The IX Air Defense Command was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

formation. It was assigned throughout its time in combat to

Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...

. Its final station was at

Bad Neustadt an der Saale Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often simply called Bad Neustadt, is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Rhön-Grabfeld district in Lower Franconia. It is situated on the rivers Frä ...

, Germany, where it was inactivated on 25 June 1946.

History

It was established in England on 19 July 1944, and activated on 1 July 1944. Mission was to provide air defense for liberated areas of Western Europe consisting of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

and later, the Low Countries. Subordinate

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

headquarters and subordinate units operated primarily from liberated airfields and newly built temporary Advanced Landing Grounds in continental Europe. Along with

air defense Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

, subordinate units engaged in combat in support of ground forces during the breakthrough at

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in July 1944. Attacked tanks, trucks, and troop concentrations as enemy retreated; provided armed reconnaissance for advancing Allied armored columns. During September 1944, attacked flak positions near

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Operation Market-Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

, the airborne landing in the Netherlands; bombed enemy communications and transportation lines in western Germany. Flew armed reconnaissance missions over

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

during December 1944 – January 1944. Flew missions against enemy transportation systems including motor vehicles, bridges, trains, railway bridges, and marshalling yards during February and March 1945. Moved to Germany in April 1945, flying last combat missions on 3 May 1945. However, inactivation only occurred on 25 June 1946, and the unit was disbanded on 8 October 1948.

Lineage

* Constituted as the IX Air Defense Command on 19 June 1944 : Activated on 1 July 1944 : Inactivated on 25 July 1946 : Disbanded on 8 October 1948

Assignments

* Ninth Air Force, 1 July 1944 * Unknown, 28 November 1945 *

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, 2 December 1945 * Unknown, 1 February 1946 – 25 June 1946

Stations

Borough of Hampstead Hampstead was a civil parish and metropolitan borough in London, England. It was an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, governed by an administrative vestry. The parish was included in the area of responsibility of the Metropolitan Bo ...

, London (AAF-405), England, 1 July 1944 * Ecrammeville, France, July 1944 * Rennes Airfield (A-27), France, 25 August 1944 *

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, France, 8 September 1944 *

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, France, 16 December 1944 *

, Germany, 24 May 1945 – 25 June 1946

Components

; Wing * 71st Fighter Wing, 1 July 1944 – November 1945 ; Squadrons and companies *

422d Night Fighter Squadron 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smalles ...

, 6 August – 7 October 1944 * 425th Night Fighter Squadron, 10–20 June 1944; 6 August – 7 October 1944 * 368th Ordnance Maintenance (AA) Company, 1945http://www.airforcehistoryindex.org/data/000/021/626.xml

References

Notes

; Explanatory notes ; Citations

Bibliography

* * * * ; Further reading * {{USAAF 9th Air Force UK Military units and formations established in 1944 09 Air defence commands of the United States Army Military units and formations disestablished in 1946