United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area
Encyclopedia
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 United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

 engaged in combat against the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....

 Area. As defined by the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

, this consisted of the Pacific Ocean areas which lay south of the Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....

 between longitude 159° East and 110° West. It included New Zealand, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

, Fiji, and most of the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

.

The major USAAF combat organizations in the region was Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...

, which was formed in November 1942 as a command and control organization to organize many widely separated Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....

 and independent units scattered in the South Pacific Area during the Solomon Islands campaign
Solomon Islands campaign
The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...

. As the war progressed, Thirteenth Air Force units moved into the South West Pacific theatre and coordinated their activities with Fifth
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....

 and Seventh Air Force
Seventh Air Force
The Seventh Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea....

 units in New Guinea
New Guinea
New 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...

, the Netherlands East Indies and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 during 1944 and 1945.

Airfields and unit assignments

  • Carney Airfield
    Carney Airfield
    Carney Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. It is located near Koli Point about fifteen miles from Henderson Field, closes to the Metapona River to the east and the Naumbu River to the west...

    , Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

    , Solomon Islands
09°26′07.20"S 160°09′30.40"E
Headquarters, Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...

, 21 January – 15 June 1944
Headquarters, XIII Bomber Command
XIII Bomber Command
The XIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946....

, 20 August 1943 – June 1944
Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command
XIII Fighter Command
The XIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Manila, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946....

, December 1943-15 August 1944
18th Fighter Group
18th Wing
The United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force’s largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force....

, 17 April 1943 – 23 August 1944
347th Fighter Group
347th Rescue Group
The United States Air Force's 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody AFB, Georgia.-Mission:...

, 29 December 1943 – 15 January 1944
4th Reconnaissance Group
4th Reconnaissance Group
The 4th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force and was stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 January 1946....

, 6 May – 12 December 1944
419th Night Fighter Squadron
419th Night Fighter Squadron
The 419th Night Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, being inactivated at Floridablanca, Luzon on February 20, 1947.-History:...

, 15 November 1943 – 21 August 1944

  • Henderson Field, Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

    , Solomon Islands
09°25′40.8"S 160°03′17.24"E
5th Bombardment Group
5th Bomb Wing
The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot...

, 19 August 1943 – 4 February 1944

  • Koli Airfield
    Koli Airfield
    Also known as "Bomber 3 Field", Koli Airfield is a former World War II airfield on Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, located near Koli Point, fifteen miles east of Henderson Field, close to the Metapona River to the east and the Naumbu River to the west...

    , Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal
    Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

    , Solomon Islands
09°27′28.94"S 160°10′41.50"E
42d Bombardment Group
42d Air Base Wing
The 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...

, 6 June – 20 October 1943
307th Bombardment Group, February 1943-28 January 1944

  • Munda Airfield
    Munda Airport
    Munda Airport is an airport in Munda on New Georgia Island in the Solomon Islands .-History:A Japanese directive in late October 1942 called for an air base to be built at Munda Point, about 150 miles northwest of Guadalcanal and Henderson Field....

    , New Georgia
    New Georgia
    New Georgia is the largest island of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands.-Geography:This island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of the other larger islands in the province...

    , Solomon Islands
08°19′40.69"S 157°15′47.13"E
5th Bombardment Group
5th Bomb Wing
The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot...

, 4 February – 7 April 1944
307th Bombardment Group, 28 January – 29 April 1944

  • Stirling Airfield
    Mono Airport
    Mono Airport is an airport on Mono Island in the Solomon Islands .-History:Following the Allied invasion of the Northern Solomon Islands on October 25–27, 1943, an airstrip was built on Stirling Island by the United States Navy 87th Construction battalion...

    , Stirling Island
    Stirling Island
    Stirling Island is the smaller island of the Treasury Islands, Solomon Islands, at . It is separated from the largest Mono Island by Blanche Harbor. Stirling Island is composed of coral which was once part of the barrier reef surrounding Mono Island....

    , Solomon Islands
7°24′58"S 155°33′55"E
42d Bombardment Group
42d Air Base Wing
The 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...

, 20 January–August 1944
347th Fighter Group
347th Rescue Group
The United States Air Force's 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody AFB, Georgia.-Mission:...

, 15 January – 15 August 1944


  • Buka Airfield
    Buka Airport
    Buka Airport is an airport serving Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.It is located at the southern end of the island, near Buka Passage behind the town of Buka, and pre-war Chinatown. The airport terminal is about 1.5 kilometres from the Buka Township...

    , Bougainville
    Bougainville Island
    Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. This region is also known as Bougainville Province or the North Solomons. The population of the province is 175,160 , which includes the adjacent island of Buka and assorted outlying islands...

    , Solomon Islands
05°25′20.34"S 154°40′21.60"E
419th Night Fighter Squadron
419th Night Fighter Squadron
The 419th Night Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, being inactivated at Floridablanca, Luzon on February 20, 1947.-History:...

 (DET), 25 January – 27 May 1944

  • Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
    Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield
    Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield is a former World War II airfield on New Caledonia, Melanesia in the South Pacific. It is located at Plaine Des Gaiacs near the village of Pouembout...

    , New Caledonia
    New Caledonia
    New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

    , Melanesia
    Melanesia
    Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...

21°12′50.47"S 164°52′21.11"E (Approximate)
Headquarters, Thirteenth Air Force
Thirteenth Air Force
The Thirteenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States...

, 13–21 January 1943
Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command
XIII Fighter Command
The XIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Manila, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946....

, 13–22 January 1943
42d Bombardment Group
42d Air Base Wing
The 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...

, 20 October 1943 – 20 January 1944
347th Fighter Group
347th Rescue Group
The United States Air Force's 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody AFB, Georgia.-Mission:...

, 3 October – 29 December 1943
4th Reconnaissance Group
4th Reconnaissance Group
The 4th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force and was stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 January 1946....

, 22 November 1942 – 23 January 1943

  • Luganville Airfield
    Santo-Pekoa International Airport
    Santo-Pekoa International Airport is an airport in Luganville on Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu . Airports Vanuatu Limited provides aviation services for the airport.-Airlines and destinations:-History:...

    , Espiritu Santo
    Espiritu Santo
    Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....

    , New Hebrides
    New Hebrides
    New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...

15°30′18.12"S 167°13′11.07"E
Headquarters, XIII Bomber Command
XIII Bomber Command
The XIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946....

, 13 January – 20 August 1943
Headquarters, XIII Fighter Command
XIII Fighter Command
The XIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Manila, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946....

, 22 January–December 1943
5th Bombardment Group
5th Bomb Wing
The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot...

, 1 December 1942 – 19 August 1943
11th Bombardment Group
11th Wing
The 11th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Force District of Washington. It is stationed at Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, Maryland. It is the host unit at Joint Base Andrews....

, 22 July 1942 – 8 April 1943
18th Fighter Group
18th Wing
The United States Air Force's 18th Wing is the host wing for Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan and is the Air Force’s largest combat wing. It is the largest and principal organization in the Pacific Air Forces Fifth Air Force....

, 11 March – 17 April 1943
4th Reconnaissance Group
4th Reconnaissance Group
The 4th Reconnaissance Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force and was stationed at Clark Field, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 January 1946....

, 23 January 1943 – 6 May 1944
403d Troop Carrier Group
403d Wing
403d Wing is a unit of the United States Air Force assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command. It is located at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi, and employs a military manning authorization of more than 1,400 reservists, including some 250 full-time air reserve technicians.403d Wing performs...

, 13 September 1943 – 30 August 1944

  • Nandi Airfield
    Nadi International Airport
    Nadi International Airport is the main international gateway for the islands of Fiji. It serves about 1.2 million people per year, and is the main hub of Air Pacific. The airport is 10km from the city of Nadi. In 2009 it handled 1,220,000 passengers on international and domestic...

    , Viti Levu
    Viti Levu
    Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji, the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.- Geography and economy :...

    , Fiji Islands
17°45′19"S 177°26′36"E
42d Bombardment Group
42d Air Base Wing
The 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...

, 22 April – 6 June 1943


See also

  • United States Army Air Forces in the Pacific War (1941–1945)
    • USAAF in Australia
      United States Army Air Forces in Australia
      During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces established a series of airfields in Australia for the collective defense of the country, as well as for conducting offensive operations against the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy...

    • USAAF in the Central Pacific
      United States Army Air Forces in the Central Pacific Area
      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...

    • USAAF in the Southwest Pacific
      United States Army Air Forces in the South West Pacific Theatre
      During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces engaged in combat against the air, ground and naval forces of the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Theatre....

    • USAAF in Okinawa
      United States Army Air Forces in Okinawa
      The Battle of Okinawa was the last major ground battle between the armed forces of the Empire of Japan and the United States of the Pacific War.United States Army and United States Marine Corps ground forces landed on the island on 1 April 1945 at 08:30 am. The Battle of Okinawa lasted 83 days...


External links

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