IX Tactical Air Command

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IX Tactical Air Command
392d Fighter Squadron Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning 42-12982.jpg
P-38 Lightning of a command unit[note 1]
Active1943-1945
Country United States
Branch United States Air Force
RoleCommand of fighter bomber units
EngagementsEuropean Theater of Operations[1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Maj Gen Elwood Richard Quesada

The IX Tactical Air Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was at Camp Shanks, New York, where it was inactivated on 25 October 1945.

History[]

Formed in England during 1943 as the IX Air Support Command. The primary mission of the command was to provide tactical close air support of the United States First Army ground forces to interdict concentration of enemy forces, attack communications and ammunition dumps, and harass the enemy's retreat as well as provide reconnaissance to bombing support.

It was redesignated as IX Tactical Air Command in April 1944 in England, and its mission initially was attacking battle field isolation, interdicting transportation and communication networks and enemy supplies in Occupied France and the Low Countries in preparation for the Normandy Invasion in June. Targets included bridges, roads, railroads and enemy interceptor aircraft both on the ground as well as in air-to-air combat.

After D-Day, IX Tactical Air Command Republic P-47 Thunderbolts attacked enemy targets initially in the Cotentin Peninsula, then supported Operation Cobra, the breakout of Normandy and attacked enemy forces in the Falaise-Argentan Gap. Targets were expanded to include enemy tanks, vehicles of all types, and troop formations. Many times targets of opportunity on the ground were spotted and attacked when seen. Coordinated attacks were made with Allied ground forces and when Allied forces attacked strong enemy defenses, the enemy defenses received machine-gun and attacked by rockets and bombs from the Thunderbolts. In the air, IX Tactical Air Command aggressively sought combat with Luftwaffe aircraft and cleared the skies above the battlefield of enemy aircraft.

Wing headquarters and subordinate units operated primarily from liberated airfields and newly built temporary Advanced Landing Grounds in France, moved into north-central France, its groups attacking enemy targets near Paris then north-west into Belgium and the southern Netherlands. In December 1944/January 1945, engaged enemy targets on the north side of the Battle of the Bulge, then moved eastward into the Northern Rhineland as part of the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Supported First Army as it crossed the Rhine River at Remagen then moved north to attack ground targets in the Ruhr, providing air support as Allied ground forces encircled enemy forces in the Ruhr Pocket, essentially ending organized enemy resistance in Western Germany. First Army halted its advance at the Elbe River in late April 1945, the wing engaging targets of opportunity in enemy-controlled areas until combat was ended on 5 May 1945.

It remained in Europe after the war as part of United States Air Forces in Europe, performing occupation duty and the destruction or shipment to the United States of captured enemy combat equipment. Assigned units also performed air defense duty over the American Zone of Occupation. It returned to the United States and was inactivated during October 1945.

Lineage[]

  • Constituted as the IX Air Support Command on 29 November 1943
Activated on 4 December 1943
Redesignated IX Tactical Air Command c. 24 April 1944
Inactivated on 25 October 1945
Disbanded on 8 October 1948[1]

Assignments[]

  • Ninth Air Force, 4 December 1943[2]
  • Unknown, 17 August 1945 – 25 October 1945

Components[]

Wings
Groups
  • 36th Fighter Group: 28 January – 15 November 1945[4]
  • 48th Fighter Group: 31 March 1944 – 28 April 1945
  • 50th Fighter Group: 4 April-29 September 1944 (under operational control of 84th Fighter Wing, 7 April - 29 September 1944)
  • 358th Fighter Group: Attached 1 August-1 October 1944; 1 October 1944-16 January 1945
  • 362d Fighter Group: Attached 13 April-1 August 1944
  • 363d Fighter Group: Attached 23 December 1943 – 1 August 1944
  • 365th Fighter Group: Attached 22 December 1943 – 1 August 1944; 1 August-1 October 1944
  • 366th Fighter Group: 5 May-1 October 1944; 22 October 1944-28 January 1945
  • 367th Fighter Group: Attached 3 October 1944 – 16 January 1945
  • 368th Fighter Group: Attached 1 August-1 October 1944; 1 October 1944-16 January 1945
  • 370th Fighter Group: Attached 1 August-1 October 1944; 1 October 1944-1 February 1945
  • 404th Fighter Group: 16 January – 1 August 1945; Attached 1 August-26 October 1944
  • 474th Fighter Group: Attached 1 August 1944 – 21 November 1945
Squadrons
  • 422d Night Fighter Squadron: 12 March-4 May 1944; 7 October 1944-30 September 1945[5]

Stations[]

References[]

Notes[]

Explanatory notes
  1. ^ Aircraft is Lockheed P-38G-10-LO Lightning, serial 42-12982 of the 367th Fighter Group.
Citations
  1. ^ a b Maurer, Combat Units, p. 448
  2. ^ Ream, Margaret (5 October 2020). "Factsheet Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Maurer, Combat Units, p. 448 (year only).
  4. ^ Robertson, Patsy (5 July 2017). "Factsheet 36 Operations Group (PACAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  5. ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, pp. 518-519
  6. ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 31.
  7. ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 28.
  8. ^ Station number in Johnson, p. 77.
  9. ^ Station number in Johnson, p. 54.
  10. ^ Station information in Maurer, Combat Units, p. 448, except as noted.

Bibliography[]

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.

External links[]

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