Northwest African Strategic Air Force
The Northwest African Strategic Air Force (NASAF) was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Effective February 18, 1943, the NASAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943 when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Major General Jimmy Doolittle was the commander of NASAF.[1] However, during at least one critical period of the Tunisian Campaign at the end of February, 1943, General Carl Spaatz, the commander of NAAF, placed most of the strategic bombers at the disposal of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, commander of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force.[2]
The components of NASAF at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943 are illustrated below.[3][4][5]
| 5th Bomb Wing (USAAF)
Brigadier General Joseph Atkinson |
47th Bomb Wing (USAAF)
Brigadier General Carlyle Ridenour |
*2686th Bomb Wing(USAAF)
Brigadier General Robert M. Webster |
No. 205 Group
Air Commodore John Simpson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Thomas 340th Squadron, B-17 Fortress |
310th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Anthony Hunter 379th Squadron, B-25 Mitchell |
17th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Charles Greening 34th Squadron, B-26 Marauder |
No. 231 Wing (RAF)
No. 37 Squadron, Wellington |
| 97th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Leroy Rainey 20th Squadron, B-17 Fortress |
321st Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Robert Knapp 445th Squadron, B-25 Mitchell |
319th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Gordon Austin 437th Squadron, B-26 Marauder |
No. 236 Wing (RAF)
No. 104 Squadron, Wellington |
| 99th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Fay Upthegrove 346th Squadron, B-17 Fortress |
82nd Fighter Group (USAAF) Colonel John Weltman 95th Squadron, P-38 Lightning |
320th Bombardment Group (USAAF) Colonel Karl Baumeister 441st Squadron, B-26 Marauder |
No. 330 Wing (RAF)
No. 142 Squadron, Wellington |
| 301st Bombardment Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Samuel Gormly, Jr. 32nd Squadron, B-17 Fortress |
325th Fighter Group (USAAF) Lieutenant Colonel Robert Baseler 317th Squadron, P-40 Warhawk |
No. 331 Wing (RCAF)
No. 420 Squadron, Wellington | |
| 1st Fighter Group (USAAF) Major Joseph Peddie 27th Squadron, P-38 Lightning |
|||
| 14th Fighter Group (USAAF) Colonel Oliver Taylor 37th Squadron, P-38 Lightning |
- The 2686th Medium Bombardment Wing (Provincial) was activated on June 6, 1943 at Sedrata, Algeria and disbanded on September 3, 1943 at Ariana, Tunisia. Although the 42nd Bombardment Wing (Medium) is sometimes used to refer to the wing during this period, the 42nd Wing was actually the successor of the 2686th Wing.[6]
References
Notes
- ↑ Craven and Cate 1949, p. ?.
- ↑ Richards and Saunders 1953, p. ?.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 USAAF 1945, p. ?.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Maurer 1983, pp. 377–378, 390–393.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Howe 1991, p. ?.
- ↑ The Reduction of Pantelleria and Adjacent Islands, 8 May-14 June 1943, by Edith C. Rogers (1947) p. 75, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL
Bibliography
- Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983). ISBN 0-912799-03-X.
- Howe, George F. Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 1991.
- Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983.
- Richards, D. and H. Saunders. The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945, Volume 2. HMSO, 1953.
- US Army AIr Force. Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign (Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 37). Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters, 1945.