Continental Air Command

Continental Air Command
Continental Air Command emblem
Active	1948 - 1968
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Type	Major Command

F-47N (Republic P-47N-1-RE Thunderbolt) 44-88140 of the 332d Fighter Group, Lockbourne AFB, Ohio

File:P-51-Grenier-1949.jpg

F-51Ds from the 82nd Fighter Group, Grenier AFB New Hampshire

Lockheed F-80C-10-LO Shooting Star 49-696, currently at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

Republic F-84E-1-RE Thunderjets (49-2039 in foreground)

C-119 "Flying Boxcar"

C-54 Skymaster

C-123 Provider

Continental Air Command (ConAC) (1944–1946; 1948–1968) was a Major Command of the United States Air Force (USAF) responsible primarily for administering the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

History

Origins

In 1944, the majority of the Numbered Air Forces of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) were fighting in various parts of the world, such as the Eighth Air Force in Europe and the Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific. They were supported by four numbered air forces located within the United States (First, Second, Third and Fourth). which was known as the Zone of the Interior, or "ZI".

On 13 December 1944, the USAAF established "Major Commands", in order to streamline command and control of wartime operations in the various theaters. First, Second, Third and Fourth Air Force were placed under Continental Air Forces (CAF), which provided command and control for USAAF forces in the ZI. CAF had been formed to oversee redeployment, provide air defense of the country, and ultimately form and command the continental strategic reserve. Similar overseas major commands for the Pacific Theater (United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific (USASTAF)) and European Theater (United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (USSTAF)) were also established.

This organizational structure brought better command and control to the widely dispersed theaters and sub-theaters of the USAAF throughout the world, however with the peace in 1945 and the return of forces and subsequent demobilization, a new organizational pyramid was necessary. Entering 1946, the USAAF had a group strength less than half that of September 1945.

General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General of the AAF, ordered a reorganization to implement the lessons of World War II and provide an effective striking force in being. He faced the prospect of independence at some indeterminate future time and the immediate need to implement the markedly reduced post-war air force program. Original ideas were to have just two commands in the United States—CAF and a strategic strike force—but General Dwight D. Eisenhower's accession to the Army Chief of Staff position and his desire for tactical air units dedicated to support Army ground forces, prompted the inclusion of a tactical command. On 21 March 1946, the USAAF established a new organization of Major Commands as follows:

• Strategic Air Command (SAC), to provide a long-range striking force capable of bombardment operations in any part of the world. SAC was formed from the two strategic air forces which fought in the European Theater, the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces.

• Tactical Air Command (TAC), to support the operations of ground forces. TAC was formed from the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces, the primary tactical air forces in the European Theater.

• Air Defense Command (ADC), to defend the United States against attack from the air. ADC was created from the former Continental Air Forces First, Second, and Fourth Air Forces, along with the Tenth Air Force which had returned from India and the Fourteenth Air Force which has returned from China.

In addition, several overseas-based Major Commands were established to command USAAF forces outside of the Continental United States (CONUS). These were:

• Far East Air Forces (FEAF), consisting of the Fifth, Seventh, Thirteenth and Twentieth Air Forces in the former Pacific Theater.

• United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) to command forces in the former European Theater. Third Air Force was reassigned from the ZI to USAFE to perform intermediate level command functions.

• Sixth Air Force was redesignated Caribbean Air Command and elevated to Major Command status to command USAAF forces in Central America and various Caribbean island bases.

• Eleventh Air Force was redesignated Alaskan Air Command and elevated to Major Command status to command USAAF forces in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.

With the establishment of these seven major commands, all reporting to Headquarters USAAF, the wartime Major Commands (CAF, USSTAF, USASTAF) were inactivated. Although modified and expanded, this basic organizational structure has remained in place for United States Air Force the past sixty years.

ConAC Establishment

In 1947 the United States Congress provided the necessary legislation to create a Department of Defense and established the United States Air Force (USAF) as a separate service equal to the Army and the Navy in the nation's military establishment.

During World War II there were massive deficit expenditures to conduct the war, however with the peace, the Truman Administration was determined to bring the Federal budget back into balance. This meant that there was little money for the Air Force to modernize its forces. What money was there, was allocated first to SAC for new B-50 Superfortress and B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental bombers, along with F-82 Twin Mustang fighter escorts. All of these three weapon systems were developed during the war and put into production to replace the obsolete B-17, B-24 and war-weary B-29 strategic bomber fleet inherited by SAC. The appearance of the German jet aircraft during the war essentially made obsolete the prop-driven P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang fighters inherited by TAC. F-80 Shooting Star and F-84 Thunderjet jet aircraft, also developed during the war were put into production to replace them. ADC received the many training P-47 and P-51 fighters used at CONUS bases during the war, along with the already produced P-47N and P-51H long-range escort aircraft designed for use in the expected Invasion of Japan. In addition, large numbers of Northrup F-61C Black Widows, used for night fighter operations during the war found their way into ADC units.

Due to the limited budget, the new USAF was forced to extend procurement of these aircraft to just a few each year. As a result of limited budgets Continental Air Command (ConAC) was established on 1 December 1948 as a new major command. ConAC was the result of an effort by the new USAF to concentrate all fighter forces deployed within the continental United States to strengthen the air defense of the North American continent. With the establishment of ConAC, TAC and ADC were reduced from major commands to operating agencies under ConAC. ConAC also had charge of all Air Force Reserve units because most of these forces were to be used in either air defense or tactical operations.

In practice, ConAC was unworkable as the tactical air support mission was fundamentally different than the air defense mission. Units assigned to ConAC were dual-trained and in case of war, were expected to revert to their primary roles after the North American air defense battle was won. The Korean War gave a new emphasis to tactical air operations and resulted in the restoration of Tactical Air Command as a major air command on December 1, 1950 and relieved it from assignment to ConAC. TAC's mission would be to supply these tactical forces to FEAF and USAFE, and also be able to deploy its CONUS forces worldwide in response to Cold War threats by Communist China and the Soviet Union. In addition, the need to support the new NATO alliance meant that entire wings of aircraft would be deployed to Europe for tactical air defense.

The air defense mission, relegated to a secondary status in the postwar years, received much more attention as Cold War tensions heightened. Following the explosion of a Soviet nuclear weapon in August 1949, the Air Force issued requirements for an operational air defense system by 1952. The perceived threat of an airborne atomic attack by the Soviet Union with its Tu-4 copy of the B-29 or Tu-95 strategic bomber led to the separation of Air Defense Command from ConAC, and its reestablishment as an Air Force major command, effective 1 January 1951 to counter the perceived Soviet threat.

Post World War II Air Force Reserve

With the reestablishment of TAC and ADC as major commands, ConAC's misson became one of administering Air Force Reserve Troop Carrier units. Beginning in the mid-1950s and lasting through the 1960s, all Continental Air Command flying units were Air Force Reserve troop carrier units were upgraded from the C-47/C-54 to either C-118 Cargomaster, C-119 Flying Boxcar, C-123 Provider, or C-124 Globemaster aircraft. Continental Air Command flying units also included Air Force Reserve Air Rescue Squadrons which were equipped with the amphibious SA-16 / HU-16 Albatross from their inception.

Korean War

With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, it was necessary to deploy large numbers of tactical aircraft to Japan and South Korea.

Reserve Unit Structure, 25 June 1950

Wing	Assignment	Location	Aircraft	Comments
94th Bombardment Wing, Light	Fourteenth Air Force	Marietta AFB, Georgia	B-26 Invader	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 1 April 1951
319th Bombardment Wing, Light	Fourteenth Air Force	Philadelphia IAP, Pennsylvania	B-26 Invader	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 1 April 1951
323d Bombardment Wing, Light	Fourteenth Air Force	Tinker AFB, Oklaholma	B-26 Invader	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 17 March 1951
448th Bombardment Wing, Light	Fourth Air Force	Long Beach MAP, California	B-26 Invader	Ordered to Active Service on 17 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 21 March 1951
452d Bombardment Wing, Tactical	Fourth Air Force	Long Beach MAP, California	B-26 Invader	Ordered to Active Service on 10 August 1950; Combat in Korea 10 Dec 1950-10 May 1952, Inactivated on 10 May 1952
63d Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Floyd Bennet NAS, New York	C-47 Skytrain	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 9 May 1951
89th Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Hanscom Apt, Massachusetts	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 10 May 1951
349th Troop Carrier Wing	Fourth Air Force	Hamilton AFB, California	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 2 April 1951
375th Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Greater Pittsburgh APT, Pennsylvania	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 15 October 1950; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 14 July 1952
403d Troop Carrier Wing	Fourth Air Force	Portland MAP, Oregon	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951; Combat in Korea 14 April 1952-1 January 1953, Inactivated on 1 January 1953
419th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Scott AFB, Illinois	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 2 May 1951
433d Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Cleveland MAP, Ohio	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 14 July 1952
434th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Atterbury AFB, Indiana	C-47 Skytrain	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 11 Feburary 1953
435th Troop Carrier Wing	Fourteenth Air Force	Miami IAP, Florida	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 March 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 1 January 1953
436th Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Godman AFB, Kentucky	C-47 Skytrain	Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 15 April 1951
437th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Chicago Orchard APT, Illinois	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 10 August 1950; Combat in Korea 8 November 1950–10 June 1952, Inactivated on 1 January 1953
438th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Offutt AFB, Nebraska	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 15 March 1951
439th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Selfridge AFB, Michigan	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 April 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 3 April 1951
440th Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Wold-Chamberlain MAP, Minnesota	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 4 May 1951
441st Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Chicago Orchard APT, Minnesota	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 14 March 1951
442d Troop Carrier Wing	Tenth Air Force	Fairfax Field, Kansas	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 10 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 12 March 1951
443d Troop Carrier Wing	Fourteenth Air Force	Hensley Field, Texas	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 8 January 1953
512th Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Reading MAP, Pennsylvania	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 15 March 1951 as a filler unit; Inactivated on 1 April 1951
514th Troop Carrier Wing	First Air Force	Birmingham MAP, Alabama	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 1 May 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 1 Feburary 1953
516th Troop Carrier Wing	Fourteenth Air Force	Memphis MAP, Tennessee	C-46 Commando	Ordered to Active Service on 15 April 1951; Trained units for deployment to Korea, Inactivated on 16 January 1953

Air Force Reserve Mobilization

One of the immediate needs of the Active Duty Air Force was to was to assemble a tactical airlift force. In June 1950, the United States could count three troop carrier wings: the Regular Air Force’s 314th at Sewart AFB, Tennessee, and the mobilized 375th and 433d reserve wings at Donaldson AFB, South Carolina.

To fill the airlift void, six Air Force Reserve C 4 6 wings were identified for mobilization in January 1951. On March 28, 1951, the Tactical Air Command activated the Eighteenth Air Force at Donaldson AFB, South Carolina, immediately assigning to it the Reserve 314th and 375th Troop Carrier Wings. As the reserve wings came on active duty, they too joined the Eighteenth Air Force.

The 435th Troop Carrier Wing at Miami IAP, Florida, the 403d at Portland MAP, Oregon, and the 516th at Memphis MAP, Tennessee, were mobilized on March 1, April 1, and April 16, respectively, while the 434th at Atterbury AFB, Indiana, the 514th at Mitchel AFB, New York, and the 443d at Hensley Field, Texas, all came onto active service on May 1.

Eighteenth Air Force

Eighteenth Air Force was established and activated in March 1951 to discharge Tactical Air Command's troop carrier responsibilities. With the partial mobilization of the Air Force Reserve during the Korean War, Eighteenth Air Force assumed control of the reserve wings mobilized in 1951-the 435th, 516th, 434th, 514th, and 443d for their active duty tours.

The reservists routinely trained in the troop carrier role, participated in several joint training exercises, and discharged the bulk of Tactical Air Command’s troop-carrying responsibilities to other agencies. Among the major joint training exercises in which the units participated were Exercise SOUTHERN PINE in August 1951, Operation SNOWFALL in January- February 1952, and Exercise LONG HORN in March 1952.

For one six-month period of its active duty tour, one of the reserve wings became something of a cold-weather outfit. In April 1952 the United States agreed to construct a weather station for Denmark a few hundred miles from the North Pole, a location inaccessible except by air. Ironically, the southernmost of the reserve wings, the 435th of Miami, drew the assignment to airlift the materials to the north country.

On 14 July 1952, the 375th Troop Carrier Wing was relieved from active military service,and the other five were relieved at various times between 1 December 1952, and 1 February 1953.

Reserve individual augmentation

The necessity of a partial mobilization in July 1950 raised a number of perplexing problems which became more difficult as the war progressed through its first year. The fundamental problem centered around the fact that the Air Force, requiring a substantial augmentation of reserve manpower in a circumstance no planner had ever envisioned, needed individual replacements and augmentees, not entire organized units.

When the Korean War broke out, the Air Force’s immediate need was for individuals to raise active force units to their authorized wartime strengths. National policy required preparedness for a conflict in Europe, and the Air Force hesitated to withdraw manpower from the organized units of the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, the only trained augmentation resource available. Therefore, discounting a handful of volunteers, the Air Force’s individual replacements to satisfy the demands of the first phase of the Korean War as well as the expansion requirements came from reserve units by using them as "filler" augmentees along with their equipment and aircraft.

For nearly a month after American troops went into Korea, the Air Force strove to meet burgeoning personnel requirements with volunteers, offering its reservists and guardsmen opportunities for either enlistment or voluntary recall to active duty. The Air Force’s first voluntary recall on 30 June 1950, sought communications and electronic officers, radar officers and specialists, telephone and radio operators and maintenance men, cryptographer operators and technicians, and wiremen and cablemen. Additional calls followed, and by 20 July the Continental Air Command had a consolidated recall requirement for almost 50,000 reservists. They included 2,000 pilots, 1,900 specialized observers, 4,326 nonrated officers, and 41,536 airmen.

By this time, it was obvious that the need for men could not be satisfied by the voluntary recall which had produced only rated officers. Therefore, by 19 July, President Truman had authorized involuntary recall of reservists for one year. The Continental Air Command directed its numbered air forces to select individuals from the Volunteer Air Reserve training program for assignment outside the command. Members of the command’s corollary units and its mobilization augmentees and designees could be called up to fill the command’s authorized vacancies. The mobilization augmentees of other commands could be recalled to fill any other vacancy in the Air Force. When feasible, corollary unit members were to be used to fill vacancies in their parent units. Members of the Volunteer Air Reserve could be recalled to fill a Continental Air Command vacancy when Organized Air Reserve sources were unavailable, but no member of an organized reserve unit at a flying center was to be individually recalled.

The entry of the Chinese into the war in November 1950, the resultant proclamation of a national emergency, and the accompanying military buildup early in 1951 required the Air Force to turn to its individual reserve resources again. Still desiring to preserve the effectiveness of existing units while rapidly expanding its manpower base, the Air Force needed the reservists to fill critical skill shortages and provide cadre for new units in the expanding force. Even though restricted to the Organized Air Reserve, the involuntary recall of individuals in February and March 1951 was the heaviest of the war. The Continental Air Command recalled slightly more than 7,000 reservists in both February and March. About 4,000 were recalled in April, and the number leveled off thereafter at a slightly lower figure.

Fifteen reserve wings were recalled on vaious dates between 10 March and 1 May and were inactivated at home stations after their personnel had been reassigned, the units being used as "Fillers" for active duty unit personnel and aircraft requirements. The breaking up of the reserve units upon mobilization evoked a flurry of protest from the reservists and from congressmen representing the states in which the units were located. Reserve unit members believed the Air Force had promised that they would serve together upon mobilization-indeed recruiters of the period had at least implied if not actually asserted as much.

In response, the Secretary of the Air Force Thomas K. Finletter, stated that the Chief of Staff had to have absolute flexibility to employ Air Reserve Forces units and individuals in the best interests of national defense. Moreover, he noted that Public Law 599, under whose authority all mobilization during the Korean War took place, specifically authorized the President to order reservists to active duty as individuals or as members of units, with or without their consent.

In the fall of 1951, the Air Force began releasing reservists from active duty.

Reserve/National Guard Mission

Several major re-organizations occurred to Continental troop carrier wings. Their original Table of Organization was a wing headquarters, a troop carrier group, an Air Base Group, a maintenance and supply group, and a medical group. In 1957, the troop carrier group and maintenance and supply groups were inactivated, with their squadrons reassigned directly to the wing headquarters - despite the fact that many wings had squadrons spread out over several bases due to centers of population.

Following a series of mobilizations in 1961 and 1962 for the Berlin Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Continental Air Command realized that it was unwieldy to mobilize an entire wing unless absolutely necessary. Therefore, in 1963, the wings were again reorganized. Troop Carrier Groups were activated at every base that held a CONAC troop carrier squadron, with each group comprising a material squadron, a troop carrier squadron, a tactical hospital or dispensary, and a combat support squadron. Each troop carrier wing consisted of 3 or 4 of these groups. By doing so, CONAC could facilitate the mobilization of either aircraft and aircrews alone, aircraft and minimum support personnel (one troop carrier group), or the entire troop carrier wing.

While these troop carrier groups have been redesignated several times through the decades with changes in missions and aircraft (the Air Force Reserve Command now operates several different types of aircraft, not all of which are transports), many still exist and today are designated as Wings.

Continental Air Command was inactivated on 1 August 1968 and was replaced by the Air Force Reserve (AFRES). AFRES was initially a field operating agency, later redesignated Air Force Reserve Command on 17 February 1997 and status changed from a field operating agency to a major command of the United States Air Force.

Continental Air Command was disestablished on 21 September 1984. CONAC installations, many of which are still active today as Air Force Reserve or Air National Guard installations, included:

• Andrews AFB, Maryland
• Bakalar AFB, Indiana
• Barksdale AFB, Louisiana
• Brookley AFB, Alabama
• Carswell AFB, Texas
• Clinton County AFB, Ohio
• Dobbins AFB, Georgia
• Ellington AFB, Texas
• Grenier AFB, New Hampshire
• Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts
• Hamilton AFB, California
• Homestead AFB, Florida
• Luke AFB, Arizona
• March AFB, California
• McGuire AFB, New Jersey

• Mitchell Field, Wisconsin
• NAS/JRB New Orleans, Louisiana
• Niagara Falls IAP, New York
• McClellan AFB, California
• Paine AFB, Washington
• Pittsburgh IAP, Pennsylvania
• Portland IAP, Oregon
• Richards-Gebaur AFB, Missouri
• Robins AFB, Georgia
• Scott AFB, Illinois
• Selfridge AFB, Michigan
• Stewart AFB, New York
• NAS/JRB Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
• Youngstown AFB, Ohio

Lineage

• Established as Continental Air Command, and organized, on December 1, 1948

Inactivated on August 1, 1968

Disestablished on September 21, 1984

Components

Agencies

• Air Defense Command, 1 December 1948 - 1 July 1950
• Tactical Air Command, 1 December 1948 - 1 December 1950

Air Forces

• First Air Force, 1 December 1948-23 June 1958
• Fourth Air Force, December 1948-1 September 1960
• Ninth Air Force*, 1 December 1948 - 1 December 1950
• Tenth Air Force, 1 December 1948 - 1 September 1960
• Twelfth Air Force*, 1 December 1948 - 1 December 1950
• Fourteenth Air Force, 1 December 1948 - 1 July 1968

* Tactical Air Command NAFs

Regions

• First Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-1 August 1968

(Stewart AFB, NY) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in the six New England states, New York and New Jersey

• Second Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-24 June 1966

(Andrews AFB, MD) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Inactivated 24 June 1966, merged into First Region.

• Third Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-1 August 1968

(Dobbins AFB, GA) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina.

• Fourth Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-1 August 1968

(Randolph AFB, TX) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

• Fifth Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-1 August 1968

(Selfridge AFB, MI) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and North and South Dakota

• Sixth Air Force Reserve Region: 1 September 1960-1 August 1968

(Hamilton AFB, CA) Responsible for the training of all Air Force Reservists in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon

Stations

• Mitchel AAF (Later AFB), New York, 1 December 1948
• Robins AFB, Georgia, 1 April 1961 - 1 August 1968

References

• Cantwell, Gerald (1987), Citizen Airmen, A History of the Air Force Reserve, 1946-1994. Washington, D.C.: Air Force History and Museums Program: GPO, 1997 ISBN: 0-16049-269-6
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
• The Air Officer's Guide, 1970-1971 Edition, United States Air Force, ISBN 0-8117-2609-6
• Continental Air Command at US Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

• The Continental Air Defense Collection at the United States Army Center of Military History

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