VIII Air Force Service Command (originally VIII Air Service Command) was a logistical support formation of the

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 ...

, supporting the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Organization

Established in 1942, along with the VIII bomber, fighter and air support commands that filled out the Eighth Air Force, it was commanded by General Henry J. F. Miller. In July 1942, General Hugh J. Knerr assumed the duties of deputy commander. On 24 October 1943, Knerr became commanding general when Gen. Miller was transferred to command of the IX Air Force Service Command. While deputy commander, Knerr had pressed for a reorganization of the Eighth Air Force that would place logistics on the same level with combat operations. He was appointed A-4 of the Eighth Air Force just days before assuming command of VIII Air Force Service Command, which thus combined in one person the chief air service offices of the entire Eighth Air Force. By December 1943 the service command had absorbed the personnel and functions of A-4 to become the sole logistical agency entitled to act in the name of the commanding general, Eighth Air Force. The VIII Air Force Service Command's headquarters organized the policies, training and logistics of a Base Air Depot Area (BADA), Advanced Air Depot Area (AADA) and Tactical Air Depot Area (TADA). With the expansion of the

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 D ...

and its BADA and AADA in England, the VIII Air Force Service Command focused more on policy as it integrated with the highest air headquarters to function as a de facto air service command for the European theater, operating chiefly as a staff agency for the entire theater.

Units

Among the units in the VIII Air Force Service Command was the 7th Photographic Group (July 1943-August 1944), and the 27th Air Transport Group (until 1 September 1944). After the command moved to the Pacific, 22 Air Depot Group arrived at

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

, Okinawa, on 16 August 1945, and remained there, being redesignated 22 Air Depot on 12 July 1946, passing from VIII AFSC to the Okinawa Air Depot by October 1945.

Notes

References

*https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/II/AAF-II-22.html

External links

*{{cite web , url=http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/94 , title=Edit entry VIII Air Force Service Command , work=American Air Museum in Britain , publisher=Imperial War Museum , accessdate=2018-06-10

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

Military units and formations established in 1942