II Air Support Command
Encyclopedia
The II Air Support Command is an inactive United States Air Force
unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force
, based at Biggs Field, Texas
. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945.
The unit participated in various air-ground maneuvers, supported ground units in training, and put on air support demonstrations.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. It was last assigned to Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, based at Biggs Field, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was inactivated on 22 December 1945.
The unit participated in various air-ground maneuvers, supported ground units in training, and put on air support demonstrations.
Lineage
- Constituted as II Air Support Command on 21 August 1941
- Activated on 1 September 1941
- Redesignated II Ground Air Support Command in April 1942
- Redesignated II Air Support Command in September 1942
- Redesignated II Tactical Air Division in August 1943
- Inactivated on 22 December 1945
- Disbanded on 8 October 1948.
Components
- 48th Bombardment Group48th Operations GroupThe 48th Operations Group is the flying component of the 48th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The group is stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England.-Assigned Units:...
, 1 September 1941-2 May 1942 - 71st Reconnaissance Group71st Operations GroupThe 71st Operations Group is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 71st Flying Training Wing. It is stationed at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma....
, 1 October 1941-March 1942; August 1942-November 1943 - 77th Reconnaissance Group77th Aeronautical Systems WingThe 77th Aeronautical Systems Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio....
, 12 March-24 May 1942; 7 September 1942-6 August 1943
- Attached to III Ground Air [later, III Air] Support Command, 7 September 1942-5 August 1943
- 312th Bombardment Group, 15–16 March 1942
Stations
- Fort DouglasFort Douglas, UtahCamp Douglas was established in October 1862 as a small military garrison about three miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah, for the purpose of protecting the overland mail route and telegraph lines along the Central Overland Route. In 1878, the post was renamed Fort Douglas. The fort was officially...
, UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, 1 September 1941 - Will Rogers Field, OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, c. October 1941 - Birmingham MAP, AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, c. 1 April 1942 - Geiger Field, Washington, 26 May 1942
- Reno Army Air Base, NevadaNevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, 27 May 1942 - Colorado Springs Army Air Base, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, July 1942
- Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, 15 March 1943 - DeRidder Army Airbase, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, c. 31 March 1944 - Stuttgart Army Airfield, ArkansasArkansasArkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, February 1945 - Barksdale Field, LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, c. 12 November 1945 - Biggs Field, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, c. 23 November-22 December 1945.