Effective February 18, 1943, the NASAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943 when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established. Major General Jimmy Doolittle was the commander of NASAF.[1] However, during at least one critical period of the Tunisia Campaign at the end of February, 1943, General Carl Spaatz, the commander of NAAF, placed most of the strategic bombers at the disposal of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, commander of the Northwest African Tactical Air Force.[2]
Order of battle
The components of NASAF at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943 are illustrated below.[3][4][5]
The 2686th Medium Bombardment Wing (Provincial) was activated on June 6, 1943 at Sedrata, Algeria and disbanded on September 3, 1943 at Ariana, Tunisia. Although the 42nd Bombardment Wing (Medium) is sometimes used to refer to the wing during this period, the 42nd Wing was actually the successor of the 2686th Wing.[6]
Craven, Wesley F.; Cate, James L. (1983) [1949]. The Army Air Forces in World War II. Vol. 2. Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press. ISBN0-912799-03-X.
Howe, George F. (1991). Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West. Washington, DC: Center of Military History.
Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History.
Richards, D.; Saunders, H. (1953). The Royal Air Force, 1939-1945. Vol. 2. HMSO.
US Army Air Force (1945). Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign. Army Air Forces Historical Study. Vol. 37. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters.