Ninth Air Force
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The Ninth Air Force began life in the United States as a numbered close air support command, this establishment became the major tactical air force in the European Theater of Operations during World War II.
Most of the Ninth Air Force was created from USAAF units which had been part of the U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) fighting in the Egypt-Libya Campaign in late 1942. As the Ninth Air Force they were initally under the overall command of AFHQ in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. In 1943 they moved to the United Kingdom with their headquarters at R.A.F Burtonwood, England in 1943. They left behind the heavy bombers of IX Bomber Command which joined the newly created Fifteenth Air Force. Following the war, Ninth Air Force served as one of the tactical air forces of Tactical Air Command.
Presently assigned to Air Combat Command, Ninth Air Force also serves as the Air Force component to the United States Central Command. It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina.
Commands During World War II
- IX Bomber Command 1942-45
- IX Air Defense Command 1944-45
- IX Fighter Command 1942-45
- IX Tactical Air Command 1943-45
- IX Troop Carrier Command 1943-44
- XIX Tactical Air Command 1944-45
- XXIX Tactical Air Command 1945
External links
- 9th Air Force web site (http://www.centaf.af.mil/)
- GlobalSecurity.org 9th Air Force info page (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/usaf/9af.htm)