V Fighter Command

V Fighter Command
Active	4 June 1941 – 8 October 1948
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Command and Control

The V Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Fifth Air Force, based at Fukuoka AB, Japan. It was inactivated on 31 May 1946.

During World War II the unit initially controlled fighter units in the Northwestern United States. In 1942, V Fighter Command became the primary command and control organization for Fifth Air Force, fighter units operating primarily in the Southwest Pacific Theater. Its assigned units participated in aerial combat in the Fifth Air Force Area of Responsibility (AOR) flying cover missions for convoys, patrols, escorted bombers, attacked enemy airfields, and supported ground forces.

Afterward, served with the occupation force in Japan before being inactivated in 1946.

History

Lineage

• Constituted as II Interceptor Command on 26 May 1941

Activated on 4 June 1941

Redesignated: II Fighter Command in May 1942

Redesignated: V Fighter Command in August 1942.

Inactivated on 31 May 1946

Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

• Second Air Force, 4 June 1941 – 2 October 1942
• Fifth Air Force, 5 September 1942 – 8 October 1948

Units

• 3d Air Commando Group*: 13 December 1944 – 25 March 1946
• 8th Fighter Group*: November 1942-31 May 1946
• 35th Fighter Group*: 11 November 1942 – 10 November 1945
• 38th Bombardment Group*: 1 August 1942 – 22 November 1945
• 42d Bombardment Group: 1946
• 49th Fighter Group*: 11 November 1942 – 10 November 1945

• 54th Fighter Group (Interceptor): 1941
• 55th Fighter Group (Interceptor): 1941
• 58th Fighter Group*: 6 March – 23 November 1945
• 312th Bombardment Group: 19 November 1943 – 16 January 1944
• 348th Fighter Group: 23 June 1943 – 10 May 1946
• 475th Fighter Group: 14 May 1943 – 1 February 1946

*Note; Does not include periods detached to combat wings

Stations

• Fort George Wright, Washington, 4 June 1941
• Fort Lawton, Washington, 19 June 1941 – 2 October 1942
• RAAF Base Townsville, Australia, 5 September–December 1942
• Wards Airfield (5 Mile Drome), Port Moresby, December 1942
• Nadzab Airfield, New Guinea, January 1944
• Owi Airfield, Schouten Islands, Netherlands East Indies, July 1944

• Bayug Airfield, Leyte, Philippines, November 1944
• McGuire Field, Mindoro, Philippines, January 1945
• Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, March 1945
• Hamasaki (Motobu Airfield), Okinawa, August 1945
• Itazuke AB, Japan, October 1945-31 May 1946.

See also

• United States Army Air Forces in Australia (World War II)

References

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

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.