XIII Fighter Command

XIII Fighter Command
Active	1943–1946
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army Air Forces
Type	Command and Control

The XIII Fighter Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to Thirteenth Air Force, based at Manila, Luzon, Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946.

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.

History

Lineage

• Constituted as XIII Fighter Command on 14 December 1942

Activated on 13 January 1943

Inactivated on 15 March 1946

Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

• Thirteenth Air Force, 13 January 1943 – 15 March 1946

Stations

• Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield, New Caledonia, Melanesia, 13 January 1943
• Luganville Airfield, Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides, 22 January 1943
• Carney Airfield, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, December 1943
• Sansapor (March) Airfield, Netherlands East Indies, 15 August 1944
• Bayug Airfield, Burauen, Leyte, Philippines, 10 January 1945
• Puerto Princesa Airfield, Palawan, Philippines, 1 March 1945
• Manila, Luzon, Philippines, November 1945 – 15 March 1946

Units

• 18th Fighter Group, 11 March 1943 – 15 March 1946
• 347th Fighter Group, 13 January 1943 – December 1945
• 414th Fighter Group, 23 December 1945 – 15 March 1946

Operational history

Participated in the following campaigns: China Defensive; Guadal¬canal; New Guinea; Northern Solomons; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; China Offensive.

See also

• United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.