The Seventh Air Force (Air Forces Korea) (7 AF) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). It is headquartered at Osan Air Base, South Korea.
The command's mission is to plan and direct air component operations in the Republic of Korea and in the Northwest Pacific.
Established on 19 October 1940 as the Hawaiian Air Force at Fort Shafter, Territory of Hawaii, the 7 AF was a United States Army Air Forces combat unit in the Pacific Theater of World War II, providing air defense of the Hawaiian Islands and engaging in combat operations primarily in the Central Pacific AOR. It was assigned units engaging enemy forces in the Gilbert Islands; Marshall Islands; Caroline Islands; Mariana Islands, and in the last major battle of the Pacific War, the Battle of Okinawa. Returning to its defense role in Hawaii after the war, 7 AF became the primary USAF command and control organization in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.
7 AF is commanded by Lt Gen David G. Shoemaker. The Vice Commander is Brig Gen Ryan P. Keeney.
Overview On 8 September 1986, Seventh Air Force was activated at Osan Air Base in South Korea and assumed the mission of maintaining the fragile armistice on the Korean peninsula previously performed by the 314th Air Division.
Since then, both as U.S. Air Forces Korea, under the joint U.S. Forces Korea, and the U.S. Air Force component to the United States and Republic of Korea Combined Forces Command's Air Component Command, 7 AF has been an integral part of deterring aggression from North Korea. It develops the total air campaign and reinforcement plans for ROK defense and sustains mission readiness of 117 operational units and 8,300 U.S. Air Force personnel.
It operates in conjunction with United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), United Nations Command, U.S. Forces, Korea/Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea (USFK).
Units Major units of Seventh Air Force are: 51st Fighter Wing, Osan Air Base, South Korea(F-16 and A-10 squadrons) 8th Fighter Wing, Kunsan Air Base, South Korea (F-16C/D)
Non-Flying Units (Osan Air Base) 607th Air and Space Operations Center 607th Air Support Group 607th Air Support Operations Group 607th Support Group
History
Origins
Formation of the Hawaiian Air Force
The United States Army Hawaiian Department was established on 6 February 1913, which formally established the presence of the Army in the Territory of Hawaii. The history of the Seventh Air Force can be traced to the arrival of the 6th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, Army Signal Corps, at Fort Kamehameha, Hawaii on 13 March 1917 under the Air Office, Hawaiian Department, which was established in 1916.
The 6th Aero Squadron consisted of three Curtiss N-9 seaplanes, single-engine biplanes carrying a crew of two, with a top speed of 70 miles an hour. Late in 1917 the U.S. Government purchased Ford Island in Pearl Harbor for use as an airport and by September 1918 the 6th Aero Squadron, by then composed of ten officers and a small group of enlisted men, moved to Ford Island. The airfield established there was named Luke Field, for World War I "balloon buster" Frank Luke, who fell in action in 1918.
The first inter-island flight occurred in February 1919 and by 1920 inter-island flights were used for training purposes. Early in 1920 the 4th Observation Squadron arrived at Luke Field, which was used jointly by the aerial forces of the Army and the Navy. The year 1920 marked a considerable advance in aviation in the islands. The first night flight over Oahu took place on 30 June 1920.
Also, air power began to take its place in the Hawaiian Department's military maneuvers. An aerial photo section joined other air units. The 23d Bombardment Squadron moved to Luke Field from March Field, California on 25 January 1923, and the 72d Bombardment Squadron was activated at Luke on 1 May 1923.
In 1922, Wheeler Field was established south of Schofield Barracks on the main island. The first detachment of twenty men started clearing land for it in February 1922. This field was named for Major Sheldon H. Wheeler, who had assumed command of Luke Field in 1920 and was killed in an air accident in 1921. By June 1923, Wheeler Field boasted six 112' x 200' hangars, three used for housing shops and three others for planes, four other hangars used as warehouses, and oil storage tanks holding 50,000 gallons. Tents and huts housed the men. The first commander of Wheeler Field was Major George E. Stratemeyer, who by 1941 was a brigadier general and Acting Chief of the Army Air Corps.
The first known reforesting by plane was accomplished for the Department of Agriculture by a plane from Wheeler in 1926. The first non-stop Hawaiian flight from Oakland, California to Wheeler Field was made in June 1927 by L.J. Maitland and A.F. Hegenberger. (Navy Commander John Rodgers had set a non-stop seaplane record from San Francisco in 1925 and had fallen short of the mark for Honolulu, landing off the island of Kauai).
During the period from 1917 to 1931, the military air component in Hawaii grew to seven tactical squadrons and two service squadrons. In 1931 the 18th Composite Wing was activated with headquarters at Fort Shafter, and was combined with the Air Office of the Hawaiian Department. The Hawaiian Air Depot was based at Luke Field.
About this time, the Navy decided it would need to use the whole of Ford Island, displacing Luke Field. So the Army bought land adjacent to Pearl Harbor near Fort Kamehameha for a new airfield. The land was purchased on 20 February 1935 from Faxon Bishop et al. for US$1,091,239.
Hickam Field was dedicated on 31 May 1935, named for Lt. Colonel Horace M. Hickam, C.O. 3rd Attack Group, killed 5 November 1934 at Fort Crockett, Texas. The first detachment of 12 men (the 31st Bomb Squadron) arrived at Hickam on 1 September 1937 and was housed in tents. In September 1938, when the base was officially activated, the Hawaiian Air Depot began its move from Luke Field. The move was completed on 31 October 1940.
On 1 November 1940, the Hawaiian Air Force was established as a part of the general United States Army Air Corps expansion program of 1939/1940. It was organized and activated with headquarters at Fort Shafter (the first Army Air Force outside the continental United States), moving to Hickam in July 1941. It consisted of two air base commands: 18th Bombardment Wing (formerly 18th Composite Wing) (B-10's) at Hickam Field. 14th Pursuit Wing, activated on 1 November 1940 (P-26's) at Wheeler Field.
Aircraft strength at the beginning of 1941 was 117 planes, mostly obsolete. In connection with defense plans for the Pacific, planes were brought to Hawaii throughout 1941 (principally P-36's and P-40's) by carrier. The first mass flight of Army bombers (21 B-17 Flying Fortresses) from Hamilton Field, California, arrived at Hickam on 13 May 1941. Nine of the 21 bombers were sent to Clark Field in September to begin a belated reinforcement of the Philippine Department. By 7 December 1941, the Hawaiian Air Force had been an integrated command for slightly more than one year under the command of Major General Frederick L. Martin, and consisted of 754 officers and 6,706 enlisted men with 231 military aircraft.
Order of Battle, 6 December 1941 The day before the Japanese Attack on Hawaii, and subsequent United States entry into World War II, the Hawaiian Air Force consisted of the following:
14th Pursuit Wing, Wheeler Field, Territory of Hawaii 15th Pursuit Group (Fighter), Wheeler Fld 45th Pursuit Sqd (Fighter) (P-36A) 46th Pursuit Sqd (Fighter) (P-36A, P-40B) 47th Pursuit Sqd (Fighter) (P-40B, P-36A) 72d Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor) (none) 18th Pursuit Group (Interceptor), Wheeler Fld 6th Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor) (P-40B) 19th Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor) (P-40B, P-40C) 44th Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor), Bellows Fld (P-40B, P-40C) 73d Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor) (P-40B) 78th Pursuit Sqd (Interceptor) (P-40B)
18th Bombardment Wing, Hickam Field, Territory of Hawaii 5th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Hickam Fld 4th Reconnaissance Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 23d Bombardment Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 31st Bombardment Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 72d Bombardment Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 11th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Hickam Fld 26th Bombardment Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 42d Bombardment Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18) 50th Reconnaissance Sqd (Heavy) (B-17, B-18)
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 four B-17Cs and two B-17Es to reinforce the 18th Bombardment Wing.
Also, six B-17Es 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). Two of the B-17Es managed to land at a short fighter strip at Haleiwa, one B-17E set down on a golf course, one landed at Bellows Field and five B-17Cs and three B-17Es landed at Hickam under the strafing of Japanese planes.
World War II
Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl Harbor or Hawaii Operation as it was called by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters devastated the Hawaiian Air Force. Total Air Force casualties during the Japanese attack on 7 December were 163 killed. 43 missing, and 336 wounded, of which 121 killed, 37 missing, and 274 wounded were at Hickam Field. Out of a total of 231 aircraft of the Hawaiian Air Force, 64 were destroyed and not more than 79 were left usable. Some fighters were scrambled and managed to engage Japanese aircraft.
Seventh Air Force On 5 February 1942, the Hawaiian Air Force was re-designated 7th Air Force. VII Bomber Command replaced the 18th Bombardment Wing VII Fighter Command replaced the 14th Pursuit Wing VII Base Command assumed responsibility for various base and service functions, along with the Hawaiian Air Depot. VII Air Force Base Command became VII Air Force Service Command under Brig. Gen. Walter J. Reed on 15 October 1942.Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 4, page 288
The 7th Air Force was redesignated Seventh Air Force on 18 September 1942
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 548th Night Fighter Squadron (Northrop P-61 Black Widow) 15th Fighter Group 5th Bombardment Group (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress/Consolidated B-24 Liberator) 28th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (Lockheed F-5B Lightning) 549th Night Fighter Squadron (Northrop P-61 Black Widow) 18th Fighter Group 11th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator) 9th Troop Carrier Squadron(Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Curtiss C-46 Commando) 21st Fighter Group 30th Bombardment Group (Consolidated B-24 Liberator) 163d Liaison Squadron (Stinson L-5 Sentinel) 318th Fighter Group 41st Bombardment Group (North American B-25 Mitchell) 41st Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (Lockheed F-5 Lightning) 508th Fighter Group 307th Bombardment Group (Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress/Consolidated B-24 Liberator) 319th Bombardment Group (Douglas A-26 Invader)