IX Troop Carrier Command
| IX Troop Carrier Command | |
|---|---|
C-46 Commando[note 1] | |
| Active | 1943-1946 |
| Country |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Role | Command of troop carrier units |
| Size | 14 groups, 1400 aircraft |
| Engagements | Operation Neptune Operation Market Operation Varsity |
| Insignia | |
| IX Troop Carrier Command patch[note 2] |  |
The IX Troop Carrier Command was a
Overview
The mission of IX Troop Carrier Command was air transport for the
The primary aircraft of command were the
IX Troop Carrier Command consisted of three troop carrier wings, 14 troop carrier groups, and one pathfinder group, totaling approximately 1380 operational aircraft including spares, and 2,000 gliders at its maximum strength in March 1945.[citation needed]
IX Troop Carrier Command conducted three multi-divisional combat air assaults:
- Operation Neptune: the airborne invasion of Normandy in June 1944,
- Operation Market Garden: the airborne invasion of the Netherlands in September 1944, and
- Rhine Riverin March 1945.
It also conducted relief operations for isolated units during the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes in December 1944.[citation needed]
History
Background
All U.S. tactical air support units in Great Britain were consolidated into Ninth Air Force on 16 October 1943, under the command of Maj. Gen. Lewis H. Brereton. At the same time the IX Troop Carrier Command was activated, having been constituted by USAAF Headquarters five days before its headquarters transferred to Grantham Lodge where it remained until 20 September 1944, when it transferred to Ascot, Berkshire, its final location in Europe. Its first headquarters was located at RAF Cottesmore, where it took control of a provisional headquarters established by the Eighth Air Force in September.
The command's original
In November the
Combat operations
Its first wing, the
These groups went into training for Operation Overlord, the invasion of France, as they arrived in Britain. The groups of the 50th and 52nd Wings began intensive night formation training that included practice jumps with the airborne divisions assigned to them, which continued through April, when the division commanders decided to stop further unit jump training. The 53rd Wing began training at the beginning of March but had virtually no troop experience until mid-May, when they began a series of mock night operations to raise their level of training. Both the 315th and 442nd groups continued formation training until the end of May. Five groups also conducted training in night glider assaults during both April and May. By 1 June the command had approximately 1,200 C-47s and 1,400 gliders assigned, and 950 crews for each.
At the end of February 1944, using equipment and personnel from the 52nd Wing, the command established a training unit for airborne division
IX Troop Carrier Command delivered both the
In February and March 1945 the 52d and 53rd wings also deployed to bases in France, except for two groups of the 52nd assigned to support British airborne operations. The command carried out extensive formation training for
Return to the United States
IX Troop Carrier Command transferred from the United Kingdom to the United States without equipment or personnel on 5 September 1945 to
Notable Members
Major Vincent F. Harrington, former U.S. Representative from Iowa briefly served as a security officer.
Lineage
- Constituted as the IX Troop Carrier Command on 11 October 1943
- Activated on 16 October 1943.
- Inactivated on 31 March 1946
- Disbanded on 8 October 1948[2]
Assignments
- Ninth Air Force, 16 October 1943[3]
- 1st Allied Airborne Armyc. 1 November 1944 – c. 1 September 1945)
- Continental Air Forces, c. 5 September 1945
- Tactical Air Command, 21 March 1946 – 31 March 1946
Stations
- RAF Cottesmore (AAF-489),[4] England, 16 October 1943
- Grantham Lodge (AAF-480),[5] England, 1 December 1943
- Ascot (AAF-472),[6] England, 20 September 1944 – 5 September 1945
- Stout Field, Indiana, 5 September 1945
- Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina, 1 February – 31 March 1946[7]
Components
- Wings
- 50th Troop Carrier Wing, 16 October 1943 – 29 September 1945; 4 November 1945 – 31 March 1946[8]
- 52d Troop Carrier Wing, 17 February 1944 - July 1945[9]
- 53d Troop Carrier Wing, 11 March 1944 – 12 August 1945[9]
- Groups
- Command Pathfinder School (later 1st Pathfinder Group [Provisional]), March 1944 – April 1945 [10]
- 437th Troop Carrier Group: 4 November–15 November 1945[11]
- 440th Troop Carrier Group: 25 March 1944 – March 1944[13]
- 442d Troop Carrier Group: 31 March 1944 – April 1944[14]
- Squadrons
- 75th Troop Carrier Squadron: 15 November – 11 December 1945[15]
- 77th Troop Carrier Squadron: 15 November – 11 December 1945[16]
Support units
- 1st Tactical Air Deport/IX Troop Carrier Service Wing (Provisional)
- Located at: RAF North Witham (AAF-479),[10]
References
Notes
- Explanatory notes
- Citations
- ^ "Major General Benjamin F. Giles".
- ^ Maurer, Combat Units, pp. 448-449
- ^ Ream, Margaret (5 October 2020). "Factsheet Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) (ACC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 33.
- ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 51.
- ^ Station number in Anderson, p. 41.
- ^ Station information in Maurer, pp. 448-449, except as noted.
- ^ "Factsheet 50 Air Division". Air Force Historical Research Agency. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
- ^ a b Maurer, pp. 448-449 (years only)
- ^ a b Station number in Anderson, p. 61.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (December 2009). "Factsheet 437 Operations Group (AMC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (24 September 2012). "Factsheet 439 Operations Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (18 April 2018). "Factsheet 440 Operations Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Robertson, Patsy (23 October 2012). "Factsheet 442 Operations Group (AFRC)". Air Force Historical Research Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 274
- ^ Maurer, Combat Squadrons, p. 278
Bibliography
- Anderson, Capt. Barry (1985). Army Air Forces Stations: A Guide to the Stations Where U.S. Army Air Forces Personnel Served in the United Kingdom During World War II (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- Johnson, 1st Lt. David C. (1988). U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO) D-Day to V-E Day (PDF). Maxwell AFB, AL: Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2015.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. LCCN 61060979.
- Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1982) [1969]. Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. OCLC 72556. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- Warren, John C. (September 1956). "Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater, USAF Historical Study No. 97" (PDF). Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2016..
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