Who commanded Twelfth Air Force from May 1946 to 1947?
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force ( 12 AF ; Air Forces Southern , ( AFSOUTH ) ) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base , Arizona . The command is the air component to United States Southern Command ( USSOUTHCOM ) conducting security cooperation and providing air , space , and cyberspace capabilities throughout Latin America and the Caribbean . Established on 20 August 1942 at Bolling Field , District of Columbia , 12th Air Force was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force deployed to the Mediterranean Theater of World War II . It engaged in operations in North Africa , the Mediterranean , and Western Europe . During the Cold War , 12 AF was one of the Numbered Air Forces of the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) and later Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , Its units engaged in combat operations during the Vietnam War , as well as Operation Desert Storm . As a result of the War on Terror , most Twelfth Air Force units have operated in the United States Central Command AOR . Since 1987 , Twelfth Air Force ( Air Forces Southern ) trains , equips , and prepares assigned units from Air Combat Command and also serves as the air and space component to United States Southern Command . In August Mission . The Twelfth Air Force ( Air Forces Southern ) headquarters is located at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona . It reports to Air Combat Command , a major command of the US Air Force . As the air and space component to US Southern Command ( USSOUTHCOM ) , Air Forces Southern conducts security cooperation and provides air , space , and cyberspace capabilities throughout its area of responsibility , covering Latin America and the Caribbean . To fulfil these responsibilities it employs a range of Intelligence , Surveillance and Reconnaissance ( ISR ) , intra-theatre airlift and information assets . In addition the 612th Air Operations Center ( 612th AOC ) is responsible for developing strategy and plans to execute air operations in support of US Southern Command objectives . The 612th AOC also provides command and control of all Air Forces Southern assets in its area of responsibility . Air Forces Southern does not have its own assets , but draws on forces provided to it by US Southern Command . Currently , AFSOUTH manages four rotational Air Force Reserve Command and Air National Guard C-130s based out of Muñiz Air National Guard Base , Puerto Rico . Component units . The following units are subordinate to the Twelfth Air Force . Direct Reporting Units . - 612th Air Communications Squadron ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) - 612th Air Operations Center ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) - 612th Theater Operations Group ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) Organizations . - System of Cooperation Among the American Air Forces ( ) ( ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) - Inter-American Air Forces Academy ( Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland , Texas ) History . Established in the United States during World War II to be the Army Air Forces air component of Operation Torch in 1942 , Twelfth Air Force initially moved to England for training , then participated in the invasion of North Africa . It engaged in tactical operations for the remainder of the war in the Mediterranean . Since World War II , Twelfth Air Force has subsequently served both in Europe and later the United States . The Twelfth Air Force serves as the Air Force component to the United States Southern Command . Lineage . - Established as Twelfth Air Force , and activated , on 20 August 1942 - Activated on 17 May 1946 - Organized and Activated on 21 January 1951 Assignments . - Army Air Forces , 20 August 1942 – 31 August 1945 - Tactical Air Command , 17 May 1946 – 1 December 1948 - Continental Air Command , 1 December 1948 – 1 July 1950 - United States Air Forces in Europe , 21 January 1951 – 1 January 1958 - Tactical Air Command , 1 January 1958 – 1 June 1992 - Air Combat Command , 1 June 1992 – present Major components . USAF Air Divisions . - 42d Air Division , 1–8 January 1958 - 44th Air Division , 12 January – 27 June 1949 - 307th Air Division , 12 January – 27 June 1949 - 309th Air Division , 12 January – 27 June 1949 - 310th Air Division , 12 January – 27 June 1949 - USAF Southern Air Division , 1 January 1976 – 1 January 1989 - 831st Air Division , 1 January 1958 – 20 April 1971 ; 1 December 1980 – 31 March 1991 - 832d Air Division , 1 January 1958 – 20 April 1971 ; 1 December 1980 – 31 March 1991 - 833d Air Division , 1 December 1980 – 15 November 1991 - 834th Air Division , 1 January 1958 – 1 April 1959 ; 31 January 1972 – 1 December 1974 - 835th Air Division , 23 July 1964 – 30 June 1971 - 836th Air Division , 1 January 1981 – 1 May 1992 - 838th Air Division , 1 July 1963 – 24 December 1969 - 839th Air Division , 1 July 1963 – 9 November 1964 Stations . - Bolling Field , Washington , D.C. , 20–28 August 1942 - England , 12 September – 22 October 1942 - Algeria , 9 November 1942 - Tunisia , 10 August 1943 - Italy , 5 December 1943 – 31 August 1945 - March Field , California , 17 May 1946 - Brooks AFB , San Antonio , Texas , 1 January 1949 – 1 July 1950 - Wiesbaden AB , West Germany , 21 January 1951 - Ramstein AB , West Germany , 27 April 1953 - Connally AFB , Waco , Texas , 1 January 1958 - Bergstrom AFB , Austin , Texas August 1968 - Davis-Monthan AFB , Tucson , Arizona , 1 October 1992 – present World War II . The origins of Twelfth Air Force are traced back to a series of mid-1942 Allied planners meetings to develop a strategy for the North African invasion or Operation TORCH . Because this extensive operation required a new organization to provide enough manpower and equipment , activation plans were prepared simultaneously with the invasion strategy . On 20 August 1942 , Twelfth Air Force was activated at Bolling AAF , Maryland . On 23 September 1942 , Brigadier General Jimmy Doolittle formally assumed 12th AF command with Colonel Hoyt S . Vandenberg as chief of staff . Barely four months after it was conceived , 12th AF made its first contributions to World War II . When D-Day for the invasion of North Africa ( Operation Torch ) arrived on 8 November 1942 , 12th AF was organized as shown in the table below : Initially , 12th AF was a composite organization containing both strategic heavy bombardment groups ; and tactical light and medium bombardment , fighter-bomber , and fighter groups . Based in French Morocco and Algeria after Operation Torch , it became very important for 12th AF to coordinate and cooperate with the Royal Air Force which had been fighting in North Africa for two years . Such Allied cooperation was a major concern of American President Franklin D . Roosevelt , British Prime Minister Winston Churchill , and their staffs at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 where they created the Mediterranean Air Command ( MAC ) with Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder as Air Commander-in-Chief . For planning of the Tunisia Campaign , Tedders MAC headquarters were adjacent to those of his immediate superior , the Supreme Allied Commander , General Dwight D . Eisenhower at Algiers , Algeria soon after the new Allied air force reorganization took effect on 18 February 1943 . The Northwest African Air Forces ( NAAF ) under Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz was the largest component of MAC and its organization was based on the tri-force model ( No . 205 Group strategic , No . 201 Group coastal , and Air Headquarters Western Desert tactical ) indicated above . Thus the three major combat commands of NAAF were : - Northwest African Strategic Air Force ( NASAF ) under former 12th AF Commander Major General James Doolittle - Northwest African Coastal Air Force ( NACAF ) under Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Lloyd - Northwest African Tactical Air Force ( NATAF ) under Arthur Coningham . In keeping with the MAC priority of encouraging USAAF-RAF cooperation , Air Vice-Marshal James Robb was named Spaatzs deputy commander of NAAF and he handled operations . Additionally , the following new units were assigned to NAAF : - Northwest African Air Service Command ( NAASC ) under Major General Delmar H . Dunton - Northwest African Training Command ( NATC ) under Brigadier General John K . Cannon - Northwest African Photographic Reconnaissance Wing ( NAPRW ) under the presidents son , Colonel Elliott Roosevelt - Northwest African Troop Carrier Command ( NATCC ) initially under Colonel Ray Dunn and later under Brigadier General Paul Williams . Lieutenant General Lewis Breretons 9th Air Force was assigned to RAF Middle East although its 12th Bombardment ( B-25Cs ) and 57th Fighter ( P-40Fs ) Groups formed a Desert Air Task Force detached to NATAFs Western Desert Air Force under Air Vice-Marshal Harry Broadhurst who replaced Coningham when he was promoted to NATAF commander . The 12th AF , the largest air force ever assembled soon after its inception several months earlier , ceased to exist in the new MAC organizational structure . As an operational organization , the 12th AF simply disappeared when its groups were distributed among the various new NAAF commands listed above . The only remaining reference to the 12th AF among these commands was Major General Edwin Houses XII Air Support Command which along with Broadhursts Western Desert Air Force , Air Vice-Marshal Sir Laurence Sinclairs Tactical Bomber Force , and Air Vice-Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross No . 242 Group , became part of Coninghams NATAF . Later , XII Air Support Command became even less obvious when it was detached to No . 242 Group . The curious status of the 12th AF in February 1943 is illustrated by the quotation below taken from Craven and Cate , Eds. , The United States Army Air Forces in WWII , Volume 2 , Europe : Torch to Pointblank , Chapter 6 , Climax in Tunisia , p 167 , 1949 . One of the admittedly minor problems of the reorganization concerned the status of the Twelfth Air Force . Its units , personnel , and equipment having been transferred entirely to NAAF on February 18 , both on paper and in actuality the Twelfth seemed to have vanished . At his last staff meeting , on February 22 , Doolittle expressed the opinion that once such matters as courts-martial had been wound up , the skeleton of the Twelfth--the name only--would have either to be returned to the States for a reincarnation or be decently interred by War Department order . Spaatz put the question to Eisenhower and , receiving answer that Headquarters , Twelfth Air Force , would be continued as the administrative headquarters for the U.S . Army elements of NAAF , he took command of the Twelfth on March 1 . As commander , however , he had no staff as such , it being assumed that AAF officers named to the NAAF staff had been automatically placed in equivalent positions in the Twelfth . Actually , all administrative functions were carried on by NAAF and the half-existence of the Twelfth served mainly to mystify all but a few headquarters experts . Although the 12th AF was essentially unrecognized in the official Allied air force organization ( MAC ) , it was of course , still a major entity in the USAAF . But even the U.S . Army Air Forces World War II Combat Chronology 1941–1945 , recorded its daily chronology entries under NAAF rather than 12th AF between 1 March and 1 September 1943 . Ironically , the U.S . Ninth Air Force retained its identity in MAC ( and in the USAAF Combat Chronology ) even though it was officially a sub-command of RAF Middle East Command and most of its groups were assigned to other operational commands such as NATAF after the February reorganization of the Allied air forces . On 22 August 1943 , the Ninth Air Forces 12th and 340th Bombardment Groups , and its 57th , 79th , and 324th Fighter Groups were transferred to the 12th AF . This change coincided with the transfer of the 9th AF from the MTO to the European Theater of Operations ( ETO ) . On 1 September 1943 all administrative functions of USAAF elements of NAAF were transferred to the appropriate Twelfth AF organizations : HQ NAAF to HQ Twelfth AF , NASAF to XII Bomber Command , NATAF to XII Air Support Command , NACAF to XII Fighter Command , NAASC to XII AFSC , NAAF TCC to XII Troop Carrier Command ( Provisional ) , NWPRW to Photographic Reconnaissance Wing ( Provisional ) , and NATC to XII Training Command ( Provisional ) but operational control remained with NAAF . On 10 December 1943 MAC was disbanded and reorganized as the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces ( MAAF ) with Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder as Air Commander-in-Chief . In mid-January 1944 , Lieutenant General Ira Eaker took over MAAF when Eisenhower chose Tedder to oversee air operations and planning for the Normandy Landings . The new MAAF organization retained the original tri-force model adopted by the Casablanca Conference in creating MAC nearly one year earlier : - Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force ( MASAF ) under Major General Nathan Twining - Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force ( MACAF ) under Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Lloyd - Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force ( MATAF ) under Major General John K . Cannon . Components of the 12th AF , also under Cannon , were assigned to his various MATAF sub-commands after the 12ths heavy bomb groups ( and three B-26 medium bomb groups that were eventually returned to the 12th ) were transferred to the newly created Fifteenth Air Force ( 1 November 1943 ; briefly under Doolittle and then Twining ) as part of MASAF . In January 1944 , Doolittle took over the 8th AF in England which along with the 15th AF in Italy , formed the United States Strategic Air Forces ( USSTAF ) under former 12th AF , NAAF , and 8th AF commander Spaatz . As the U.S . tactical air force in the Mediterranean , the 12th AF primarily provided close tactical support to U.S . ground forces in Italy and Southern France and targeted lines of transportation and communication , particularly roads , railroads , and bridges until the end of the war . 12th AF operated in the Mediterranean , French Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia , Greece , Italy , Southern France , Yugoslavia , Albania , Romania , and Austria . By V-E Day , 12th AF had flown 430,681 sorties , dropped 217,156 tons of bombs , claimed destruction of 2,857 enemy aircraft , and lost 2,667 of its own aircraft . When hostilities ended , Twelfth Air Force was inactivated at Florence , Italy , on 31 August 1945 . 12th Air Force Stations : - Bolling Field , D.C. , 20 to 28 August 1942 - England , 12 September to 22 October 1942 - Algeria , 9 November 1942 - Tunisia , 10 August 1943 - Italy , 5 December 1943 to 31 August 1945 . 12th Air Force Commanders : - Lt . Col . Roger J . Browne , 26 August 1942 - Lt . Col . Harold L . Neely , 28 August 1942 - Maj . Gen . James H . Doolittle , 23 September 1942 - Lt . Gen . Carl Spaatz , 1 March 1943 - Lt . Gen . John K . Cannon , 21 December 1943 - Maj . Gen . Benjamin W . Chidlaw , 2 April 1945 - Brig . Gen . Charles T . Myers , 26 May to 31 August 1945 . 12th Air Force Campaigns : Air Combat , EAME Theater ; Algeria-French Morocco ; Tunisia ; Sicily ; Naples-Foggia ; Anzio ; Rome-Arno ; southern France ; North Apennines ; Po Valley . Commands . XII Tactical Air Command . XII Tactical Air Command was constituted as XII Ground Air Support Command on 10 September 1942 and activated on 17 September . It was assigned to Twelfth Air Force and redesignated as XII Air Support Command , and later redesignated as XII Tactical Air Command in April 1944 . The command was moved to French Morocco on 9 November 1942 as part of the Operation Torch landings in North Africa . XII Tactical Air Command served in combat in the Mediterranean and European theaters until May 1945 . Known units were : - 5th Bombardment Wing ( 1942 ) - 64th Fighter Wing ( 1943–1945 ) Algeria , Tunisia , Sicily , Italy - 57th Bombardment Wing ( 1943 ) - 87th Fighter Wing ( April–September 1944 ) Algeria , Italy , Corsica Colonel Demas T . Craw and Major Pierpont M . Hamilton were awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the invasion of Algeria-French Morocco ( Operation Torch ) . When the Allies landed at Mehdia , French Morocco on 8 November 1942 , both men volunteered to go behind enemy lines and meet with the French commander near Port Lyautey , French Morocco , to broker a cease fire . After landing on the beach under hostile fire , Craw , his interpreter Major Pierpont M . Hamilton , and their driver Private Orris Correy approached the French headquarters in a light truck . They came under machine gun fire , leaving Craw dead . Hamilton and Correy were captured . Although imprisoned , Major Hamilton succeeded in persuading the French to surrender and was awarded the Medal of Honor on 19 February 1943 . Private Correy was promoted to Sergeant and Pierpont Hamilton , a descendant of Alexander Hamilton , became an intelligence officer in the Northwest African Tactical Air Force a subordinate command of the newly created Northwest African Air Forces under Lieutenant General Carl Spaatz who also assumed administrative command of the Twelfth Air Force on 1 March 1943 . Colonel Demas Craw was awarded his Medal of Honor posthumously on 4 March 1943 and the United States Navy named their air base at Port Lyautey , French Morocco Craw Field in his honor on 12 January 1944 . The only member of the Twelfth Air Force to be awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism in the air was Lt . Raymond L . Knight of the 350th Fighter Group . XII Bomber Command . XII Bomber Command was constituted on 26 February 1942 and activated on 13 March at MacDill AAF Florida . It was assigned to Twelfth Air Force in August and transferred , without personnel and equipment , to High Wycombe England where the command was re-formed . XII Bomber Command was moved to Tafaraoui , Algeria on 22 November 1942 as part of the Operation Torch landings in North Africa . XII Bomber Command served in combat in the Mediterranean theater until 1 November 1943 when most of the personnel were withdrawn . The command was restaffed in January 1944 and served in combat until 1 March . It was disbanded in Corsica on 10 June 1944 . Known XII Bomber Command units were : - 5th Bombardment Wing ( November 1942 – November 1943 ) .** Survivors of Australian-based 27th Bomb Group transferred to 12th AF.Absorbed into 47th BG - 42d Bombardment Wing ( July 1943 – October 1945 ) - 47th Bombardment Wing ( November 1942 – November 1943 ) - 57th Bombardment Wing ( August 1943 – September 1945 ) XXII Tactical Air Command . XXII Tactical Air Command was constituted on 26 February 1942 and activated on 5 March . It was redesignated as XII Fighter Command in May 1942 , and XXII Tactical Air Command in November 1944 . The command was assigned to Twelfth Air Force in August 1942 and was moved to RAF Wattisham England in September , then on to Tafaraoui , Algeria on 8 November 1942 as part of the Operation Torch landings in North Africa . XXII Tactical Air Command served in combat in the Mediterranean theater until the end of the war . It was inactivated at Pomigliano Italy on 4 October 1945 . Known XXII Tactical Air Command units were : - 63d Fighter Wing ( July 1943 – November 1944 ) - 87th Fighter Wing ( April–September 1944 ) - 64th Fighter Wing ( July 1943 – November 1944 ) XII Troop Carrier Command ( Provisional ) . - 51st Troop Carrier Wing ( C-47 ) ( November 1942 – May 1945 ) Algeria , Tunisia , Sicily , Italy - 60th Troop Carrier Group - 62d Troop Carrier Group - 64th Troop Carrier Group - 52d Troop Carrier Wing ( C-47 ) ( April 1943 – February 1944 ) French Morocco , Tunisia , Sicily - 313th Troop Carrier Group - 314th Troop Carrier Group - 316th Troop Carrier Group Postwar era . With the end of combat in the Mediterranean and European theaters in 1945 , Twelfth Air Force was inactivated . However XII Tactical Air Command was reassigned as part of the occupation force in Germany of the United States Air Forces in Europe . The groups operated P-47 or P-51 aircraft . Units assigned for occupation duty were : - 27th Fighter Group ( 1945 ) Inactivated on 7 November 1945 . - 36th Fighter Group ( 1945–1946 ) Transferred to the United States in February 1946 . - 86th Fighter Group ( 1945–1946 ) Transferred to the United States in February 1946 . - 324th Fighter Group ( 1945 ) Inactivated October 1945 . - 406th Fighter-Bomber Group ( 1945–1946 ) Inactivated 20 August 1946 . - 52d Fighter Group ( 1945 ) Inactivated 7 November 1945 . - 354th Fighter Group ( 1945–1946 ) Inactivated 31 March 1946 . - 355th Fighter Group ( 1945–1946 ) Transferred to the United States on 1 August 1946 . XII Tactical Air Command was inactivated at Bad Kissingen , Germany , on 10 November 1947 . Cold War . Twelfth Air Force was reactivated at March Field , California , on 17 May 1946 , and assigned to Tactical Air Command with training responsibilities . In the late 1940s , following several assignments and inactivations , 12 AF reactivated on 21 January 1951 at Wiesbaden AB , West Germany , assigned to United States Air Forces in Europe . Twelfth Air Force became the first USAFE formation to be declared available to NATO . Along with French and Canadian air units , 12 AF was part of the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force , itself part of NATOs Allied Air Forces Central Europe . It included the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing , located in France , and the 85th Air Depot Wing at Erding in Germany . On 1 January 1958 , Twelfth Air Force relocated to Waco , Texas adjacent to James Connally Air Force Base , Texas , and assigned to Tactical Air Command . During its 10 years at Connally AFB its mission began to focus on training tactical air crews to a state of combat readiness capable of conducting joint air operations . In September 1968 , Twelfth Air Force moved to Bergstrom AFB , Texas . During the Vietnam War , the Twelfth was a primary source for tactical fighter , reconnaissance , and airlift forces deployed to the war zone in Southeast Asia . In 1987 , the Twelfth Air Force commander took on the United States Air Force Southern Command responsibility . As such , 12 AF manages all Air Force personnel and assets in the United States Southern Command area of responsibility--Central and South America . During the United States invasion of Panama in 1989 , for example , 12 AF and other Air Force units deployed in support of U.S . forces , returning democracy to Panama . In 1994 , 12 AF managed and orchestrated Operation Uphold Democracys air operations , the mission to restore Haitian democracy while at the same time supporting U.S . Southern Commands Operation Safe Haven for Cuban refugees . Post Cold War . On 13 July 1993 , Headquarters Twelfth Air Force officially moved from Bergstrom AFB to Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona . Since then , 12 AF personnel and units have participated in operations in many other parts of the world : SOUTHERN WATCH , PROVIDE COMFORT , DENY FLIGHT , PROVIDE PROMISE , RESTORE HOPE , and JOINT ENDEAVOR . During Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM 12 AF provided fighter and reconnaissance aircraft to support U.S . Central Command Air Forces . Since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks , Twelfth Air Force ( Air Forces Southern ) has worked closely with Caribbean , Central , and South American countries in the Global War on Terrorism . The command has supported efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S . and neighboring countries . 12 AF has also provided forces to Operations ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan , IRAQI FREEDOM , and NOBLE GUARDIAN in the U.S . Today 12 AF directs six combat wings , five Direct Reporting Units , as well as 12 AF gained Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units . The Twelfth Air Force served as a USAF headquarters responsible for the combat readiness of six active-duty wings and one direct reporting unit for contingency operations , and oversaw 21 gained units from Air Force Reserve Command and the Air National Guard , totalling more than 630 aircraft with more than 42,000 personnel . On 20 August 2020 , Twelfth Air Forces fighter jets , battle management aircraft , strike drones , and combat search-and-rescue forces were transferred to the newly reformed Fifteenth Air Force . The change is expected to allow Twelfth Air Force to better focus on its mission as air component to US Southern Command . The following units were subordinate to the Twelfth Air Force prior to their transfer to the Fifteenth Air Force . Active Duty - 355th Wing ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) – A-10C Thunderbolt II , HC-130J Combat King II , HH-60G Pave Hawk - 366th Fighter Wing ( Mountain Home AFB , Idaho ) – F-15E Strike Eagle - 388th Fighter Wing ( Hill AFB , Utah ) – F-35A Lighting II - 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing ( Creech AFB , Nevada ) – MQ-9A Reaper , RQ-170A Sentinel - 474th Air Expeditionary Group ( Davis-Monthan AFB , Arizona ) - 552nd Air Control Wing ( Tinker AFB , Oklahoma ) – E-3B/C/G Sentry Air Force Reserve - 301st Fighter Wing ( NAS Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth , Texas ) – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon - 419th Fighter Wing ( Hill AFB , Utah ) – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon Air National Guard - 114th Fighter Wing ( Joe Foss Field ANGS , South Dakota ) – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon - 115th Fighter Wing ( Truax Field ANGB , Wisconsin ) – F-16C Fighting Falcon and RC-26B Condor - 124th Fighter Wing ( Gowen Field ANGB , Idaho ) – A-10C Thunderbolt II - 129th Rescue Wing ( Moffett Federal Airfield , California ) – HC-130J Combat King II and HH-60G Pave Hawk - 132nd Wing ( Des Moines ANGB , Iowa ) – MQ-9A Reaper - 138th Fighter Wing ( Tulsa ANGB , Oklahoma ) – F-16C/D Fighting Falcon - 140th Wing ( Buckley AFB , Colorado ) – F-16C Fighting Falcon - 142nd Fighter Wing ( Portland ANGB , Oregon ) – F-15C/D Eagle - 144th Fighter Wing ( Fresno ANGB , California ) – F-15C/D Eagle - 148th Fighter Wing ( Duluth ANGB , Minnesota ) – F-16C Fighting Falcon - 163rd Attack Wing ( March ARB , California ) – MQ-9A Reaper - 183rd Fighter Wing ( Capital Airport ANGS ) , Illinois ) Direct Reporting Units - 820th RED HORSE Squadron ( Nellis AFB , Nevada ) References . Bibliography . - This article includes content from United States Twelfth Air Force ( Air Forces Southern ) website , a work of the U.S . Government in the public domain . - Coles , Harry C . Participation of the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign ( USAAF Historical Study , No . 37 ) . Air Force Historical Research Agency , 1945 . - Craven , Wesley F . and James L . Cate . The Army Air Forces in World War II , Vols . 2–3 . Chicago , Illinois : Chicago University Press , 1948/51 ( Reprinted 1983 , ) . - Larson , John W . History of the Twelfth Air Force . Kaiserslautern , West-Germany : Heinz Rohr Verlag , 1956 . - MacCloskey , Brig . Gen . Monro . Torch and the Twelfth Air Force . New York : Richard Rosen Press , 1971 . . - Mayock , Thomas J . The Twelfth AIr Force in the North African Winter Campaign , 11 November to the Reorganization of 11 February 1943 ( USAAF Historical Study No.114 ) . Air Force Historical Research Agency , 1946 . - Richardson , Harold W . A New Home for the Twelfth Air Force . Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama : Office of Air Force History , 1955 . - Rust , Kenn C . Twelfth Air Force Story...in World War II . Temple City , California : Historical Aviation Album , 1975 ( republishished in 1992 by Sunshine House of Terre Haute , Indiana ) . . - Weatherill , David . Aces , Pilots & Aircraft of the 9th , 12th & 15th USAAF . Melbourne , Australia : Kookaburra Technical Publications Pty Ltd. , 1978 . . External links . - Twelfth Air Force History - Twelfth Air Force Command and Organizational Structure