| IX Troop Carrier Command | |
|---|---|
 CommandC-46 Commando[note 1] | |
| Active | 1943-1946 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of troop carrier units |
| Size | 14 groups, 1400 aircraft |
| Engagements | Operation Neptune Operation Market Operation Varsity |
| Insignia | |
| IX Troop Carrier Command patch[note 2] |  |
TheIX Troop Carrier Command was aUnited States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with theNinth Air Force, based atGreenville Army Air Base,South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946 as a component command of theNinth Air Force, based in theUnited Kingdom.
The mission of IX Troop Carrier Command was air transport for the Alliedairborne forces in theEuropean Theater of Operations (ETO).[citation needed] The main aircraft of command were theDouglas C-47 Skytrain and its variant, theDouglas C-53 Skytrooper, but in 1945 the command equipped one group with 117Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft to determine their viability in the RTO. As a result of a 28 percent loss rate duringOperation Varsity resulting from the C-46 being prone to catching fire, The command did not convert to the Commando, even though its cargo-carrying capacity was twice that of the C-47. The command also had 1,922CG-4A Waco and 20Waco CG-13 gliders just prior to its last big operation in March 1945.[citation needed] IX Troop Carrier Command consisted of three troop carrier wings, 14 troop carrier groups, and one pathfinder group, about 1,380 operational aircraft including spares, and 2,000 gliders at its maximum strength in March 1945.[citation needed]
IX Troop Carrier Command conducted three multi-divisional combat air assaults
The command conducted relief operations for isolated units during the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944.[citation needed]
All U.S. tactical air support units in Great Britain were consolidated intoNinth Air Force on 16 October 1943, under the command of Maj. Gen.Lewis H. Brereton. At the same time the IX Troop Carrier Command was activated, having been constituted by USAAF Headquarters five days before its headquarters transferred toGrantham Lodge where it remained until 20 September 1944, when it transferred toAscot, Berkshire, its final location in Europe. Its first headquarters was located atRAF Cottesmore, where it took control of a provisional headquarters established by theEighth Air Force in September.
The command's originalcadre came from Headquarters, 1st Troop Carrier Command (Provisional) established as a provisional headquarters by theEighth Air Force in September with six officers and three aircraft of the315th Troop Carrier Group (the remainder of the group's aircraft and squadrons were on detached service in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations). On 1 October 1943 the 434th Troop Carrier Group became part of the provisional command and was the only group assigned. Twelve airfields were designated for the new command, each to house 40 C-47s and a like number of gliders:RAF Fulbeck,RAF Langar,RAF Bottesford,RAF Wakerley,RAF Balderton,RAF North Witham,RAF Barkston Heath, RAF Cottesmore,RAF North Luffenham,RAF Saltby,RAF Folkingham, andRAF Woolfox Lodge. In October, 1943, Brigadier General Benjamin F. Giles became commanding officer.[1]
In November the435th Troop Carrier Group atRAF Welford was assigned, and command headquarters were moved to Grantham Lodge.RAF Ramsbury,RAF Aldermaston, andRAF Greenham Common also became available as landing areas for tactical training with the101st Airborne Division and later became troop carrier bases.
Its first wing, the50th Troop Carrier Wing, became operational on 17 October 1943. A second wing, the52d Troop Carrier Wing, arrived from Sicily on 17 February 1944. Its five groups had participated in the large airborne assault duringOperation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily and had flown combat jumps on a smaller scale in Italy. On 11 March 1944 the final troop carrier wing assigned to the command, the53rd Troop Carrier Wing, arrived from the United States along with five groups that had just completed their operational training. The wings were realigned to provide the 53rd, tasked as the primary unit for glider operations, with the four groups already operational in February 1944 (434th through 437th), while the least experienced groups were assigned to the 50th Wing. The command grew to a total of 14 groups in April 1944 when the 315th was taken off transport duties in the Mediterranean and assigned two additional squadrons to bring it up to fulltable of organization and equipment strength, and when the newly created442d Troop Carrier Group arrived from the United States.
These groups went into training forOperation Overlord, the invasion of France, as they arrived in Britain. The groups of the 50th and 52nd Wings began intensive night formation training that included practice jumps with the airborne divisions assigned to them, which continued through April, when the division commanders decided to stop further unit jump training. The 53rd Wing began training at the beginning of March but had virtually no troop experience until mid-May, when they began a series of mock night operations to raise their level of training. Both the 315th and 442nd groups continued formation training until the end of May. Five groups also conducted training in night glider assaults during both April and May. By 1 June the command had approximately 1,200 C-47s and 1,400 gliders assigned, and 950 crews for each.
At the end of February 1944, using equipment and personnel from the 52nd Wing, the command established a training unit for airborne divisionpathfinders and theaircrews that would deliver them. The Command Pathfinder School was redesignated the 1st Pathfinder Group (Provisional) in August 1944.
IX Troop Carrier Command delivered both the82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in theAmerican airborne landings in Normandy on 6–7 June 1944. In August the command was attached to theFirst Allied Airborne Army, which from 17–25 September 1944, landed both American divisions, theBritish 1st Airborne Division, and thePolish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade in the Netherlands duringOperation Market Garden. The 50th Wing moved to bases in France in September as well.
In February and March 1945 the 52d and 53rd wings also deployed to bases in France, except for two groups of the 52nd assigned to support British airborne operations. The command carried out extensive formation training forOperation Varsity, an airborne assault across theRhine River, and executed it on 24 March 1945, delivering the17th Airborne Division. The groups of the 52nd Wing based in France returned to England to carry theBritish 6th Airborne Division in the assault.
IX Troop Carrier Command transferred from the United Kingdom to the United States without equipment or personnel on 5 September 1945 toStout Field, Indiana, where it took over the personnel and equipment ofI Troop Carrier Command along with the command of troop carrier units in the United States. On 1 February 1946 command headquarters moved toGreenville Army Air Base, South Carolina, in preparation for inactivation, which took place 31 March 1946, when the command transferred its personnel and equipment toThird Air Force, which assumed responsibility for troop carrier operations forTactical Air Command. On 8 October 1948 theUnited States Air Force, now a separate military service, disbanded the command.
MajorVincent F. Harrington, former U.S. Representative from Iowa briefly served as a security officer.
Flight Officer Dale Oliver, served as a Glider Pilot in the 434th Troop Carrier Group. Piloted a glider in combat operations in Normandy, Holland, and Germany. Later went on to be an assistant and primary animator for Disney, with credits including Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh.
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