The III Bomber Command is a disbanded
United States Air Force headquarters. It was established in September 1941, shortly before the
attack on Pearl Harbor to command bomber units assigned to
3rd Air Force. Following the entry of the United States into
World War II, it flew patrols off the south Atlantic and Gulf coasts. However, its main efforts soon began organizing and training
medium bomber units and aircrews. Its last assignment was with Third Air Force at
MacDill Field, Florida. It was inactivated on 8 April 1946 and disbanded in October 1948.
History
Background
GHQ Air Force (GHQ AF) had been established with two major combat functions, to maintain a striking force against long range targets, and the
air defense of the United States.[1] In the spring of 1941, GHQ AF reorganized its Southeast Air District as
3rd Air Force. To carry out its mission of training and maintaining a strike force, 3rd Air Force organized 3rd Bomber Command at
Drew Field, Florida in September 1941, shortly before the
attack on Pearl Harbor. The command soon moved to
MacDill Field, Florida, where it was located when the
attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. Shortly afterwards, it moved to
Army Air Base, Savannah, Georgia, but returned to MacDill, where it spent the remainder of the war.[2]
The command trained
medium bomber units and crews for Third Air Force, and training for this type of unit was virtually a monopoly for the command. Until August 1943, it also conducted training for
dive and
light bomber units and crews. However their training was transferred to
III Air Support Command in August 1942.[3]
In late 1943, some
heavy bomber training was moved from
Second Air Force, which had been the primary command for that training, to the command in order to enable combined training between
fighters and bombers. In conjunction with this transfer, the command adopted the three phase training system for its training units: Phase I (individual training); Phase II (crew training) and Phase III (unit training).[4]
Lineage
Constituted as the 3rd Bomber Command on 4 September 1941[note 1]
Activated on 5 September 1941
Redesignated III Bomber Command on 18 September 1942
^The group was transferred to the
United States Air Force when it was established as a separate service in September 1947. The Air Force disbanded it a year later.
Cate, James L.; Williams, E. Kathleen (1948). "Prelude to War, Chapter 4, The Air Corps Prepares for War, 1939-41". In Craven, Wesley F; Cate, James L (eds.).
The Army Air Forces in World War II(PDF). Vol. I, Plans and Early Operations. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
LCCN48003657.
OCLC704158. Retrieved 17 December 2016.