20af.org is a project of the Army Air Corps Library and Museum. Volunteers are transcribing servicemen names and their awards from General Orders that we are publishing on this website for enthusiasts, families and researchers of genealogy and World War II history. The names on this honor roll of men assigned to units of the 20th Air Force is not a complete list of all who served with the 13th, however, we are attempting to locate as many documents that have survived as possible. Sources of material include the US National Archives, Air Force Historical Research Agency and the records donated by individual servicemen and their families. We hope you will find this information useful and enjoyable. We are accepting volunteers help in this very large World War II project as we preserve this history and honor service. Saving History One Soldier At A Time.
Constituted as Twentieth AF on 4 April 1944 and activated the same day. Some combat elements moved in the summer of 1944 from the US to India where they carried out very heavy bombardment operations against targets in Japan, Formosa, Thailand, and Burma. Other combat elements began moving late in 1944 from the US to the Marianas, being joined there early in 1945 by the elements that had been in India. Headquarters, which had remained in the United States, was transferred to Guam in July 1945. From the Marianas the Twentieth conducted a strategic air offensive that was climaxed by the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. After the war the Twentieth remained in the theater and eventually became part of Far East Air Forces.
General of the Army Henry H Arnold, 6 April 1944
Major General Curtis E. LeMay, 16 July 1945
Lieutenant General Nathan F. Twining, 2 August 1945
Major General James E. Parker, 15 October 1945
Commands: VII Fighter: 1945. XX Bomber: 1944-1945. XXI Bomber: 1944-1945.
Stations. Washington, DC, 4 Apr 1944; Harmon Field, Guam, 16 Jul 1945
XX Bomber Command
1st Photo Squadron (Detachment C)
58th Bomb Wing
40th Bomb Group (Triangle S)
444th Bomb Group (Triangle N)
462nd Bomb Group (Triangle U)
468th Bomb Group (Triangle I)
XXI Bomber Command
3rd Photo Squadron
73rd Bomb Wing
497th Bomb Group (A Square)
498th Bomb Group (T Square)
499th Bomb Group (V Square)
500th Bomb Group (Z Square)
313th Bomb Wing
6th Bomb Group (Circle R)
9th Bomb Group (Circle X)
504th Bomb Group (Circle E)
505th Bomb Group (Circle W)
509th Bomb Group Composite
314th Bomb Wing
19th Bomb Group (Square M)
29th Bomb Group (Square O)
39th Bomb Group (Square P)
330th Bomb Group (Square K)
315th Bomb Wing
16th Bomb Group (Diamond B)
331st Bomb Group (Diamond L)
501st Bomb Group (Diamond Y)
502nd Bomb Group (Diamond H)
301st Fighter Wing
413th Fighter Group (Ie Shima)
414th Fighter Group (Iwo Jima)
506th Fighter Group (Iwo Jima)
507th Fighter Group (Ie Shima)
7th Fighter Command
15th Fighter Group (Iwo Jima)
21st Fighter Group (Iwo Jima)
318th Fighter Group (Ie Shima)
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Are you an AAC, AAF or USAF Veteran, family member, historian or WW2 enthusiast? We Need YOU! Contact us today to see how you can help the Army Air Corps Library and Museum, a Texas Not-For-Profit Corporation.
We need your help! We are looking for volunteers that can help us with the following tasks.
(1) Typing and Transcriptionists: One of our big projects is extracting data from the thousands of documents we have and putting this data into a database where we can display the information on a website such as this one. (2) Photography and Document Scanning.