victory in Southwest Asia.

Post Cold War

In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo buried Clark in volcanic ash, forcing the base to close on 26 November and leading to the evacuation of assigned military members and their families in Operation Fiery Vigil. The Thirteenth Air Force relocated and officially established its headquarters at Andersen Air Force Base on December 2, 1991.

In 2005, the Jungle Air Force stood down as a traditional Numbered Air Force and moved to Hickam Air Force Base to assume the role of the new Kenney Warfighting Headquarters for PACAF, which was activated in provisional status in June, 2005.

On Oct. 6, 2006, after a one-year transformation of command and control of air, space and information operations in the Pacific, Thirteenth Air Force officially began operations as a component numbered air force headquarters and welcomed a new commander. Former Pacific Air Forces Deputy Commander, Lt. Gen. Loyd S. “Chip” Utterback, assumed command of the unit Oct. 6, replacing Maj. Gen. Edward A. Rice, Jr., who had commanded Thirteenth Air Force from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and Hickam since January 2005. Previously designated as a management headquarters, Thirteenth Air Force is now one of 10 organizations designed to enhance the operational level support, planning, command, control and execution of air, space and information operations capabilities across the full range of military operations throughout the U.S. Pacific Command’s area of responsibility (minus the Korea theater of operations).

Commands during World War II

• XIII Bomber Command 1943-46
• XIII Fighter Command 1943-46

See also

• Pacific Air Forces

References

Much of this text in of this article was taken from pages on the Pacific Air Forces website, which as a work of the U.S. Government is presumed to be a public domain resource.