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91st Air Division (United States)

91st Air Division, Reconnaissance
Active 20 October 1943–27 January 1946;
20 December 1946–27 June 1949.
Country United States
Branch Air Force
Part of see "Assignments" section below
Garrison/HQ see "Stations" section below
Equipment see "Aerospace vehicles" section below
Decorations

see "Lineage and honors" section below


Contents

History


Mission


Operations

Subordinate units of the 91st began combat missions in March 1944, photographing Japanese airfields, harbors, beach defenses, and personnel areas in New Guinea, the Bismarcks, Borneo, and the southern Philippines. They also reconnoitered target areas and enemy troop positions to provide intelligence for Air Force and Army units. Liaison aircraft rescued Allied flyers forced down in Pacific jungles, and evacuated wounded personnel from forward areas. Frequently fighters, assigned to subordinate units, attacked gun emplacements, bridges, supply dumps, and other installations in support of ground troops. In 1945, as the war with Japan came to a close, the subordinate units flew photographic missions over Kyushu. After hostilities ceased, these flights continued, and the aerial photographs obtained helped to locate prisoner of war (POW) camps and in assessing damage done to the Japanese communications system. Activated in the Reserve at Newark, New Jersey, December 1946 through January 1949. The organization was redesignated as a division in April 1948.

Lineage and honors

Established as 91 Photographic Wing, Reconnaissance on 9 October 1943. Activated on 20 October 1943. Redesignated 91 Reconnaissance Wing on 20 June 1945. Inactivated on 27 January 1946.

Activated in the Reserve on 20 December 1946. Redesignated 91 Air Division, Reconnaissance on 16 April 1948. Inactivated on 27 June 1949.

Service streamers

This unit earned the following organizational service streamers:

none

Campaign streamers

This unit earned the following organizational campaign streamers:

  • World War II Asiatic-Pacific Theater: New Guinea; Leyte; Luzon.

Armed forces expeditionary streamers

This unit earned the following organizational expeditionary streamers:

none

Decorations

This unit earned the following organizational decorations:

  • Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

Awards

Emblem

none

Assignments

Third Air Force, 20 October 1943–20 February 1944; Army Service Forces, 20 February 1944–30 March 1944; Fifth Air Force, 30 March 1944; Far East Air Forces (later, Pacific Air Command, U.S. Army), 8 August 1944–27 January 1946.

First Air Force, 20 December 1946–27 January 1949.

Components

Groups:

Squadrons:

Stations

Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma, 20 October 1943; Birmingham International Airport (US), Alabama, 9 November 1943–20 February 1944; Nadzab, New Guinea, 30 March 1944; Biak, Indonesia, 10 August 1944; Leyte, Philippine Islands, 12 November 1944; Mindoro, Philippine Islands, 28 January 1945; Clark Field, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 24 March 1945; Okinawa, Japan, 30 July 1945; Honshu, Japan, 5 October 1945–27 January 1946.

Newark Army Air Base (later, Municipal Airport), New Jersey, 20 December 1946–27 June 1949.

Aerospace vehicles

B-25 Mitchell, 1944–1945; B-26 Marauder, 1944; F-4 Lightning, 1944; F-5 Lightning, 1944–1945; L-5 Sentinel, 1944–1945; UC-78 Bobcat, 1944–1945; B-24 Liberator, 1945; C-47 Skytrain, 1945.

RB-26 Marauder, 1946–1949; RF-80 Shooting Star, 1946–1949.

Commanders

Unknown, 20 October 1943; Lt Col James E. Ilgenfritz, 13 November 1943; Col Elvin F. Maughan, 18 December 1943; Col David W. Hutchinson, 12 April 1944; Col Ralph O. Brownfield, 22 April 1944; Col John T. Murtha, 23 August 1944; Col William C. Sams, 16 October 1944–unkn.

None (not manned), 20 December 1946–5 January 1947; Unknown, 6 January 1947–unkn; Brigadier General Robert L. Copsey by 31 December 1947–unkn.

See also

United States Air Force Portal

References

This article incorporates text from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website which, as a United States government publication, is in the public domain.

External links

The original article is from Wikipedia. To view the original article please click here.
Creative Commons Licence

 
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