| Fourth Air Force | |
|---|---|
 Fourth Air Force emblem |
|
| Active | December 18, 1940 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Part of | Air Force Reserve Command |
| Garrison/HQ | March Air Reserve Base, CA |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Carroll W. McColpin |
Fourth Air Force is a Numbered Air Force in Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) and is located at March Air Reserve Base, Riverside, California. It is an intermediate echelon responsible primarily for all Air Mobility Command (AMC) gained AFRC air refueling units in the United States and AMC gained AFRC strategic airlift units in the western United States.
Contents |
Current structure
- Section source: USAF-AFRC[1]
- Beale Air Force Base
- Grissom Air Reserve Base
- Lackland Air Force Base
- March Air Reserve Base
- McChord Air Force Base
- McConnell Air Force Base
- Scott Air Force Base
- Tinker Air Force Base
- Travis Air Force Base
- Wright Patterson Air Force Base
History
Lineage
- Established as Southwest Air District on October 19, 1940
- Activated on December 18, 1940
- Redesignated: 4 Air Force on March 26, 1941
- Redesignated; Fourth Air Force on September 18, 1942
- Discontinued, and inactivated on September 1, 1960
- Activated on January 20, 1966
- Organized on April 1, 1966
- Inactivated on September 30, 1969
- Redesignated Fourth Air Force (Reserve) on September 24, 1976
- Activated in the Reserve on October 8, 1976
- Redesignated Fourth Air Force on December 1, 1985.
Assignments
- General Headquarters Air Force (later, Air Force Combat Command), December 18, 1940
- Western Defense Command, December 11, 1941
- United States Army Air Forces, September 10, 1943
- Continental Air Forces, December 13, 1944
- Air Defense Command, March 21, 1946
- Continental Air Command, December 1, 1948 – September 1, 1960
- Air (later, Aerospace) Defense Command, January 20, 1966 – September 30, 1969
- Air Force Reserve (later, Air Force Reserve Command), October 8, 1976 – .
Stations
- March Fld, California, December 18, 1940
- Riverside, California, January 20, 1941
- Hamilton Fld, California, December 7, 1941
- San Francisco, California, January 5, 1942
- Hamilton Fld (later, AFB), CA,
- June 19, 1946 – September 1, 1960
- April 1, 1966 – September 30, 1969
- McClellan AFB, California, October 8, 1976
- March ARB, California, April 1, 1998 –
Components
Commands
- I Staging: November 19, 1945 – April 3, 1946
- 4th Air Force Service (later, 4th Air Force Base; IV Air Force Base): October 1, 1941 – March 31, 1942
- 4th Air Support (later, IV Air Support; IV Ground Air Support): September 3, 1941 – August 17, 1942
- 4th Antiaircraft: May 1, 1944 – February 6, 1946
- Bomber Command, 4th Air Force (later, 4th Bomber, IV Bomber): April 11 – September 19, 1941; September 19, 1941 – March 31, 1944
- Interceptor Command, 4th Air Force (later, 4th Interceptor, IV Interceptor; IV Fighter): April 22 – July 8, 1941; July 8, 1941 – March 31, 1944.
- IV Emergency Rescue (Provisional): December 30, 1943 – January 22, 1944.
- Antiaircraft Artillery (Provisional): December 27, 1943 – April 30, 1944.
Divisions
- 25th Air Division (later, 25th Air): October 25, 1948 – April 1, 1949; July 8, 1949 – August 1, 1950 (detached November 10, 1949 – August 1, 1950); April 1, 1966 – September 15, 1969.
- 26th Air Division: April 1, 1966 – September 30, 1969.
- 27th Air Division: April 1, 1966 – September 15, 1969
- 28th Air Division: December 8, 1949 – August 1, 1950 (detached January 1 – August 1, 1950).
Operational History
World War II
During World War II Fourth Air Force was the primary air defense command for the West Coast. The command also flew antisubmarine patrols along coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico from after Pearl Harbor until October 1942.
After October 1942, the antisubmarine patrols were turned over to the Coast Guard and other agencies and the command was engaged primarily in training replacements for combat units. It supported Army Air Forces Training Command's mission of training of units, crews, and individuals for bombardment, fighter, and reconnaissance operations.
In 1944, the majority of the Numbered Air Forces of the USAAF were fighting in various parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific. They were supported by four numbered air forces located within the United States (known as the Zone of the Interior, or "ZI".) On December 13, 1944, First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were all were placed under the unified command of the Continental Air Forces, the predecessor of the later established Strategic Air Command, Tactical Air Command, and Air Defense Command, which were all established in 1946.
Post World War II
After World War II, Fourth Air Force was assigned to the reestablished Air Defense Command, later to Continental Air Command, and back to Air Defense Command. From September 1960 to January 1966 the organization was inactive. It was deactivated again in September 1969. In October 1976 Fourth Air Force reactivated as a part of the Air Force Reserves (AFRES).
See also
The Museum is located off the grounds of the Base and displays in its aircraft collection examples bombers, fighters, cargo, refueling and reconnaissance aircraft, many of which served at March Field, March AFB and/or March ARB.
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
- ^ Air Force Reserve Command Official site.
- ^ March Field Air Museum Official site
External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
