The XIII Fighter Command was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

formation. It was last assigned to

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 st ...

, based at

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, a ...

, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946.

History

XIII Fighter Command was a World War II command and control organization for Thirteenth Air Force. Its mission was to provide command and control authority of Army Air Force fighter organizations within the Thirteenth Air Force Area of Responsibility. It participated in the following campaigns: China Defensive; Guadal¬canal; New Guinea; Northern Solomons; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; China Offensive.

Lineage

* Constituted as the XIII Fighter Command on 14 December 1942 : Activated on 13 January 1943 : Inactivated on 15 March 1946 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

, 13 January 1943 – 15 March 1946

Stations

* Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield,

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, Melanesia, 13 January 1943 * Pekoa Airfield,

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

, New Hebrides, 22 January 1943 * Carney Airfield,

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the south-western Pacific, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomon Islands by area, and the s ...

, Solomon Islands, December 1943 * Sansapor (March) Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, 15 August 1944 *

Bayug Airfield Bayug Airfield is a World War II airfield located in the east of Burauen, Leyte, Philippines, and to the west of San Pablo Airfield, to the north of the Marabong River in the province of Leyte, Philippines. It was closed after the war. History B ...

, Burauen, Leyte, Philippines, 10 January 1945 * Puerto Princesa Airfield,

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

, Philippines, 1 March 1945 *

, Philippines, November 1945 – 15 March 1946

Components

; Groups *

18th Fighter Group 018 may refer to *Air Canada Flight 018, an airline flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Canada, illegally boarded by a Chinese man wearing a disguise in 2010 *Area code 018, a telephone area code in Uppsala, Sweden *BMW 018, an experimental turboje ...

, 14 April 1943 – 15 March 1946 *

42nd Bombardment Group "The Skies for Us" , colors = , march = , mascot = , battles = Southwest Pacific Theater, First Gulf War , anniversaries = , de ...

, attached 1 October 1944 – 8 January 1945, c. 22 March – c. September 1945 * 347th Fighter Group: 13 January 1943 – 1 January 1946 (attached to I Island Command 1 July – c. 29 December 1943) *

414th Fighter Group The 414th Fighter Group is an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It is assigned to the 944th Fighter Wing of Tenth Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The ...

: 1 January–30 September 1946 ; Squadrons * 17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron: 10 December 1945 – 1 February 1946 *

419th Night Fighter Squadron The 419th Night Fighter Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Thirteenth Air Force, being inactivated at Floridablanca, Luzon on 20 February 1947. The unit was formed in 1943. After training, it was ...

: 25 August 1944 – 10 January 1946 * 550th Night Fighter Squadron: 12 December 1944 – 15 December 1945 (attached to XIII Bomber Command 14 February 1945, 85th Fighter Wing 7 April – c. 17 June 1945)Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 654-655

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * {{USAAF 13th Air Force World War II 13 Command Fighter Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946