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| Seventh Air Force | |
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 Seventh Air Force emblem |
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| Active | November 1940-June 1975 September 1986-Current |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Type | Field Air Force |
| Role | Ground Attack and Air Superiority |
| Part of | Pacific Air Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea |
| Engagements |
  
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| Commanders | |
| Current commander |
Lieutenant General Stephen G. Wood |
| Notable commanders |
Lucius D. Clay, Jr. William W. Momyer George S. Brown |
The Seventh Air Force is a United States Air Force Numbered Air Force (NAF) under Pacific Air Forces. 7 AF, as Air Forces Korea, is also the air component of United States Forces Korea and also supports U.S. Pacific Command, United Nations Command, and Combined Forces Command. 7 AF's headquarters is located at Osan Air Base, South Korea.
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Overview
The commander, Seventh Air Force, is dual-hatted as commander of the combined Air Component Command (ACC), part of the US-Republic of Korea (ROK) Combined Forces Command (CFC). As part of the U.S. Air Force's plan to establish Warfighting Headquarters (WFHQs), 7 AF will evolve into a Warfighting Headquarters for United States Forces Korea.
The current commander is US Air Force Lt. Gen. Stephen Wood.
Mission
The mission of Seventh Air Force is to deter, protect and defend the Republic of Korea from attack from North Korea. The command is to plan, direct, and conduct combined air operations in the Republic of Korea and in the Northwest Pacific in support of PACAF, US Pacific Command, United Nations Command, US-ROK Combined Forces Command, and US Forces Korea.
7th Air Force provides "ready to fight tonight" air power - precise, intense, and overwhelming; whenever and wherever needed.
Units
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Major units of Seventh Air Force are:
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Non-Flying Units (Osan Air Base)
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History
Lineage
- Established as Hawaiian Air Force on 19 Oct 1940
- Activated on 1 Nov 1940
- Redesignated: 7 Air Force on 5 Feb 1942
- Redesignated: Seventh Air Force on 18 Sep 1942
- Redesignated: Pacific Air Command on 15 Dec 1947
- Upgraded to Major Command 15 Dec 1947
- Discontinued on 1 Jun 1949
- Redesignated Seventh Air Force on 10 Dec 1954
- Activated on 5 Jan 1955
- Inactivated on 1 Jul 1957
- Activated on 28 Mar 1966
- Organized on 1 Apr 1966
- Inactivated on 30 Jun 1975
- Activated on 8 Sep 1986
Assignments
- Hawaiian Department, U.S. Army, 1 Nov 1940
- U.S. Army Forces in Central Pacific Area, c. 16 Aug 1943
- Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas, 1 Aug 1944
- Far East Air Forces (later, Pacific Air Command, U.S. Army), 14 Jul 1945
- Army Air Forces (later, United States Air Force), 1 Jan 1947-1 Jun 1949
- Pacific Air Force (later, Pacific Air Force/Far East Air Forces [Rear]), 5 Jan 1955-1 Jul 1957
- Pacific Air Forces, 28 Mar 1966-30 Jun 1975
- Pacific Air Forces, 8 Sep 1986-Present
Stations
- Fort Shafter, Territory of Hawaii, 1 Nov 1940
- Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii, c. 12 Jul 1941
- Saipan, 19 Dec 1944
- Okinawa, 12 Jul 1945
- Hickam Field (later, Hickam AFB), Territory of Hawaii, 1 Jan 1946-1 Jun 1949
- Hickam AFB, Territory of Hawaii, 5 Jan 1955
- Wheeler AFB, Territory of Hawaii, 24 Mar 1955-1 Jul 1957
- Tan Son Nhut Air Base, South Vietnam, 1 Apr 1966
- Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Navy Base, Thailand, 29 Mar 1973-30 Jun 1975
- Osan AB, Republic of Korea, 8 Sep 1986
Components
Commands
- 7 Air Force Base (later, VII Air Force Base; VII Air Force Service): 19 Feb 1942-15 Aug 1944
- VII Air Service Area: 3 Aug 1944-12 Aug 1945
- 7 Bomber (later, VII Bomber): 29 Jan 1942-1 Jan 1946
- 7 Interceptor (later, 7 Fighter; VII Fighter): 2 Feb 1942-1 Mar 1945; 14-16 Jul 1945
Divisions
- 7 Air (formerly, 7 Fighter Wing): 1 Jan 1946-3 Sep 1948
- 834 Air: 15 Oct 1966-1 Dec 1971.
Origins
Initially, Seventh Air Force activated on 1 November 1940 as the Hawaiian Air Force. The command was twice renamed before settling as Seventh Air Force on 18 September 1942. It is the oldest Numbered Air Force in the United States Air Force.
Seventh Air Force became part of U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area, about 16 August 1943, and assigned to Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas, on 1 August 1944.
Order of Battle, 6 December 1941
The mission of the Hawaiian Air Force on 6 December 1941 was air defense of the Hawaiian Islands. Its order of battle was as follows:
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The B-17 squadrons were equipped with a mixture of B-17B, B-17C and B-17D models. Additional units assigned to Hawaiian Air Force on 6 December 1941 were:
- 19th Transport Sqd, Hickam Fld (C-33)
- 58th Bombardment Sqd (Light), Hickam Fld (A-20)
- 86th Observation Sqd, Bellows Fld (B-12, O-47, O-49)
In addition to the above units, during the night of 6-7 December 1941, another squadron, the 38th Reconnaissance Squadron of the 41st Bombardment Group, Davis-Monthan Field, Arizona, were en route to Hawaii with a mixture of B-17C/Ds to reinforce the 18th Bombardment Wing.
Also, B-17Cs of the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Bombardment Group, were also en route to Hawaii from Hamilton Field, California, with a final destination of Clark Field, Luzon, Philippines.
These units were deploying due to the heightened tensions between the United States and the Empire of Japan. They arrived in Hawaii at the height of the attack on 7 December (radar operators mistakenly thought that the Japanese attack force was this flight arriving from California). Some of the planes managed to land at a short fighter strip at Haleiwa, one set down on a golf course, and the remainder landed at Hickam under the strafing of Japanese planes.
World War II
The attack on Pearl Harbor or Hawaii Operation as it was called by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters devastated Seventh Air Force. The command suffered 188 aircraft destroyed, 155 aircraft damaged, and hundreds of airmen killed or injured.
Hawaiian Airfields
In Hawaii the Seventh Air Force used the following military airfields. Some were operated solely by the AAF, others were jointly used with the United States Navy Wartime images of these airfields are linked to their names as most of them were minimal facility landing fields.
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Operational Units
Re-equipping of the command after the Japanese attack on Oahu took a significant length of time. The re-equipped Seventh Air Force consisted of the following units:
| VII FIGHTER COMMAND | FIGHTER GROUPS | BOMB GROUPS | MISCELLANEOUS |
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| 548th Night Fighter Squadron (P-61) | 15th Fighter Group | 5th Bombardment Group (B-17/B-24) | 28th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (F-5B) |
| 549th Night Fighter Squadron (P-61) | 18th Fighter Group | 11th Bombardment Group (B-24) | 9th Troop Carrier Squadron(C-47/C-46) |
| 21st Fighter Group | 30th Bombardment Group (B-24) | 163d Liaison Squadron (L-5) | |
| 318th Fighter Group | 41st Bombardment Group (B-25) | 41st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (F-5) | |
| 508th Fighter Group | 307th Bombardment Group (B-17/B-24) | ||
| 319th Bombardment Group (A-26) |
Seventh Air Force retained the mission of its predecessor of the defense of the Hawaiian Islands and until the closing months of the war it maintained its headquarters at Hickam Field. The command however, deployed most of its combat units to the Central Pacific where operations were best summed up by its air and ground views as "Just one damned island after another!"
Seventh Air Force units deployed 2,000 miles southwest to the Gilbert Islands, then 600 miles northwest to the Marshall Islands, 900 miles west to the Caroline Islands, 600 miles northwest to the Mariana Islands, 600 miles north to Iwo Jima, 1,000 miles west to Okinawa, always edging closer towards the center of Japanese power. A map story of the Seventh Air Force would cover 3,000 miles north and south of Midway Atoll to Fiji, and 5,000 miles east and west from Pearl Harbor to the Ryukus. The combat record of its major units is as follows:
- The 15th Fighter Group was re-equipped after the Pearl Harbor attack and remained in Hawaii as part of the Hawaiian Defense Force, although rotated squadrons to the Central Pacific attached to Thirteenth Air Force groups. In April 1944, received P-51 Mustang fighters and trained for long-range bomber escort missions. The group deployed to Iwo Jima in February 1945. Was reassigned to Twentieth Air Force for the remainder of the war, returning to Hawaii and Seventh Air Force in November 1945.
- The 18th Fighter Wing was re-equipped after the Pearl Harbor attack then was deployed to the Central Pacific and reassigned to Thirteenth Air Force and began operations from Guadalcanal. Moving across the Pacific, at the end of the war, the group moved to Clark Field on Luzon and became a permanent part of Far East Air Forces after the war.
- The 21st Fighter Group was created in Hawaii in March 1944 and initially was part of the Hawaiian Defense Force flying P-39 Airacobras. Re-equipped with P-51 Mustangs in January 1945 and trained for long-range bomber escort missions. The group deployed to Iwo Jima in February 1945. Was reassigned to Twentieth Air Force for the remainder of the war, being inactivated on Guam in April 1946.
- The 318th Fighter Group was created in Hawaii in May 1942 as part of the Hawaiian Defense Force flying P-39s, P-40s and later P-47s. Deployed to the Central Pacific being attached to Thirteenth Air Force in June 1944. Reassigned to Eighth Air Force in July 1945 in preparation for the Invasion of Japan. Returned to the United States in January 1946 and was inactivated.
- The 508th Fighter Group was created on 12 October 1944 at Peterson Field, Colorado. The group trained with P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft to provide very-long-range escort for B-29 Superfortress bombardment units in the Southwest Pacific Theater. The lack of significant Japanese fighter defense by late 1944 caused a change of mission and the group was reassigned to Seventh Air Force in Hawaii in Jan 1945 and served as part of the Hawaiian Defense Force. In Hawaii, the group also trained replacement pilots for other organizations, repaired P-47's and P-51's received from combat units, and ferried aircraft to forward areas. The unit was inactivated in Hawaii on 25 Nov 1945 when it replaced by the 15th Fighter Group.
- The 5th Bombardment Group was re-equipped after the Pearl Harbor attack with a mixture of B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberator bombers. The unit was engaged primarily in search and patrol missions off Hawaii from Dec 1941 to Nov 1942. In Hawaii, the group was used in the Battle of Midway to attack Japanese surface fleets. Deployed to Espírito Santo in the Solomon Islands and served in combat with Thirteenth Air Force during the Allied drive from the Solomons to the Philippines. Was assigned to the Philippines in 1945 till the end of the war.
- The 11th Bombardment Group was re-equipped after the Pearl Harbor attack with B-24 Liberators and initially flew patrol missions around Hawaii. It was deployed to the New Hebrides in July 1942 where it became part of Thirteenth Air Force and engaged in combat operations in the central Pacific.
- The 30th Bombardment Group was reassigned to Seventh Air Force in October 1943 from March Field, California where it flew west coast antisubmarine patrols for Fourth Air Force. It was deployed to the Ellice Islands in the central Pacific during November 1943 where its B-24s took part in the invasion of the Gilbert Islands. Remaining part of Seventh Air Force, the group moved westward across the Pacific, taking part in several campaigns until returning to Wheeler Field, Hawaii in March 1945. From Wheeler, the group flew patrol missions until being inactivated in June 1946.
- The 41st Bombardment Group was formed at March Field, California in January 1941 and performed antisubmarine patrols along the west coast until deploying to Seventh Air Force in Hawaii during October 1943 for final overseas training. From Hawaii, the group deployed its B-25 Mitchell medium bombers to Tarawa in the central Pacific in December 1943. Remaining part of Seventh Air Force, the group took part in combat operations across the western Pacific as well as attacking targets on Taiwan and mainland China as well as the Japanese home islands. It was inactivated at Clark Field, Philippines on 27 January 1946.
- The 307th Bombardment Group was reassigned to Seventh Air Force in October 1942 from Fourth Air Force where it flew patrols off the west coast, first in B-17's and later in B-24's. In Hawaii, the group trained and flew patrol and search missions. Attacked Wake Island in December 1942 and January 1943, by staging through Midway Island. The group deployed to Guadalcanal in February 1943 and was assigned to Thirteenth Air Force. It served in combat, primarily in the Central and Southwest Pacific, until the war ended.
- The 319th Bombardment Group was assigned to Seventh Air Force late in the war, after spending three years in combat with the Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces in the North African Campaign and Italian Campaign in the Mediterranean Theater. It joined Seventh Air Force in Okinawa flying A-26 Invaders during April 1945 and flew combat missions over China and the Japanese home islands. It returned to the United States in December 1945 where it was inactivated at Fort Lewis, Washington.
The Seventh Air Force along with Thirteenth Air Force in the Central Pacific and Fifth Air Force in Australia were assigned to the newly-created United States Far East Air Forces (FEAF) on August 3, 1944. FEAF was subordinate to the U.S. Army Forces Far East and served as the headquarters of Allied Air Forces Southwest Pacific Area. By 1945, three numbered air forces -- 5th, 7th and 13th -- were supporting operations in the Pacific. FEAF was the functional equivalent in the Pacific of the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) in the European Theater of Operations.
During the summer of 1945, the 15th Fighter Group (along with the 21st and 318th from the VII Fighter Command) were reassigned to the Twentieth Air Force and continued fighter sweeps against Japanese airfields and other targets, in addition to flying long-range B-29 escort missions to Japanese cities, until the end of the war. In addition, Seventh Air Force command echelon was moved to Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, and assigned to United States Far East Air Force, effective July 14, 1945. VII Fighter Command remained attached to 20th Air Force until the end of the war.
Pacific Air Command
On 1 January 1946, Seventh Air Force was reassigned without personnel or equipment to Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii, where it resumed its prewar mission of defense of the Hawaiian Islands.
On 15 December 1947, it was redesignated Pacific Air Command (PACOM) and elevated to major command status. PACOM's mission was to oversee air defense and other operations in the Pacific Ocean area, of the Pacific Region from the Hawaiian Islands west to include Wake, Midway, the Mariana, Caroline, Solomon and Marshall Islands.
Pacific Air Command was discontinued effective 1 June 1949 as a result of a budgetary actions. It's mission, functions, responsibilities and command jurisdiction of installations and facilities transferred to the Military Air Transport Service.
Cold War
Seventh Air Force regained its name and enjoyed a brief rebirth in the second half of the 1950s. Resurrected as an administrative headquarters on January 5, 1955 at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. It was assigned to Pacific Air Force (later, Pacific Air Force/FEAF [Rear]) and transferred to Wheeler AFB, Territory of Hawaii, in March 1955.
Seventh Air Force oversaw Pacific Air Force's area of responsibility east of 140 degrees east longitude, including the Hawaiian Islands. Seventh was also responsible for the air defense of the islands. However, the movement of United States Far East Air Force (renamed Pacific Air Forces) from Japan to Hawaii led to the inactivation of Seventh Air Force on 1 July 1957.
Vietnam War
HQ USAF revived the Seventh Air Force to serve Pacific Air Forces during the Vietnam War when the growth of forces required a replacement for the 2d Air Division. In this capacity Seventh Air Force was the Air Component Command of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV).
Upon reactivation on 28 March 1966, Seventh Air Force was designated a combat command at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. From April 1966 until 1973, the command assumed responsibility for most Air Force operations in Vietnam and shared responsibility with the Thirteenth Air Force for operations conducted from Thailand as 7/13 Air Force.
In June 1966, the first US air attacks near Hanoi and Haiphong occurred when Seventh Air Force planes bombed oil installations near these two cities. The following month, US aircraft struck North Vietnamese forces inside the Vietnamese Demilitarized zone (DMZ) following the North's violations of agreements not to put military forces there.
One of the most publicized battles of the war was the siege of Khe Sanh in early 1968, known as "Operation Niagara." More than 24,000 tactical and 2700 B-52 strike dropped 110,000 tons of ordnance in attacks that averaged over 300 sorties per day. At night, AC-47 gunships kept up a constant chatter of fire against enemy troops. In August 1968, General George S. Brown began to oversee the "Vietnamization" of the air war. By 1970, this effort was successful enough that General Brown released the first USAF units to leave Vietnam.
On 29 March 1973, the command transferred to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, where it accepted dual responsibility as the US Support Activities Group and Seventh Air Force. As a result, Seventh Air Force controlled air assets and operations in Thailand.
It served this role until its deactivation on 30 June 1975.
Post Cold War
On September 8, 1986, Seventh Air Force was reactivated at Osan Air Base, South Korea to replace the 314th Air Division. Since then, Seventh Air Force, as the US Air Force component to the US and ROK Combined Forces Command's Air Component Command, has been an integral part of deterring aggression from North Korea against the ROK.
Headquarters Seventh Air Force consists of approximately 10,000 Air Force personnel located primarily at Osan AB, Kunsan AB, and five other collocated operating bases throughout the Republic of Korea. Air Force personnel fly and maintain the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the A/OA-10 Thunderbolt combat aircraft, and perform a myriad of intelligence, logistics, planning, communications, and liaison duties.
Although primarily a combat ready command, Seventh Air Force also provides assistance to non-combatants and civilians with the region. Rescue at sea, typhoon evacuations, and medical assistance to the needy are but a few of the instances in which the men and women of the Seventh Air Force have extended an open hand.
See also
- United States Pacific Air Forces
- United States Forces Korea (USFK)
- Military of South Korea (ROK Armed Forces)
- United States Air Force In South Vietnam (Vietnam War)
- United States Air Force In Thailand (Vietnam War)
- United States Air Force In South Korea (Korean War)
References
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This article incorporates text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website which, as a United States government publication, is in the public domain. |
- This article includes content from Seventh Air Force Website history page.
External links
Maps
- Historical Records of US Air Force Combat Activities 1965 - 1975, Indochina (Google Earth format)
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