Like the Fifth Air Force, the Thirteenth Air Force has never been stationed in the United States; it is also one of the oldest, continuously active numbered air forces. Since World War II it has provided air defense in the Far East, primarily the Philippines, although it operated for a short period (1948-1949) in the Ryukyu Islands. Numerous Thirteenth Air Force organizations participated in Southeast Asia combat operations in the 1960s and 1970s.
Activated at New Caledonia in the Coral Sea on Jan 13, 1943, Thirteenth Air Force began operations as a small organization composed of numerous widely separated and independent units scattered throughout the Pacific. From 1943-1945, Thirteenth Air Force staged out of tropical jungles on more than 40 remote islands, thus earning the nickname the Jungle Air Force.
Constituted as Thirteenth AF on 14 Dec 1942. Activated in New Caledonia on
13 Jan 1943. Served in the South Pacific and, later, Southwest Pacific,
participating in the Allied drive north and west from the Solomons to the
Philippines. Remained in the Philippines, as part of Far East Air Forces, after
the war. Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to Okinawa in Dec 1948
and back to the Philippines in May 1949.
Commands. XIII Bomber: 1943-1946. XIII Fighter: 1943-1946.
Stations. New Caledonia, 13 Jan 1943; Espiritu Santo, 21 Jan 1943; Guadalcanal,
13 Jan 1944; Los Negros, 15 Jun 1944; Hollandia, New Guinea, 13 Sep 1944;
Noemfoor, 23 Sep 1944; Morotai, 29 OCt 1944; Leyte, 1 Mar 1945; Clark Field,
Luzon, c. 1 Jan 1946; Ft William McKinley, Luzon, 20 May 1946; Clark Field,
Luzon, 15 Aug 1947; Kadena, Okinawa, 1 Dec 1948; Clark AFB, Luzon, 16 May 1949-.
Commanders. Maj Gen Nathan F Twining, 13 Jan 1943; Brig Gen Ray L Owens, 27 Jul
1943; Maj Gen Hubert R Harmon, 7 Jan 1944; Maj Gen St Clair Streett, 15 Jun
1944; Maj Gen Paul B Wurtsmith, 19 Feb 1945; Maj Gen Eugene L Eubank, 4 Jul
1946; Maj Gen Charles T Myers, 1 Dec 1948; Maj Gen Howard M Turner, Jun 1949;
Maj Gen Ernest Moore, 16 Oct 1951; Maj Gen John W Sessums Jr, 10 Oct 1952; Brig
Gen William L Lee, 27 Aug 1954-.
Campaigns. China Defensive; Guadalcanal; New Guinea; Northern Solomons; Eastern
Mandates; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern
Philippines; China Offensive.
Decorations. Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.
Insigne. On a blue disc, bordered golden orange, a pair of golden orange wings
surmounted in base by a white star charged with a red disc; all below the Arabic
numeral "13" in white. (Approved 18 Jan 1944.)