FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Brief History of Fifteenth Air Force
by
Gary
Leiser
On 8 November 1942, American and British forces landed in Morocco and Algeria as part of
Operation TORCH, the Allied offensive to drive the Germans and Italians from North Africa
and open the shipping lanes in the Mediterranean. The major American air element in this
offensive was 12 AF. It was composed of several bomber and fighter groups under the
command of Brig Gen James Doolittle. Operating from bases in Algeria, 12 AF attacked the
Axis positions and communications centers in Tunisia (and to some degree Italy) as
American and British ground forces advanced on that country from the west and the British
8th Army advanced on it from the east. On 13 may 1943, German and Italian forces in
Tunisia surrendered and 12 AF turned its full attention to targets in Italy.
Two months later, in July, the allies invaded Sicily and soon were advancing up the
"boot." In early September, Italy surrendered, but the struggle against Germany
continued. In October, US JCS approved Hap Arnold’s proposal for the creation of a
new strategic air force, the 15th, in the Mediterranean, whose primary task would be to
participate in the Combined Bomber Offensive (with 8 AF in England and the RAF) against
Germany. Known as Operation POINTBLANK, this offensive was directed against aircraft
plants, ball-bearing manufacturing sites, oil refineries, munitions factories, submarine
pens, and airports. Twelfth Air Fore then became a tactical air force and many of its
aircraft and personnel, as well as some from 9 AF, were used to create 15 AF. This new air
force was established on 1 November 1943 at Tunis, Tunisia under the command of, now Maj
Gen, Doolittle.
In addition to POINTBLANK, 15 AF had three other missions: 1) destroy the German Air Force
in the air and on the ground; 2) support the ground battle and attack communications
facilities on the Italian mainland, along the route through the Brenner Pass, and in
Austria; and 3) weaken the German position in the Balkans. Fifteenth Air Force flew its
first combat mission from North Africa on the day of its activation, striking naval and
railway targets near Rome.
It had been the intention of the Pentagon to move 15 AF to southeastern Italy as soon as
possible in order to increase its range over Europe. This was done on 1 December when 15
AF relocated to Bari on the Adriatic Sea near the "heel" of Italy. Shortly
thereafter, on 3 January 1944, Doolittle was made commander of 8 AF and Maj Gen Nathan
Twining replaced him at 15 AF.
The command gained units from its inception until the end of the war. It began with two
B-25 and three B-26 groups, but soon acquired B-17s and B-24s as well as fighters. By the
end of the war, it was composed of six B-17, fifteen B-24, three P-38, one P-47, and three
P-51 groups. Fifteenth Air Force thus became the largest overseas air command after 8 AF.
The range and variety of missions conducted by 15 AF in the war were impressive. On 19
December, it made its first massive raid on Germany. In January and February 1944, it flew
hundreds of sorties in support of the Allied landings at Anzio, striking rail yards and
other transportation centers in central Italy. Shortly thereafter, 15 AF flew perhaps its
most controversial mission when it destroyed the abbey at Monte Cassino, which the Germans
were presumed to be using as an outpost. Afterwards, weather permitting, 15 AF
concentrated on Germany in an attempt to paralyze its aircraft industry and defeat the
German Air Force before the coming Normandy invasion. At the same time, it continued to
attack northern Italy in an effort to cut off German troops in that region.
On 3 April, 15 AF bombed the aircraft factory and marshaling yards at Budapest, Hungary
and the next day hit Bucharest, Rumania. Other special missions struck Sofia, Bulgaria and
Athens, Greece. In May, hundreds of 15 AF bombers dropped tons of bombs on transportation
centers in southern France. All these attacks disrupted the German economy and
significantly hampered the mobility of the German Army. Indeed, after 6 June 1944, 15 AF
conducted strategic missions only.
As early as April 1944, 15 AF had bombed the oil refineries at Ploesti, Rumania. Between
June and August, it continued to attack this target with renewed vigor. Meanwhile, it also
participated in Operation FRANTIC. Beginning 2 June, this operation called for a series of
missions in which bombers would hit targets in eastern Europe and then land in Russia,
thus allowing them to reach targets beyond the radius of their home base in Italy. The
first bombers to fly these missions struck Hungary en route to Russia and then raided
Poland and other areas on the way back. On 22 July, 15 AF made the first all-fighter
shuttle to Russia. In August, 15 AF supported Operation ANVIL, the amphibious invasion of
southern France.
In December 1944 and January 1945, 15 AF carried out attacks to assist Allied forces in
the Battle of the Bulge. On 24 march, it struck Berlin for the first time—the
Damler-Benz tank works. In the course of this mission, German jets shot down two B-17s,
the last aircraft lost by 15 AF in the war. The command’s final strategic mission
occurred on 25 March against the air field and tank plants in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Fifteenth Air Force then turned to tactical missions. The largest occurred on 15 April in
Operation WOWSER, when every available bomber, 1,235, helped Fifth Army break the Gothic
Line at Bologna, Italy. After more attacks from both 15 AF and 8 AF, German forces in
Italy surrendered on 29 April. B-17s flew their last mission on 1 May against the
marshaling yards at Salzburg, Austria. On 8 May, Germany capitulated.
A few weeks later, on 26 May, Brig Gen James Mollison replaced Gen Twining. Subsequently,
most of the equipment and personnel from 15 AF were deployed to the US or the Pacific. On
15 September, after the fall of Japan, 15 AF was inactivated.
During its 18 months of operations, 15 AF made a significant contribution to the Allied
victory in Europe. It dropped 303,842 tons of bombs on 13 countries, flew 148,955 sorties,
destroyed 1,946 enemy aircraft, 1,600 locomotives and 1,400 rail cars.* At the same time,
it lost 3,400 of its own planes and 17,615 airmen were killed, wounded, or missing in
action.
Fifteenth Air Force was not inactivated for long. On 21 March 1946, the Army Air Force was
restructured and given three new commands. One of them was the Strategic Air Command
(SAC), which was responsible for long-range offensive operations and reconnaissance. On 31
March, 15 AF was reactivated at Colorado Springs and assigned to this command as its first
operational numbered air force. Its primary mission was strategic bombardment. Initially,
the newly revived 15 AF was composed of both bombers and fighters, but the latter were
phased out by 1957.
During its first year in SAC, 15 AF was preoccupied with various demobilization tasks. It
gave up more than half its operational units in November 1946 when 8 AF joined SAC.
Fifteenth Air Force thus retained a dozen bombardment groups flying B-29s stationed at
four bases in California, Washington, South Dakota, and Kansas. In 1948, they began making
rotational flights to Europe, North Africa, and the Far East. In 1949, with the advent of
the rivalry between the West and the Soviet block, the mission of 15 AF was revised to
include the conduct of strategic warfare with nuclear weapons.
Between 1946 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, 15 AF underwent several
organizational changes. On 7 November 1949, it moved to March AFB, California and was
placed in charge of operations in the western third of the US. It consequently lost units
in the rest of the country and gained some closer to home—Castle and Travis in
California, Davis-Monthan in Arizona, and Fairchild in Washington. It emerged with five
bombardment wings, one fighter wing, and a reconnaissance wing. B-50s were replacing the
B-29s, F-84 jet fighters were replacing the P-51s, and RB-29 reconnaissance aircraft and a
few KB-29 tankers also joined the inventory.
In July 1950, a few weeks after the war began in Korea, B-29s of the 22nd Bombardment
Group (BG) of 15 AF deployed to Kadena, Okinawa and those of the 92 BG moved to Yokota,
Japan. They were almost immediately engaged in attacks on railroads and oil refineries
around Wonsan, North Korea. In August, 98 BG and the 31st Recon Squadron of 15 AF also
joined the conflict. Within a few months, the strategic bombardment campaign in Korea
ended because of a lack of targets. The 22 and 92 BGs returned to the US and the 91st
Recon Squadron replaced the 31st Recon Squadron. When the Chinese entered the war, the 98
BG and others flew interdiction missions. The 98 BG remained in Japan until the end of the
war on 27 July 1953. Fifteenth Air Force lost 17 personnel killed in action and 121 killed
in crashes. It also lost 16 B-29s and four RB-29s from all causes.
During the Korean War, 15 AF acquired four additional bases and the number of its aircraft
jumped from 285 to 634. In 1951, some bombardment units briefly converted to B/RB-36 and
in 1957 to the all jet B-47. In 1952, KC-97 tankers joined the fleet to refuel the B-47s.
After the war, the US adopted a policy of containment with respect to the communist block
with the threat of massive nuclear retaliation, that is, nuclear deterrence. The main
instrument of deterrence was SAC. In 1955, the 93rd Bombardment Wing (BW) at Castle became
the first SAC unit to convert to the B-52. By 1959, 15 AF consisted of more than 230 B-52s
in five heavy bombardment wings and more than 400 B-47s in nine medium bombardment wings.
Furthermore, in 1957, 15 AF acquired its first KC-135A tanker, also at Castle, and had 77
by 1959. In January 1957, the commander of 15 AF, Maj Gen Archie Old, led three 93 BW
B-52s on a flight around the world, with inflight refueling, from Castle to March and thus
demonstrated the ability of SAC to strike anywhere in the world. In the same year, the
Soviet Union launched Sputnik and confirmed the fears of American defense planers about
Russia’s missile capabilities. In response, SAC developed the alert concept, which
included keeping a number of 15 AF B-52s in the air around the clock and armed with
nuclear weapons. In addition, SAC dispersed its aircraft over a wider area. By 1959, 15 AF
had aircraft at some 20 bases almost half of which belonged to other commands.
Meanwhile, 15 AF was about to enter the missile age. In the early 50s, in response to the
growing threat from the Soviet Union, the US began to develop an intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM) force. Responsibility for its management was given to SAC. Thus,
in 1959, the Atlas squadron at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming and the Titan I squadron at
Lowry AFB, Colorado were transferred to 15 AF. The following year, an Atlas squadron was
activated at Fairchild and a second Titan squadron was activated at Lowry. Indeed, by late
1961, 15 AF had jurisdiction over 75 per cent of SAC’s missile force. In the same
year, the Minuteman began to enter the inventory at Malmstrom AFB, Montana and by 1965 the
early Atlas and Titan missiles were completely phased out. The Titan II entered the force
in 1962 at Davis-Monthan. As 15 AF was becoming a potent missile command, there were
continuous developments in its bombing and air refueling forces. By 1965, the B-52/KC-135
conversion had been completed. In 1961, SAC was made the Air Force’s single manager
for KC-135 operations so that the tankers of 15 AF began supporting aircraft from other
commands, notably the Tactical Air Command (TAC). In the same year, certain B-52 units
began developing the capability to launch airborne missiles. Furthermore, in 1962, the
command became responsible for the reconnaissance activities of RC-135 aircraft at Eielson
AFB, Alaska and within four years acquired reconnaissance operations at three more
locations. In 1963, SAC’s U-2 aircraft moved their operations to Davis-Monthan. In
1966, the renowned SR-71 joined the fleet of 15 AF when 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing
at Offutt was reassigned to Beale. All stateside SAC airborne reconnaissance activities
were thus under the jurisdiction of 15 AF. In 1963, 15 AF also acquired an airborne
command and control mission by supporting SAC’s Looking Glass operations—keeping
a general officer in the air at all times—with several aircraft. As a result of all
these developments, 15 AF was at the peak of its post-World War II strength on the eve of
the war in Vietnam. In 1963, it was composed of 86,000 personnel operating at 16 of its
own bases and nine of other commands. It was the most important numbered air force in the
western US.
On 9 June 1964, 15 AF joined the war in Southeast Asia when four of its KC-135s refueled
eight F-100s on their way to strike targets on the Plain of Jars in Laos. Refueling both
fighters and bombers, the tankers of 15 AF flew 194,687 sorties in the war.
The B-52s of 15 AF entered the conflict a few days later when they began a series of raids
over South Vietnam called ARC LIGHT. Their missions later expanded to include Laos and
North Vietnam (ROLLING THUNDER). Gen William Westmoreland, who commanded American forces
in Vietnam, especially valued the B-52s for providing close air support and breaking up
large enemy concentrations. Initially operating from Guam, the B-52s began operating from
U-Tapao, Thailand in 1967. The sortie rate reached 1,800 per month. In 1969, these
aircraft extended their missions to include Cambodia in a bombing campaign that lasted 14
months. In early 1972, B-52 attacks intensified during LINEBACKER I and II when they broke
a North Vietnamese offensive and were unleashed over Hanoi and Haiphong. Five of the six
B-52s from 15 AF that were shot down during the war were lost over North Vietnam. In
December 1972, the bombing of the north stopped as negotiations between the US and North
Vietnam made progress toward a peace agreement, which was signed on 23 January 1973.
Afterward a few sorties were flown against Laos and Cambodia, but by 15 August it was all
over. Fifteenth Air Force did not participate in the war as a headquarters element or a
numbered air force. Instead, it rotated personnel and aircraft in and out of the theater
through SAC’s Third Air Division on Guam. It lost 27 men killed in action, 13 wounded
in action, and 13 who were prisoners of war. It lost 11 B-52s from all causes and one
KC-135 by a crash.
In 1970, during the last stages of the war in Southeast Asia, SAC was reorganized leading
to a change in the composition and responsibilities of 15 AF. It lost Travis and Castle
while acquiring other bases in Arkansas and Missouri. Altogether, 15 AF gained in
bombardment and air refueling strength, maintained its monopoly over reconnaissance and
took on full numbered air force responsibility for ICBM units and bases. Also in 1970, the
first squadron of Minuteman IIIs became operational. The missile carried multiple
independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV), i.e., multiple warheads.
After the war, programs were begun to prolong the service life of the B-52s and KC-135s.
In 1980 the EB-4A, which served the National Emergency airborne Command Post, entered the
fleet and in 1981 it was joined by the TR-1A tactical reconnaissance aircraft. The mission
also expanded. In late 1979, 15 AF took over a support base and five early warning/space
surveillance units, some of which were in Alaska, from the inactivating Aerospace Defense
Command. In 1982, it acquired the Third Air Division on Guam and oversaw all SAC units and
operations in the Pacific. At the same time, the ICBMs continued to be modernized. Between
1982 and 1984, the Titan II missile system was deactivated, and in 1986 15 AF became the
first command to receive the next generation of ICBMs known as the MX (Peacekeeper), which
were installed at F.E. Warren. As with Peacekeeper, 15 AF became the first command to
receive a new generation of bomber, the B-1B. It arrived at Dyess AFB, Texas in 1985. The
B-52 remained in the fleet, however, albeit as upgraded G and H models. The modified
KC-135, the R model, also entered 15 AF in 1985. Meanwhile, a completely new tanker, the
KC-10, which carried both fuel and passengers or cargo, came to 15 AF in 1982.
During the 1980s, while modernizing its forces, 15 AF participated in a number of large
scale exercises. The foci were the Middle East and the Pacific. The former included
GALLANT EAGLE and BRIGHT STAR, in which B-52s flew 15,000 miles (with air refueling) in 31
hours to drop bombs on a range in Egypt. In the Pacific, 15 AF inaugurated the GIANT
WARRIOR series of exercises in which the B-1B was deployed.
In August 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait in a dispute over territorial and mineral claims. This
precipitated a crisis in which a coalition of forces led by the US went on the offensive
to liberate Kuwait. During the buildup, known as DESERT SHIELD, tankers from 15 AF helped
make possible the largest airlift in history as American forces were transferred to the
Middle East. On 17 January 1991, the coalition attacked and DESERT SHIELD became DESERT
STORM. During the short-lived conflict, which ended on 18 February, crews from 15 AF flew
reconnaissance, air refueling and bombing missions as part of the assault on Iraq. B-52s
were used primarily against troop concentrations. Fifteenth Air Force had no losses in the
Gulf War.
During the Gulf War, 15 AF was at the height of its post-Vietnam power. Indeed, it had
never possessed such a formidable force. It commanded more than 550 ICBMs, 135 long-range
bombers, 259 tankers, several squadrons of reconnaissance and command and control aircraft
and 55,000 personnel in 18 wings and other organizations scattered around the world. But
the mission and structure of 15 AF soon changed dramatically.
On 25 July 1991, the Air Force Chief of Staff announced that SAC would be divided into
four numbered air forces defined according to mission. Thus, on 1 September, 15 AF became
strictly a tanker command, relinquishing all bombers, missiles and other weapons systems.
It was given control of some 600 tankers (eight wings) and eight bases across the US. But
even this arrangement was temporary. On 17 September, the Secretary of the Air Force
announced that SAC, TAC, and the Military Airlift Command (MAC) would be inactivated and
replaced by two new commands: Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC).
SAC’s bombers, missiles and reconnaissance aircraft went to ACC and its tankers went
to AMC. The latter also acquired the airlift assets of MAC. Thus, when AMC, headquartered
at Scott AFB, Illinois, was activated on 1 June 1992, 15 AF, along with 22 AF and 21 AF
(both former MAC units), joined that organization.
Meanwhile, the Air Force had also decided to consolidate further the resources of AMC. On
1 July 1993, 22 AF headquartered at Travis, moved to Dobbins AFB, Georgia where it became
a reserve unit and 15 AF moved from March to Travis and acquired the assets of 22 AF. Over
a period of about three years, therefore, 15 AF was transformed from a bomber, missile,
reconnaissance, and tanker command to strictly a tanker command and finally to a tanker
and airlift command. Consequently, when 15 AF celebrated its 50th anniversary on 1
November 1993, it also celebrated a new identity and the beginning of a new era for that
unit.
As part of AMC, the mission of 15 AF was to provide global reach for America, assuring
rapid, world-class air mobility when America called. It has demonstrated its ability to
fulfill that mission by its participation in such major contingencies as Operation RESTORE
HOPE in Somalia (1992-94), Operation SUPPORT HOPE in Rwanda (1994), and Operation UPHOLD
DEMOCRACY in Haiti (1994). It has also conducted noteworthy routine operations such as
annual DEEP FREEZE missions to Antarctica and various humanitarian missions around the
world.
For More Information Contact:
Jimmy Doolittle Air & Space Museum
400 Brennan Circle (BLDG 80)
Tel: 707-424-5605
FAX: 707-424-4451
Internet:
[email protected]
