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The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed among the Air Corps, General Headquarters Air Force, and the ground forces' corps area commanders and thus became the first air organization of the U.S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel. The peak size of the AAF during World War II was over 2.4&nbsp;million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 176 and 378. Also, see growth tables above.</ref> By "[[Victory in Europe Day|V-E Day]]", the Army Air Forces had 1.25&nbsp;million men stationed overseas and operated from more than 1,600 airfields worldwide.<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 215 – Airfields in CONUS 1941–1945; Table 217 – Airfields outside CONUS 1941–1945.</ref>
The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed among the Air Corps, General Headquarters Air Force, and the ground forces' corps area commanders and thus became the first air organization of the U.S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel. The peak size of the AAF during World War II was over 2.4&nbsp;million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943.<ref>Nalty (1997), pp. 176 and 378. Also, see growth tables above.</ref> By "[[Victory in Europe Day|V-E Day]]", the Army Air Forces had 1.25&nbsp;million men stationed overseas and operated from more than 1,600 airfields worldwide.<ref>''AAF Statistical Digest'', Table 215 – Airfields in CONUS 1941–1945; Table 217 – Airfields outside CONUS 1941–1945.</ref>


The Army Air Forces was created in June 1941 to provide the air arm greater autonomy in which to expand more efficiently, to provide a structure for the additional command echelons required by a vastly increased force, and to end an increasingly divisive administrative battle within the Army over control of aviation doctrine and organization that had been ongoing since the creation of an [[Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps|aviation section]] within the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|U.S. Army Signal Corps]] in 1914. The AAF succeeded both the Air Corps, which had been the statutory military aviation branch since 1926 and the GHQ Air Force, which had been activated in 1935 to quiet the demands of airmen for an independent Air Force similar to the [[Royal Air Force]] which [[1918 in aviation#April|had already been established]] in the [[United Kingdom]].
The Army Air Forces was created in June 1941 to provide the air arm greater autonomy in which to expand more efficiently, to provide a structure for the additional command echelons required by a vastly increased force, and to end an increasingly divisive administrative battle within the Army over control of aviation doctrine and organization that had been ongoing since the creation of an [[Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps|aviation section]] within the [[Signal Corps (United States Army)|U.S. Army Signal Corps]] in 1914. The AAF succeeded both the Air Corps, which had been the statutory military aviation branch since 1926 and the GHQ Air Force, which had been activated in 1935 to quiet the demands of airmen for an independent Air Force similar to the [[Royal Air Force]] which [[1918 in aviation#April|had already been established]] in the United Kingdom.


Although other nations already had separate air forces independent of their army or navy (such as the Royal Air Force and the German ''[[Luftwaffe]]''), the AAF remained a part of the Army until a defense reorganization in the post-war period resulted in the passage by the [[United States Congress]] of the [[National Security Act of 1947]] with the creation of an independent [[United States Air Force]] in September 1947.
Although other nations already had separate air forces independent of their army or navy (such as the Royal Air Force and the German ''[[Luftwaffe]]''), the AAF remained a part of the Army until a defense reorganization in the post-war period resulted in the passage by the [[United States Congress]] of the [[National Security Act of 1947]] with the creation of an independent [[United States Air Force]] in September 1947.
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Total [[sortie]]s flown by the AAF during World War II were 2,352,800, with 1,693,565 flown in Europe-related areas and 669,235 flown in the Pacific and Far East.<ref>Correll, "The US Army Air Forces at War", p. 32.</ref>
Total [[sortie]]s flown by the AAF during World War II were 2,352,800, with 1,693,565 flown in Europe-related areas and 669,235 flown in the Pacific and Far East.<ref>Correll, "The US Army Air Forces at War", p. 32.</ref>


36 members of the Army Air Forces received the [[Medal of Honor]] for actions performed during air missions, 22 of them posthumously. Two additional awards were made, one posthumously, to AAF officers attached to the Western Task Force during [[Operation Torch]].
36 members of the Army Air Forces received the Medal of Honor for actions performed during air missions, 22 of them posthumously. Two additional awards were made, one posthumously, to AAF officers attached to the Western Task Force during [[Operation Torch]].


===Demobilization and independence===
===Demobilization and independence===
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On 11 April 1945, at the conclusion of a ten-month study that took them to every major theater to interview 80 "key military and naval personnel", the Joint Chiefs of Staff Special Committee for the Reorganization of National Defense recommended that the armed forces of United States be organized into a single cabinet department, and that "three coordinate combat branches, Army, Navy, and Air" comprise the operational services. The committee reported that the statutory creation of a United States Air Force would merely recognize a situation that had evolved during World War II with the Army Air Forces, acknowledging that naval/marine aviation and some aspects of army aviation would remain in place. The committee also reported that its recommendation was approved by "Generals of the Army Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fleet Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William F. Halsey and numerous other leading military and naval personnel".<ref name="mac104107"/>
On 11 April 1945, at the conclusion of a ten-month study that took them to every major theater to interview 80 "key military and naval personnel", the Joint Chiefs of Staff Special Committee for the Reorganization of National Defense recommended that the armed forces of United States be organized into a single cabinet department, and that "three coordinate combat branches, Army, Navy, and Air" comprise the operational services. The committee reported that the statutory creation of a United States Air Force would merely recognize a situation that had evolved during World War II with the Army Air Forces, acknowledging that naval/marine aviation and some aspects of army aviation would remain in place. The committee also reported that its recommendation was approved by "Generals of the Army Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower, Fleet Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William F. Halsey and numerous other leading military and naval personnel".<ref name="mac104107"/>


The Navy Department remained opposed to a single department of defense and, at the recommendation of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, created a panel using naval personnel to study the feasibility of a coordinating agency without executive powers as an alternative. The "Eberstadt report" made such a recommendation, but also endorsed the concept of an Air Force as a separate service. The Navy Department did not acknowledge its own findings and continued to oppose creation of a separate Air Force during hearings for unification bills introduced in October 1945. When the hearings failed to submit a report, President [[Harry S. Truman]] on 19 December 1945 came out strongly in support of an air force on a parity with ground and naval forces, reminding Congress that prior to the war independent Army and Navy Departments had often failed to work collectively or in coordination to the best interest of the nation. He asserted that wartime expedients that had overcome these defects proved to be the difference between victory and defeat.<ref name="mac104107">McClendon (1996), pp. 104–108</ref>
The Navy Department remained opposed to a single department of defense and, at the recommendation of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Naval Affairs, created a panel using naval personnel to study the feasibility of a coordinating agency without executive powers as an alternative. The "Eberstadt report" made such a recommendation, but also endorsed the concept of an Air Force as a separate service. The Navy Department did not acknowledge its own findings and continued to oppose creation of a separate Air Force during hearings for unification bills introduced in October 1945. When the hearings failed to submit a report, President Harry S. Truman on 19 December 1945 came out strongly in support of an air force on a parity with ground and naval forces, reminding Congress that prior to the war independent Army and Navy Departments had often failed to work collectively or in coordination to the best interest of the nation. He asserted that wartime expedients that had overcome these defects proved to be the difference between victory and defeat.<ref name="mac104107">McClendon (1996), pp. 104–108</ref>


Congress, at the recommendation of Truman, created the [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]] with enactment of the National Security Act of 1947 (61 ''Stat''. 495), 26 July 1947. The act established the [[United States Air Force]], a completely separate branch of the U.S. military, and abolished both the Army Air Forces and the Air Corps, effective 18 September 1947.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx "The Air Force Fact Sheet"] (AF.mil) Retrieved 25 April 2016.</ref> The transfer of personnel and assets from the AAF to the USAF was effected by Transfer Order 1, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 26 September 1947.<ref name="natarc" />
Congress, at the recommendation of Truman, created the [[United States Department of the Air Force|Department of the Air Force]] with enactment of the National Security Act of 1947 (61 ''Stat''. 495), 26 July 1947. The act established the [[United States Air Force]], a completely separate branch of the U.S. military, and abolished both the Army Air Forces and the Air Corps, effective 18 September 1947.<ref>[http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104613/the-us-air-force.aspx "The Air Force Fact Sheet"] (AF.mil) Retrieved 25 April 2016.</ref> The transfer of personnel and assets from the AAF to the USAF was effected by Transfer Order 1, Office of the Secretary of Defense, 26 September 1947.<ref name="natarc" />
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===Uniforms===
===Uniforms===
====Service dress====
====Service dress====
[[File:Richard Bong photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Medal of Honor]] recipient Major [[Richard Bong]] in Officer's Service Dress]]
[[File:Richard Bong photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg|thumb|upright|Medal of Honor recipient Major [[Richard Bong]] in Officer's Service Dress]]
USAAF uniforms for all members consisted of a winter service uniform of [[Olive (color)|olive drab]] wool worn in temperate weather and a tropical weather summer service uniform of [[khaki]] cotton the same as those of other U.S. Army forces. In addition to the service uniforms usually worn for dress purposes and on pass from posts there were a variety of fatigue and flying uniforms. Summer and winter service uniforms were both worn throughout the year in the continental U.S. During World War II the European theater of operations was considered a year-round temperate uniform zone and the Pacific theater of operations a year-round tropical uniform zone.<ref>Table of Equipment No. 21 1 September 1945 Part II (theater clothing zones).</ref>
USAAF uniforms for all members consisted of a winter service uniform of [[Olive (color)|olive drab]] wool worn in temperate weather and a tropical weather summer service uniform of [[khaki]] cotton the same as those of other U.S. Army forces. In addition to the service uniforms usually worn for dress purposes and on pass from posts there were a variety of fatigue and flying uniforms. Summer and winter service uniforms were both worn throughout the year in the continental U.S. During World War II the European theater of operations was considered a year-round temperate uniform zone and the Pacific theater of operations a year-round tropical uniform zone.<ref>Table of Equipment No. 21 1 September 1945 Part II (theater clothing zones).</ref>


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