USAAF US Army Air Force Patch United States b 11 AAF Alaska Kiska 1942

US Army Air Force Patch United States 11 AAF 1942 Offensive Alaska Aleutian Islands Kiska Fully Embroidered cut edge 64mm by 60mm two and one half inches by two and three eighth inches.

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11 United States Army Air Force USAAF was activated on 5 February 1942 at Elmendorf Airfield Alaska on the renaming of Alaskan Air Force of the Alaskan Defense Command. In May 1942 a field headquarters was established at Fort Morrow Army Airfield Kodiak Alaska and aircraft of the 73 Bombardment Squadron were deployed at Fort Randall Army Airfield Cold Bay and 21 Bombardment Squadron at Fort Glenn Army Airfield Umnak.

 

Ladd Field near Fairbanks became a secondary major air base in Alaska and came the jurisdiction of Ferrying Command which was a part of the Lend Lease Program. The United States transferred nearly 8000 aircraft to the Soviet Union though Ladd Field during the course of World War II. The aircraft were flown into Ladd from Great Falls Airfield, Montana by American civilian aircrews along a route of small airfields that became known as the Northwest Staging Route handing them to Soviet crews who flew the planes west through Marks Field Nome and on to Siberia.

 

In mid 1942 the Imperial Japanese Navy laid plans to attack Alaska in conjunction with an attack on Midway Island in the central Pacific. The Japanese Northern Area Fleets attacks on Dutch Harbor and Adak Island resulted in the Aleutian Islands Campaign. Eleventh Air Force operational strength was small consisting of 10 B 17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers and 34 B 18 Bolo medium bombers at Elmendorf Airfield and 95 P 40 Warhawk fighters divided between Fort Randall AAF at Cold Bay and Fort Glenn AAF on Umnak.

 

11 AAF mounted intense reconnaissance to locate the Japanese and using commandeered civilian aircraft flew nearly 2300 troops to Nome with artillery and antiaircraft guns and several tons of other equipment and supplies. B 24 Liberator bombers of the 404 Bombardment Squadron were sent to the Air Transport Command Marks Army Airfield. Two Japanese raids were made on the Dutch Harbor naval base on 3 and 4 June 1942 and a small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska. On 30 August 1942 American Army troops went ashore on Adak Island 250 miles east of Kiska which provided a good fleet anchorage a sheltered harbour and an excellent site for the quick construction of an airfield. On 10 September 1942 the first aircraft landed at Longview Army Airfield and the first air attacks were launched against the Japanese on Kiska on 12 September 1942. In October 1942 the Field Headquarters of the Eleventh Air Force was moved from Kodiak to Adak. The airfield on Adak was renamed Davis Army Airfield in honor of Colonel Everett S Davis the first Commander Eleventh Air Force who was killed in an aircraft accident on 28 November 1942.

 

Throughout the winter of 1942 43 the Eleventh Air Force bombed Kiska and Attu whenever possible weather permitting and its bases to the east of Adak were consolidated and built up. On 11 January 1943 American Army troops went ashore on the unoccupied Amchitka Island 75 miles from Kiska and built an airstrip. On 16 February 1943 the first aircraft landed on Amchitka Army Airfield and the first mission against Kiska was flown on 18 February1943 and continued with both medium and heavy bombers raiding Kiska. The striking power of the Eleventh Air Force was limited to 3 squadrons each of medium and heavy bombers and 4 squadrons of fighters.

 

On 11 May 1943 American troops by passed Kiska and went ashore on Attu destroying the Japanese garrison and commenced runway construction. At the same time the US Army occupied the Semichi Islands an archipelago 35 miles east of Attu where on Shemya 4 miles long and 2 miles wide the US Army constructed Shemya Army Airfield.

 

The first aircraft landing at Alexai Point Army Airfield Attu on 7 June 1943. With Kiska cut off the Japanese evacuated the Aleutians with American troops occupying Kiska unopposed on 15 August 1943 ending the Aleutian Campaign. Eleventh Air Force bombing operations had prevented the Japanese from building an air field and from bringing in reinforcements and played an instrumental part in driving Japanese out of the Aleutians.

 

On 10 July 1943 Eleventh Air Force made the first direct attack on the Japanese home islands since the famous Doolittle raid in April 1942 with B 25 Mitchells raiding Paramushiru Island in the Kuriles. Two more successful raids were carried out prior to the attack on 11 September 1943 when B 24s and B 25s were dispatched to the Kurile Islands but suffered major losses. With 11 AAF operations becoming directed against Northern Japan tactics were changed with the introduction of Eleventh Air Force Instrument Flying School and the accelerated introduction of radio and navigation aids in the Aleutians and the ability to undertake missions in poor weather greatly increased but no more combat missions were flown in 1943.

 

In November 1943 a second airfield Casco Cove Army Airfield was constructed on Attu for long range bombing operations. Eleventh Air Force carried out a bombing mission against northern Kurils on 5 February 1944 with a further daylight reconnaissance mission in March 1944 and then stepped up missions. With the USAAF emphasis on B 29 bombing missions of Japan conducted from the south Eleventh Air Force now with only two Bomber Squadrons began reducing personnel in Alaska with Fort Glenn AAF and Fort Randall AAF reduced gasoline station status for the Aleutian air transport routes and Annette Island Landing Field and Yakutat Landing Field assigned as sub bases to Elmendorf Field. 11 AAF conducted night reconnaissance missions over the Kuriles and flying a daily weather reconnaissance flights with one Bombardment Squadron held in readiness to repel a possible Japanese attack and the fighter squadrons provided air defense.

 

With the end of the War with Japan 11 AAF sent out reconnaissance overflights over the North Kuril Islands to take photos of the Soviet occupation in the area between 24 August and 4 September 1945. Soviet fighters intercepted and forced them away a foretaste of the Cold war that lay ahead. Small air bases in the Aleutians closed permanently and postwar emphasis turned to training. Air Transport Command transferred Ladd Field to the Eleventh Air Force on 1 November 1945 and on 18 December 1945 Eleventh Air Force was redesignated Alaskan Air Command.

 

 

This patch dates from 1942.