VIII Air Support Command engaged in training, with one reconnaissance and one troop carrier group assigned, until July 1943. Afterward, carried out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent until October 1943 when all components and personnel were withdrawn from the command, with most transferred toNinth Air Force, which transferred to England from Africa to become the primary tactical command for the invasion of Europe. The command was disbanded little more than a month later.
The8th Ground Air Support Command was organized on 28 April 1942 atBolling Field, Washington, D.C. commanded by Col. Robert C. Candee and assigned to8th Air Force.[1] The command drew most of itscadre from5th Air Support Command.[2] Col. Candee was promoted to Brigadier General.[citation needed] The command moved toSavannah, Georgia the following month, joining its parent, 8th Air Force. the commandheadquarters, but not its assigned units,[2] for England in July, but did not open its headquarters atRAF Membury in Berkshire until 17 August.[1]
The mission of VIII Ground Air Support Command was initially training reconnaissance and troop transport units. In February 1943, the command's mission was expanded to carrying out medium bombardment operations against the enemy on the Continent.
In February 1941, the firstMartin B-26 Marauder medium bombers were accepted by theArmy Air Forces. It was to be in the European theater where the Marauder was to achieve its greatest success. In the United Kingdom, the Marauder formed themedium bomber forces of the VIII Air Support Command. The first B-26s arrived in the United Kingdom in February 1943. They were to be used in low-level missions against German military targets on the Continent.
On 16 October 1943, the B-26 Marauder units were reassigned toIX Bomber Command, leaving the command without operational units. Its command staff was reassigned to other units, and the command was disbanded on 1 December 1943.[1]
^Freeman indicates that the60th Troop Carrier Group, then the51st Troop Carrier Wing was assigned to the command. Freeman, p. 242. However, theAir Force Historical Research Agency history of the wing indicates the wing was assigned directly to Eighth Air Force.Robertson, Patsy (2 January 2008)."Factsheet 551 Electronic Systems Wing (AFMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved4 April 2014..But compareRumley, Christopher M. (25 January 2021)."Factsheet United States Air Forces in Europe (USAF)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved19 December 2021. (51st Wing not listed among components of Eighth Air Force in 1942) and Maurer,Combat Units, pp. 445-446 (one troop carrier group assigned while in the United States).
Freeman, Roger A. (1970).The Mighty Eighth: Units, Men and Machines (A History of the US 8th Army Air Force). London, England, UK: Macdonald and Company.ISBN978-0-87938-638-2.
United States
United States Air Force
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency