U.S. Army Air Force Pilot Ww2 Propaganda P51 P38 Tee

U.S. Army Air Force Pilot Ww2 Propaganda T Shirt

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The basic combat component of the Army Air Forces was the group, an organization of three or four flying squadrons and attached or organic ground support elements, which was the rough equivalent of a regiment of the Army Ground Forces. The Army Air Forces fielded a peak of 269 combat groups during World War II, and an operational peak in 1945 of 243 combat groups. The Air Service and its successor the Air Corps had established 15 combat groups between 1919 and 1937, which on 1 January 1940 were designated:

    * 1st Pursuit Group (Interceptor)[
    * 2nd Bombardment Group (Heavy)
    * 3d Bombardment Group (Light)
    * 4th Composite Group
    * 5th Bombardment Group (Medium)
    * 6th Bombardment Group (Medium)
    * 7th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
    * 8th Pursuit Group (Fighter)
    * 9th Bombardment Group (Medium)
    * 10th Transport Group[52]
    * 16th Pursuit Group (Interceptor)
    * 17th Pursuit Group[52]
    * 18th Pursuit Group (Interceptor)
    * 19th Bombardment Group (Heavy)
    * 20th Pursuit Group (Fighter)

With the buildup of the military forces beginning February 1, 1940, the Air Corps expanded from 15 to 30 combat groups. By the time the United States entered World War II, the number had increased to 67, but half were in the process of being organized and were unsuitable for combat. Of the 67 groups formed or being organized, 26 were bombardment: 13 Heavy Bomb groups (B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator), and the rest Medium and Light groups (B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, and A-20 Havoc). 26 were Pursuit groups (renamed fighter group in May 1942), 9 Observation (renamed Reconnaissance) groups, and 6 Transport (renamed Troop Carrier or Combat Cargo) groups.

In the first half of 1942 the Army Air Forces expanded rapidly. The extant training establishment was inadequate to train units wholesale, and so a concept was adopted of training cadres who would direct the training of their assigned units. The Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) was established 9 October 1942 to provide this training. By the beginning of 1944 there were 269 groups. 136 were deployed overseas, and of the remainder still in the United States, 77 were being organized and trained for overseas deployment. The other 56 served as defense units, as Operational Training Units (OTUs) preparing new units for combat, and as Replacement Training Units (RTUs) to train personnel replacements.
Early in 1944, all training was assigned to base units (non-standard administrative organizations of all units at a particular airfield under a single headquarters, and commonly seen designated as "AAF Base Units") and the OTUs and RTUs inactivated, reducing the number of groups to 218. However, with the formation and deployment of the remaining 25 new groups, the USAAF grew to its final form and at the time of the Invasion of Normandy in June 1944, 148 combat groups were fighting against Germany. By August 1945, when all combat operations ended, 86 groups were deployed in the Pacific and Far East, and the remaining force was either in occupation duties in Europe or re-deploying to the United States.
After the operational deployment of the B-29 Superfortress bomber, Very Heavy Bombardment units became part of the force structure. In February 1945, in its final organizational structure, the USAAF fielded 243 combat groups:

    * 25 Very Heavy, 72 Heavy, 20 Medium, and 8 Light Bombardment groups;
    * 71 Fighter groups;
    * 29 Troop Carrier and Combat Cargo groups;
    * 13 Reconnaissance groups; and
    * 5 Composite groups.

1,226 combat squadrons were active in the USAAF between December 7, 1941 and September 1, 1945. In 1945 a total of 937 squadrons remained active, with 872 assigned to the various groups. 65 squadrons, mostly reconnaissance and night fighter, were not assigned to groups but as separate units under higher command echelons.