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The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been stationed in the continental United States. It was one of the oldest continuously active numbered air forces in the United States Air Force.
Established on 14 December 1942 at Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield, on New Caledonia, 13 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the Pacific Theater of World War II. It engaged in operations primarily in the South Pacific, attacking enemy forces in the Solomon Islands, Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaigns; Mariana and Palau Islands campaigns and the Philippines campaign (1944 45).
During the Cold War, 13 AF remained in the Philippines, providing air defense of the nation and becoming one of the Numbered Air Forces of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). During the Korean War, its units provided staging areas for people and equipment destined for the war zone. As the Vietnam War escalated during the late 1960s and early 1970s, 13th AF provided command and control for USAF units stationed in Thailand, its units conducting combat missions throughout Indochina until August 1973. 13 AF units last engaged in combat during the SS Mayaguez Incident in May 1975.
Returning to the Philippines after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, the command remained there until the 1991 evacuation of Clark Air Base after the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the United States withdrawal of military forces afterward.
It was inactivated on 28 September 2012 and its functions merged with PACAF.
Thirteenth Air Force has never been stationed in the continental United States; it is also one of the oldest, continuously active, numbered air forces. It engaged in combat in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Since World War II, it has provided air defense in the Far East, primarily the Philippines, until the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo forced the closure of Clark AB. Numerous Thirteenth Air Force organizations participated in Southeast Asia combat operations in the 1960s and 1970s.
Lineage Established as Thirteenth Air Force on 14 December 1942 Activated on 13 January 1943
Assignments U.S. Army Forces Far East, 14 December 1942 Assigned to Far East Air Forces on 15 June 1944 Assigned to Pacific Air Force (later, Pacific Air Force/FEAF [Rear]), on 17 May 1955 Assigned to Pacific Air Forces, on 1 July 1957
Stations Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield, New Caledonia, Melanesia (January 1943) Pekoa Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, (January 1943 January 1944) Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, (January June 1944) Momote Airfield, Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, (June September 1944) Hollandia, New Guinea (September 1944) Hollandia Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, (September October 1944) Wama Airfield, Morotai, Netherlands East Indies, (October 1944 March 1945 Clark AAFld, Luzon, Philippines, (March 1945 January 1946) Fort William McKinley, Luzon, Philippines, 30 May 1946 Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines, 15 August 1947 Kadena AB, Okinawa, 1 December 1948 Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, August 1958 25 April 1979 Tainan Air Base, Taiwan, 27 January 1955 7 January 1976 Clark AFB (Later Clark Air Base), Luzon, Philippines, 16 May 1949 Andersen AFB, Guam, 2 December 1991 May 2005 Hickam AFB, Hawaii, May 2005 28 Sep 2012
World War II Commands During World War II, 13th AF consisted of two major commands, XIII Fighter Command and XIII Bomber Command.
XIII Fighter Command Activated on 13 January 1943. Served in combat with Thirteenth AF until the end of the war. Inactivated in the Philippines on 15 March 1946. Disbanded on 8 October 1948.
Groups 18th Fighter Group (1943 47) (P-40F, P-39, P-38, P-61, P-70) (Transferred from Fifth Air Force, Hickam Field, Hawaii in March 1943). 347th Fighter Group (1942 45) (P-39, P-38, P-40, P-400) (Established on New Caledonia on 3 October 1942) 4th Reconnaissance Group (1943 45) (F-4 (P-38)) 403d Troop Carrier Group (1943 46) (C-46, C-47)
Unattached Units: Det B 6th Night Fighter Squadron (February September 1943) (P-70, P-38) Reassigned to 7th Air Force, 1943. 419th Night Fighter Squadron (April November 1943) (P-38, P-61) Activated April 1943 with P-38s, Reassigned to 18th Fighter Group, November 1943. Reequipped with P-61s May 1944. Served in New Guinea, Philippines. Inactivated February 1947. 550th Night Fighter Squadron (1944 46) (P-61) Activated June 1944. Received P-61s January 1945. Served in New Guinea, Philippines. Inactivated January 1946. 7th Radio Squadron, Mobile (J) XIII Bomber Command Activated on 13 January 1943. Served in combat with Thirteenth AF until the end of the war. Inactivated in the Philippines on 15 March 1946. Disbanded on 8 October 1948.
Groups 5th Bombardment Group (1943 46) (B-17, B-24) (Deployed to Espiritu Santo in November 1942, reassigned from Seventh Air Force in January 1943). 11th Bombardment Group (1943) (B-17, B-24) (Deployed to New Hebrides in July 1942, reassigned from Seventh Air Force in January 1943. Reassigned back to Seventh Air Force, May 1943 and transferred to Hawaii) 42d Bombardment Group (1943 45) (B-25, B-26) (Reassigned from Second Air Force antisubmarine patrol duty, March 1943) 307th Bombardment Group (1943 45) (B-17, B-24) (Reassigned from Seventh Air Force, February 1943) 868th Bombardment Squadron (Unattached) (1944 45) (B-24) Formerly 349th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group. The planes flown by the 868th were often called SB-24s and sometimes LABs (Low Altitude Bomber). They were equipped with SRC-717-B search and navigation radar. Formed into 868th Bomb Squadron in January 1944 and operated independently within the 13th AF.
