The 13th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

unit.

History

World War II

The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

was first activated at

Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfo ...

, Virginia in January 1941 as the 13th Bombardment Group, with the 39th, 40th, and 41st Bombardment Squadrons assigned and the 3d Reconnaissance Squadron attached. The group was equipped with a mix of

Douglas B-18 Bolo The Douglas B-18 Bolo is an American heavy bomber which served with the United States Army Air Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force (as the Digby) during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The Bolo was developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company ...

s and

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

s. In June, the group moved to

Orlando Army Air Base Orlando Executive Airport is a public airport three miles (6 km) east of downtown Orlando, in Orange County, Florida. It is owned and operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) and serves general aviation. Overview Orlando ...

, Florida.Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 768Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 25–26Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 771–772Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 37–38 After the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, the group was ordered to search for German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s off the southeast coast. Although the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

was responsible for long range patrolling, it lacked the aircraft to perform the mission and the Army Air Forces (AAF) performed the mission, even though its crews lacked proper training.Ferguson, p. 4 As

antisubmarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are ty ...

assets were realigned to meet the growing threat in the North Atlantic, the 13th Group moved to

Westover Field Westover may refer to: People * Al Westover (born 1954), American professional basketball player in Australia * Arthur Westover (1864–1935), Canadian sport shooter and 1908 Olympian * Charles Westover (1934–1990), better known as Del Shannon, ...

, Massachusetts in January 1942. The following month, the 3d Reconnaissance Squadron was assigned to the group, and, in April, became the 393d Bombardment Squadron. In October 1942, the AAF organized its antisubmarine forces into the single

Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command The Army Air Forces Antisubmarine Command was formed in the fall of 1942 to establish a single command to control antisubmarine warfare (ASW) activities of the Army Air Forces (AAF). It was formed from the resources of I Bomber Command, which ...

, which established the 25th Antisubmarine Wing the following month to control its forces operating over the Atlantic.Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 437Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 388–389 Its bombardment group headquarters, including the 13th, were inactivated.

Expeditionary operations

The group was converted to provisional status, redesignated the 13th Air Expeditionary Group and assigned to

Pacific Air Forces Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force and is also the air component command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). PACAF is headquartered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam (f ...

to activate or inactivate as needed. It has been used primarily to control operations or exercises for

Thirteenth Air Force The Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (13 AF) was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It was last headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. 13 AF has never been sta ...

. This has included acting as the air component of Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica. The group commander is dual hatted as the deputy commander, JTF-SFA.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 13th Bombardment Group (Medium) on 20 November 1940 : Inactivated on 30 November 1942Lineage, including stations, through 1942 in Maurer, ''Combat Units'', pp. 56–57 * Redesignated 13th Air Expeditionary Group and converted to provisional status :: Activated 2 October 2003Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, October 2003, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 31 October 2003 :: Activated 2 February 2004 for Exercise

Balikatan Exercise Balikatan is the most prominent annual military exercise between the Philippines and the United States. The Tagalog word ''balikatan'' means "''shoulder-to-shoulder''". The exercises have been the cornerstone of Philippines–United ...

04Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2004, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 1 April 2004Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, April 2004, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 5 February 2004 for Exercise Cope Tiger 04 :: Inactivated 9 March 2004Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2004, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 11 January 05 for Exercise Cope Tiger 05Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, January 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 8 February 2005Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2005, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 30 January 2006 for Exercise Cope Tiger 06Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, January 2006, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated c. February 2006Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2006, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated c. January 2007 for Exercise Cope Tiger 07Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Stat+us Report, January 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 13 February 07Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 10 June 2007 for Exercise Talisman Saber 07Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, June 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated c. June 2007 :: Activated 18 August 2007 for Exercise Pacific Airlift Rally 07Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, August 2007, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 26 August 2007 :: Active for

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There w ...

c. 30 November 2007 :: Activated 11 January 2008 for Exercise Balikatan 08Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Stat+us Report, January 2008, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 31 March 2008Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2008, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 14 January 2008 for Exercise Cope Tiger 08 :: Inactivated 13 February 08Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2008, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated c. March 2009 for Exercise Cope Tiger 09Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2009, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 3 April 2009Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, April 2009, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 1 February 2010 for Exercise Balikatan Sagip 10Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, February 2010, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 24 February 2010 :: Activated 24 February 2010 for Exercise Cope Tiger 10 :: Inactivated 16 March 2010Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2010, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Active c. 8 November 2010 :: Activated 7 March 2012 for Exercise Cope Tiger 11Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, March 2012, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Inactivated 4 April 2012Research Division, Air Force Historical Research Agency, Air Force Organization Change Status Report, April 2012, Maxwell AFB, AL :: Activated 9 April 2012 for Exercise Balikatan 2012 :: Inactivated 30 April 2012 :: Active c. 12 November 2015

Assignments

* First Air Force, 15 January 1941 *

I Bomber Command The I Bomber Command (later XX Bomber Command) was an intermediate command of the Army Air Forces during World War II. It trained bombardment units and aircrews for deployment to combat theaters. From shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor ...

, 6 June 1941 *

, 15 October–November 1942 *

Pacific Air Command The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea. The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in ...

to activate or inactivate as needed :: Attached to

, 2 October 2003 – 31 October 2003 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 2 February 2004 – 1 April 2004 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 5 February 2004 – 9 March 2004 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 11 January 2005 – 8 February 2005 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Task Force, 30 January 2006-c. February 2006 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Task Force, c. January 2007 – 13 February 2007 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 10 June 2007-c. June 2007 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Task Force, 18 August 2007 – 26 August 2007 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 11 January 2008 – 31 March 2008 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Wing, 14 January 2008 – 13 February 2008 :: Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica c. 30 November 2008 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Wing, c. March 2009-3 April 2009 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 1 February 2010 – 24 February 2010 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Wing, 24 February 2010 – 16 March 2010 :: Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica c. 8 November 2010 :: 13th Air Expeditionary Wing, 7 March 2012 – 4 April 2012 :: Attached to Thirteenth Air Force, 9 April 2012– 30 April 2012 :: Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica c. 12 November 2015

Components

39th Bombardment Squadron The 9th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Wing (27 SOW) at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. The squadron operates MC-130J Commando II aircraft in support of special operations. The 9th SOS specializes in the u ...

: 15 January 1941 – 30 November 1942 *

40th Bombardment Squadron The Motorola 68040 ("''sixty-eight-oh-forty''") is a 32-bit microprocessor in the Motorola 68000 series, released in 1990. It is the successor to the 68030 and is followed by the 68060, skipping the 68050. In keeping with general Motorola nam ...

: 15 January 1941 – 30 November 1942 : An air echelon was attached to the:

Caribbean Sea Frontier Sea Frontiers were several, now disestablished, commands of the United States Navy as areas of defense against enemy vessels, especially submarines, along the U.S. coasts. They existed from 1 July 1941 until in some cases the 1970s. Sea Frontiers ...

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, 30 August – 9 October 1942 and 16 October – 15 November 1942 : An air echelon was attached to the:

99th Bombardment Squadron The 99th Infantry Division was formed in 1942 and deployed overseas in 1944. The "Checkerboard" or "Battle Babies" division landed at the French port of Le Havre and proceeded northeast to Belgium. During the heavy fighting in the Battle of the ...

, 9–16 October 1942 * 41st Bombardment Squadron: 15 January 1941 – 30 November 1942 * 3d Reconnaissance Squadron (later 393d Bombardment Squadron): attached 15 January 1941 – 25 February 1942, assigned 25 February – 30 November 1942 * 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, c. 30 November 2007 * 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, c. 30 November 2007

Stations

* Langley Field, Virginia, 15 January 1941 * Orlando Army Air Base, Florida, c. 6 June 1941 * Westover Field, Massachusetts, 20 January – 30 November 1942 * Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 2 October 2003 – 31 October 2003 * Clark Field, Philippines, 2 February 2004 – 1 April 2004 *

Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base is a base of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) in northeast Thailand, approximately 200 km (125 mi) northeast of Bangkok and about 4 km (2.5 mi) south of the centre of the city of Nakhon Ratcha ...

, Thailand, 5 February 2004 – 9 March 2004 * Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 11 January 2005 – 8 February 2005 * Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, 30 January 2006-c. February 2006 * Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, c. January 2007 – 13 February 2007 * Brisbane International Airport, Australia, 10 June 2007-c. June 2007 * Halim Air Base, Indonesia, 18 August 2007 – 26 August 2007 * Clark International Airport, Philippines, 11 January 2008 – 31 March 2008 *

Udon Thani Udon Thani ( th, อุดรธานี, ) is a city in Isan ( Northeast Thailand), the capital of Udon Thani Province and with a population of approximately 430,000 in its urban area the 7th largest city in the country. The city municipality ...

Thailand, 14 January 2008 – 13 February 2008 * Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, c. March 2009-3 April 2009 * Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, Philippines, 1 February 2010 – 24 February 2010 * Udon Thani Thailand, 24 February 2010 – 16 March 2010 * Udon Thani Thailand, 7 March 2012 – 4 April 2012 * Clark Field, Philippines, 9 April 12–30 April 12

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * {{USAAF 1st Air Force World War II

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