3rd Air Support Command
{{about|the 3d Air Support Command disbanded in March 1942|the 3rd Air Support Command organized in May 1942|III Tactical Air Command}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=3rd Air Support Command
|image=Douglas B-18A airplane in flight (00910460 121).jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=B-18A Bolo of the command's 3d Bombardment Group
|dates=1941-1942
|country={{USA}}
|branch={{army|USA}}
{{air force|USA}}In September 1947, when the United States Air Force became an independent service, all former Air Corps units were put under its control, including disbanded units.
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|battles=Antisubmarine campaign, American Theater
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The 3rd Air Support Command was a United States Army Air Forces command, assigned to the 3rd Air Force throughout its existence. It was organized at Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia. By early 1942, most of its trained personnel had been lost to overseas theaters. It moved to Drew Field, Florida, where it was disbanded on 16 March 1942.
History
General Headquarters Air Force (GHQ AF) reorganized its four regional air districts as Numbered Air Forces in the spring of 1941. By the fall of that year, each of these had organized as a support command and three combat commands.Cate & Williams, pp. 152, 155
File:North American O-47B 1941.jpg
In the summer of 1941 GHQ AF had decided to establish commands to direct its air support mission in each numbered air force, plus one additional command reporting directly to GHQ AF. These commands would be manned from inactivating wings, and would initially control only observation squadrons, which would be transferred from the control of the corps and divisions, although they would remain attached to these ground units.Futrell, p. 13 3rd Air Force organized 3rd Air Support Command at Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia in September 1941, where it drew its cadre and equipment from the 17th Bombardment Wing, which was simultaneously inactivated.Maurer, p. 439 New observation groups were formed and assigned, with cadres drawn from National Guard squadrons that had been mobilized in 1940 and 1941.
The command trained air force organizations for support operations and assisted in training ground forces. During the Carolina Maneuvers of 1941, the command was attached to IV Corps. Unlike the opposing force, the command's headquarters were located about sixty miles distant from that of the ground forces it supported, giving it greater freedom of action. As a result, its forces were used more aggressively and more frequently in an offensive role, than those of the opposing force.Futrell, p. 19 After the attack on Pearl Harbor it also conducted antisubmarine patrols.
However, by early 1942, the command's first commander, Asa N. Duncan, like two of the other commanders of air support commands had moved overseas, and similar demands led GHQ AF to believe it had little more than the "remnants" of the command remaining. As a result, it was decided to disband the command. Its headquarters were moved to Drew Field, Florida on 1 March and it was disbanded there on 16 March 1942.
Lineage
- Constituted as the 3rd Air Support Command on 21 August 1941Maurer indicates unit was constituted as the "III" Air Support Command. However, the unit was constituted and activated with an arabic number in its name. The use of roman numerals to designate Army Air Forces combat commands did not begin until September 1942. {{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433913/types-of-usaf-organizations/ |title=Air Force Historical Research Agency Organizational Reconds: Types of USAF Organizations|date=9 January 2008|publisher=Air Force History Index|access-date=19 September 2016}}
: Activated on 1 September 1941
=Assignments=
- 3rd Air Force, 1 September 1941 – 16 March 1942{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433565/third-air-force-usafe/ |last1=Haulman|first1=Daniel L.|title=Factsheet Third Air Force (USAFE)|date=4 April 2019|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=9 December 2021}}
=Components=
- 3rd Bombardment Group, 1 September – 8 December 1941; 2 January – February 1942{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/434142/3-operations-group-pacaf/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 3 Operations Group (PACAF)|date=26 June 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=27 December 2021}}
- 27th Bombardment Group, 1 September – c. 20 November 1941.{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/1913364/27-special-operations-group-afsoc/ |last1=Haulman|first1=Daniel L.|title=Factsheet 27 Special Operations Group (AFSOC)|date=23 July 2019|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=29 December 2021}}
- 67th Observation Group, 1 September 1941 – [16] March 1942.{{cite web |url= http://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/432383/67-cyberspace-operations-group-acc |last1=Ream|first1=Margaret|title=Factsheet 67 Cyberspace Operations Group (AFSPC)|date=21 March 2021|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=29 December 2021}}
- 68th Observation Group, 1 September 1941 – [16] March 1942.{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433415/53-electronic-warfare-group-acc/ |last1=Stephens|first1=Maj Tonia|title=Factsheet 53 Electronic Warfare Group (ACC)|date=19 June 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=29 December 2021}}
- 85th Bombardment Group, 10 February - 16 March 1942{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433508/85-group/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 85 Group|date=29 September 2008|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=10 January 2022}}
- 312th Bombardment Group, 15-16 March 1942{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/434012/312-aeronautical-systems-group-afmc/ |last1=Bailey|first1=Carl E.|title=Factsheet 312 Aeronautical Systems Group (AFMC|date=27 December 2007|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=10 January 2022}}
=Stations=
=Campaigns=
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! Campaign Streamer ! Campaign ! Dates ! Notes | |||
| 200px | Antisubmarine | 7 December 1941 – 16 March 1942 |
References
=Notes=
; Explanatory notes
{{Reflist|group=note}}
; Citations
{{Reflist|40em}}
=Bibliography=
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
- {{cite book|last1=Cate|first1=James L. |last2=Williams|first2=E. Kathleen |editor=Craven, Wesley F |editor2=Cate, James L|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Nov/05/2001329898/-1/-1/0/AFD-101105-005.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170218064307/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Nov/05/2001329898/-1/-1/0/AFD-101105-005.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 February 2017 |access-date=17 December 2016| title=The Army Air Forces in World War II|volume=I, Plans and Early Operations|year=1948|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, IL|oclc=704158|lccn=48003657|chapter=Prelude to War, Chapter 4, The Air Corps Prepares for War, 1939-41}}
- {{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/1-50/AFD-090602-049.pdf |last1=Futrell|first1=Robert F.|title=Command of Observation Aviation: A Study in Control of Tactical Airpower, USAF Historical Study No. 24|date=September 1956|publisher=Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University |access-date=23 January 2022}}
- {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf |archive-url= https://archive.today/20210115181723/https://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 15 January 2021 |edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979}}
{{USAAF 3d Air Force World War II}}
Category:1941 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:1942 disestablishments in Florida
Category:Military units and formations established in 1941
Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1942