United States Army Air Forces in the Central Pacific Area

Airfields of the United States Army Air Force in the Central Pacific Area
Part of World War II
Date 1942-1945 Location Central Pacific Area of World War II Result Allied victory over the Empire of Japan (1945)

During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces engaged in combat against the Empire of Japan in the Central Pacific Area. As defined by the War Department, this consisted of most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands, excluding the Philippines, Australia, the Netherlands East Indies, the Territory of New Guinea (including the Bismarck Archipelago) the Solomon Islands and areas to the south and east of the Solomons.

The initial USAAF combat organization in the region was Seventh Air Force, which was originally formed in Hawaii as the Army Air defense command for the islands. After the Pearl Harbor Attack on 7 December 1941, Seventh Air Force retained the mission of its predecessor of the defense of the Hawaiian Islands and until the closing months of the war it maintained its headquarters at Hickam Field. The command however, deployed most of its combat units to the Central Pacific.

As the war progressed, some Seventh Air Force units moved into the South West Pacific theatre and coordinated their activities with Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force units in New Guinea, Netherlands East Indies and Philippines during 1944 and 1945.

In 1944, Twentieth Air Force was reassigned from the China Burma India Theater to bases in the Marianas chain of islands, consisting primarily of Saipan, Tinian, and Guam. The Marianas airfields were considered as being ideal bases from which to launch B-29 Superfortress operations against Japan. The islands were about 1500 miles from Tokyo, a range which the B-29s could just about manage. Most important of all, they could be put on a direct supply line from western United States ports by ship.

Seventh Air Force operations focused on supporting Army and Naval forces in the tactical campaigns against Japanese forces in the Central Pacific, while Twentieth Air Force performed strategic bombing missions directly against the Japanese home islands.

Airfields and unit assignments

• Abemama Airfield, Abemama, Gilbert Islands

30th Bombardment Group, 4 Jan-20 Mar 1944

9th Troop Carrier Squadron, 27 Mar-4 Aug 1944

• Funafuti Airfield, Nanumea, Gilbert Islands

Headquarters, VII Bomber Command, Nov 1943-Jan 1944

11th Bombardment Group, 9 Nov 1943-14 Jan 1944

30th Bombardment Group, 12 Nov 1943-4 Jan 1944

• Makin Airfield, Makin, Gilbert Islands

41st Bombardment Group, 24 Apr-14 Oct 1944

• Tarawa Airfield, Tarawa, Gilbert Islands

Headquarters, VII Bomber Command, Jan-Mar 1944

11th Bombardment Group, 14 Jan-5 Apr 1944

41st Bombardment Group, 17 Dec 1943-24 Apr 1944

• Peleliu Airfield, Peleliu

28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 5 Oct 1944-Apr 1945

• Kwajalein Airfield, Kwajalein, Marshall Islands

Headquarters, VII Bomber Command, Mar-Aug 1944

11th Bombardment Group, 5 Apr-25 Oct 1944

30th Bombardment Group, 20 Mar-4 Aug 1944

28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 30 Jun-24 Sep 1944

• Central Field, Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands (Japan)

Headquarters, VII Fighter Command, 1 Mar - 1 Dec 1945

21st Fighter Group, 26 Mar-16 Jul 1945

41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 9 Aug-c. 15 Sep 1945

548th Night Fighter Squadron, 5 Mar-12 Jun 1945

549th Night Fighter Squadron, (Ground Echelon), 14 Mar 1945 - 5 Feb 1946

• North Field, Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands (Japan)

21st Fighter Group, 16 Jul-4 Dec 1945

• Isley Airfield, Saipan, Mariana Islands

Seventh Air Force

Headquarters, Seventh Air Force, 19 Dec 1944-12 Jul 1945

Headquarters, VII Bomber Command, Aug-Jul 1944

Headquarters, VII Fighter Command, 1 Dec 1945 – 15 Apr 1946

21st Fighter Group, 4 Dec 1945-17 Apr 1946

318th Fighter Group, Jun 1944-30 Apr 1945

30th Bombardment Group, 4 Mar 1944-Feb 1945

28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 11 Jul 1944-May 1945

9th Troop Carrier Squadron, 4 Aug 1944-Jul 1946

6th Night Fighter Squadron, 21 Jun 1944 - 1 May 1945

548th Night Fighter Squadron, 15 Dec 1944-28 Jan 1945 (DET); 26 Jan-5 Mar 1945

549th Night Fighter Squadron, (Air Echelon), 20 Feb 1945 - 20 Mar 1945

Twentieth Air Force

Headquarters, 73d Bombardment Wing

497th Bombardment Group

498th Bombardment Group

499th Bombardment Group

500th Bombardment Group

• Agana Airfield, Guam, Marianas Islands

Seventh Air Force

11th Bombardment Group, 25 Oct 1944-Jul 1945

• Harmon Airfield, Guam, Marianas Islands

Twentieth Air Force

Headquarters, Twentieth Air Force, 16 Jul 1945-16 May 1949

Headquarters, XXI Bomber Command, 4 Dec 1944 - 16 Jul 1945

• North Field, Guam, Mariana Islands

Twentieth Air Force

314th Bombardment Wing

19th Bombardment Group

29th Bombardment Group

39th Bombardment Group

330th Bombardment Group

• Northwest Field, Guam, Mariana Islands

Seventh Air Force

21st Fighter Group, 17 Apr-10 Oct 1946.

41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 13 Jun 1945-4 Jan 1946

Twentieth Air Force

315th Bombardment Wing

16th Bombardment Group

331st Bombardment Group

501st Bombardment Group

502d Bombardment Group

• North Field, Tinian, Mariana Islands

Twentieth Air Force

Headquarters, 313th Bombardment Wing

6th Bombardment Group

9th Bombardment Group

504th Bombardment Group

505th Bombardment Group

509th Composite Group

See Also

• United States Army Air Forces in Australia
• United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area
• United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific Theatre
• United States Army Air Forces in Okinawa

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0892010924.
• Mauer, Mauer (1969), Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II, Air Force Historical Studies Office, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. ISBN 0892010975