13th Air Force, US Air Force

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13TH AIR FORCE, US AIR FORCE

History: Established as Thirteenth Air Force on 14 December 1942. Activated on 13 January 1943. Inactivated (as a Table of Organization (T/O) establishment) on 8 February 1952. Organized (as a Table of Distribution (T/D) establishment) on 8 February 1952. Discontinued (as a T/D establishment) on 1 February 1953. Activated (as a T/O establishment) on 1 February 1953. Redesignated as Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) on 16 January 2007. One of the oldest, continuously active numbered air forces in the US Air Force, Thirteenth Air Force has never been stationed in the continental United States. When originally activated as Thirteenth AF at New Caledonia on January 13, 1943, the command consisted of many widely separated and independent units scattered throughout the Pacific. By the end of World War II, they had operated from tropical jungles on more than 40 remote islands, earning the nickname "The Jungle Air Force." Thirteenth AF units initially prevented the further advance of Japanese forces and later took the offensive from the Solomon Islands to the Admiralty Islands, New Guinea, Morotai and the Philippines. The Thirteenth Air Force units participated in five different operation areas in 13 campaigns operating a variety of aircraft including the B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, B-26 Marauder, P-38 Lightning, P-39 Aircobra, P-40 Warhawk, P-61 Black Widow, C-46 Commando, C-47 Skytrain and L-5 Sentinel. After the war, it became a part of the Far East Air Forces, chartered to defend the western Pacific and the Philippine Islands. With its headquarters, established at Clark AFB, Philippines in May 1949, its units provided staging areas for people and equipment sent to the Korean peninsula during the Korean War. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the command concentrated on training and surveillance activities to maintain a high state of readiness for contingencies. After the escalation of the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s, the Thirteenth AF served as a staging base and logistics manager for units fighting in Southeast Asia and deployed combat units to air bases in Thailand. At its peak, Thirteenth AF was composed of seven combat wings, nine major bases, 11 smaller installations and more than 31,000 military members. From the 1970s to the late 1980s, the command returned to its peacetime mission to training for contingencies. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Thirteenth AF provided aircraft and support staff vital to the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi forces. In June 1991, when Mount Pinatubo erupted and buried Clark in volcanic ash, the command led the evacuation of military personnel and their families in Operation Fiery Vigil. With the official closure of Clark AFB on 26 November 1991, it relocated and officially established its headquarters at Andersen AFB, Guam, on 2 December 1991. The command then moved from Guam to Hickam AFB in May 2005 to allow Thirteenth AF to become a core building block for the new Air Force operational-level component headquarters organization in the Pacific. On 6 October 2006, Thirteenth AF was re-designated a component numbered air force headquarters. It plans, commands and controls, and assesses air, space, and information operations in the Asia-Pacific region, except for Korea, from peacetime engagement to major combat operations as the Air Force component to the US Pacific Command and provides support to US military forces and scientists participating in Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica.


Coat of arms (crest) of the 13th Air Force, US Air Force
Official blazon
English blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The Emblem was approved on 18 January 1944.

Literature: Image from Wikimedia Commons. Information from https://www.afhra.af.mil/


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