The Northwest African Tactical Air Force (NATAF) was a component of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself reported to the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC). These new Allied air force organizations were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943 to promote cooperation between the British Royal Air Force (RAF), the American United States Army Air Force (USAAF), and their respective ground and naval forces in the North African and Mediterranean theater of World War II . Created on February 18, 1943, the NATAF and other MAC commands existed until December 10, 1943, when MAC was disbanded and the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) were established.
24-2849: Acting Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham , who had been air officer commanding Western Desert Air Force became the commander of NATAF. and the WDAF became part of the new NATAF The components of NATAF at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943, are illustrated below. No. 2 Squadron , Supermarine Spitfire No. 4 Squadron , Spitfire No. 5 Squadron , Curtiss Kittyhawk 522nd Squadron , North American A-36 Mustang 523rd Squadron , A-36 Mustang 524th Squadron , A-36 Mustang No. 12 Squadron , Douglas Boston light bomber No. 21 Squadron , Martin Baltimore light bomber No. 24 Squadron , Boston No. 3 Squadron RAAF , Kittyhawk No. 112 Squadron RAF , Kittyhawk No. 250 Squadron RAF , Kittyhawk No. 260 Squadron RAF , Kittyhawk No. 450 Squadron RAAF , Kittyhawk 525th Squadron , A-36 Mustang 526th Squadron , A-36 Mustang 527th Squadron , A-36 Mustang No. 55 Squadron , Baltimore No. 223 Squadron , Baltimore No. 1 Squadron SAAF , Spitfire No. 92 Squadron RAF , Spitfire No. 145 Squadron RAF , Spitfire No. 417 Squadron RCAF , Spitfire No. 601 Squadron RAF , Spitfire 58th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 59th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 60th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk - 99th Squadron , P-40, Detached No. 18 Squadron , Boston No. 114 Squadron , Boston No. 81 Squadron , Spitfire No. 152 Squadron , Spitfire No. 154 Squadron , Spitfire No. 232 Squadron , Spitfire No. 242 Squadron , Spitfire 314th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 315th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 316th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 84th Squadron , A-20 Havoc light bomber 85th Squadron , A-20 Havoc 86th Squadron , A-20 Havoc 97th Squadron , A-20 Havoc No. 43 Squadron , Spitfire No. 72 Squadron , Spitfire No. 93 Squadron , Spitfire No. 111 Squadron , Spitfire No. 243 Squadron , Spitfire 307th Squadron , Spitfire 308th Squadron , Spitfire 309th Squadron , Spitfire 81st Squadron , North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber 82nd Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 83rd Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 434th Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 64th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 65th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 66th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 486th Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 487th Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 488th Squadron , B-25 Mitchell 489th Squadron , B-25 Mitchell - 85th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 86th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk 87th Squadron , P-40 Warhawk No. 40 Squadron SAAF , Detachment, Spitfire No. 60 Squadron SAAF , de Havilland Mosquito No. 1437 Flight RAF , Mustang For Operation Husky, No. 242 Group RAF , originally
48-661: A component of NATAF in February 1943, was assigned to the Northwest African Coastal Air Force (NACAF). At the same time, Air Headquarters, Western Desert became known as Desert Air Force . All of the fighter units of Desert Air Force formed No. 211 (Offensive Fighter) Group commanded by Air Commodore Richard Atcherley on April 11, 1943, in Tripoli. The 99th Fighter Squadron (one of the Tuskegee Airmen units)
72-571: A position higher than the current rank held. When addressing an individual with an acting rank, the person should be addressed as if the full rank were held. For example, a member who is an acting master seaman would be addressed as "Master Seaman Smith", and not "Acting Master Seaman Smith" ("acting" is a designation, not a rank). In writing, the acting nature of the rank may or may not be spelled out, so that forms such as "acting captain", "captain (acting)" or "captain" are used. Documents dealing with rank, seniority and promotion will tend to spell out
96-665: A separate task force , and flew interdiction missions against railroads, communication targets, and motor vehicles behind enemy lines, providing a minimum of 48 fighter-bomber sorties per day. The squadron participated in the French campaign against Elba in June 1944 and in the invasion of Southern France in August. It engaged in interdiction and support operations in northern Italy from September 1944 to May 1945. The 64th flew its last combat mission on 2 May 1945. It remained in northern Italy after
120-420: Is a designation that allows a soldier to assume a military rank —usually higher and usually temporary. They may assume that rank either with or without the pay and allowances appropriate to that grade, depending on the nature of the acting promotion. An acting officer may be ordered back to the previous grade. This situation may arise when a lower-ranking officer is called upon to replace a senior officer, or fill
144-729: The 65th Aggressor Squadron , using F-15C Eagles which had been disbanded on 26 September 2014 due to budget constraints but reactivated on 9 May 2019. The purpose of the squadron is to teach adversarial tactics and provide dissimilar air combat training to US Air Force flying units. The squadron was first formed as a P-40 Warhawk pursuit squadron in January 1941 as part of the Army Air Corps Northeast Defense Sector (later I Fighter Command ) at Mitchel Field , New York. It trained in New England and provided air defense of
168-643: The F-16A Fighting Falcon on 1 April 1988 when the F-5Es began having structural problems with the airframes. F-16As initially borrowed from the 474th TFW at Nellis, tail coded "NA" before receiving production F-16C/Ds from General Dynamics in July 1989. F-16s were tail coded "WA", painted in a similar motif as the F-5Es with a black/yellow check tail stripe. The squadron was replaced by the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group, (Advisory Tactics Division) and assigned to
192-735: The USAF Weapons School . The squadron was subsequently inactivated on 5 October 1990. The squadron was reactivated on 3 October 2003, again flying the F-16 as an Aggressor Squadron. Participates in USAF Red Flag and Canadian Forces Maple Flag exercises, provides USAF Weapons School syllabus support, priority test mission support, and road shows that visit various units throughout the CONUS to ACC units for training. In 2020, Aggressor F-16s were painted in camouflage similar to that of Sukhoi Su-57 to simulate
216-611: The 25th Air Division, 325th Fighter Group. Provided air defense of the Seattle area and the Pacific Northwest until 1966. Was deployed by Air Defense Command to Clark Air Base , Philippines in 1966 as part of Pacific Air Forces to provide air defense of Luzon and northern Philippines . Flew F-102s from Clark, and rotated flights to bases in South Vietnam (including Da Nang Air Base ) and Thailand to provide air defense against
240-507: The F-5's tail number were painted in red on front fuselage, highlighted in white. From October 1972 to June 1990, deployed throughout US and overseas to teach adversarial tactics and provide dissimilar air combat training to US Air Force flying units. Re-designated 64th Tactical Fighter Aggressor Squadron on 30 December 1981; re-designated again as 65th Aggressor Squadron on 4 January 1983. Added subdued "WA" tail code in early 1987. Transitioned to
264-519: The Navy grew before Congress took action to permanently increase the number of officers. Outside of the United States and not part of a fleet or squadron, the commanding officer of the ship was allowed to appoint officers to a higher rank in the case of death on board the ship. The officer was temporarily appointed to the higher rank, appended "acting" to his new rank, wore the uniform of the higher rank, and
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#1732845072375288-684: The South collapsed. Since the F-5E had approximately the size and performance characteristics of a Soviet MiG-21 , it was used throughout US and overseas to teach adversarial tactics and provide dissimilar air combat training to US Air Force flying units, eventually becoming the 64th Aggressor Squadron . F-5s carried no tail codes, although they did carry Nellis black/yellow check tail stripe and TAC emblem on tail. Aircraft were painted in Soviet Air Forces motif, with subdued USAF markings. The last two digits of
312-509: The United States, acting appointments were not allowed unless specifically authorized by the Department of the Navy. In most other cases, only the commander-in-chief of a fleet or squadron would be authorized to appoint an officer to fill a vacancy, and this order would be subject to approval of the Department of the Navy. In this way, the Department of the Navy was able to fill vacancies while
336-723: The War, most officers were appointed to a higher acting rank, and their appointments lasted until the end of the war at which point many were discharged from the Navy. 64th Fighter Squadron The 64th Aggressor Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group at Nellis Air Force Base , Nevada. The 64th AGRS is assigned 24 F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft, painted in camouflage schemes identical to those observed on Russian-manufactured aircraft providing Air Combat Maneuvering training to USAF and other aviation forces in conjunction with Red Flag exercises. The unit operates in conjunction with
360-691: The acting nature of the rank, and informal documents will tend to avoid it, but there is no general rule. In the United States Navy , acting appointments were common during the 19th century. The number of commissioned naval officers at each rank in the Navy was fixed by Congress, so it was difficult to fill vacancies if the number of officers needed to man ships exceeded that fixed number of officers allowed by Congress. Acting appointments were also common with warrant officers and ratings, although neither were subject to congressional approval and were simply temporary assignments. The regulations stated that in
384-520: The duties of a higher grade officer, except that their pay, rank and uniform remained at the lower grade. Similar to the many brevet ranks in the Union Army , acting appointments were extremely common during the American Civil War . Congress authorized the Department of the Navy to purchase vessels and appoint acting or volunteer officers to man them until the end of the conflict. By the end of
408-597: The end of the European War, demobilizing throughout the summer of 1945. It was reassigned to the United States in August 1945 without personnel or equipment and was inactivated at the end of August. Reactivated in August 1946 as part of Eleventh Air Force (Later Alaskan Air Command ) as part of the air defense forces in the northwest Pacific. It provided air defense initially in the Aleutian Islands , then moved to Nome in early 1947 and to Elmendorf Air Force Base in
432-519: The fall of 1947. Initially flew P-51 Mustangs, then became equipped with F-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft in 1948. Reassigned to Alaskan Air Command 10th Air Division and became a permanent part of the Alaskan Defense Forces throughout the 1950s, upgrading to the F-94 and F-89 dedicated interceptors. Was reassigned to McChord Field , Washington in 1957, upgraded to F-102A Delta Dagger as part of
456-980: The northeast after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . It was reassigned to the U.S. Army Middle East Force in Egypt, July 1942, becoming part of IX Fighter Command . It took part in the British Western Desert Campaign , engaged in combat during the Battle of El Alamein and, as part of Ninth Air Force , supported the Commonwealth Eighth Army's drive across Egypt and Libya , escorting bombers and flying strafing and dive-bombing missions against airfields , communications, and troop concentrations until Axis defeat in Tunisia in May 1943. The unit participated in
480-591: The reduction of Pantelleria (May–June 1943) and the conquest of Sicily (July–August 1943). The squadron supported the British Eighth Army's landing at Termoli and subsequent operations in Italy, being reassigned to Twelfth Air Force in August 1943. It flew dive-bombing, strafing, patrol, and escort missions. In 1944, the squadron converted to P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft and flew interdiction operations in Italy. It moved to Corsica on 30 March 1944 to operate as
504-708: The unlikely event that North Vietnamese aircraft would attack, July 1966 – December 1969. Deployed temporarily to South Korea during the Pueblo crisis in January–June 1968. Inactivated in 1969 as part of the retirement of the F-102. Activated within the 57th Fighter Weapons Wing on 15 October 1972. Initially equipped with T-38A Talons, upgraded in April 1976 with Northrop F-5E Tiger II export fighters having been originally destined for delivery to South Vietnam and became available when
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#1732845072375528-682: The war in North Africa with the end of the Tunisia Campaign . In recognition of XII Air Support Command's operations in Sicily, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower presented Major General Edwin House with the Legion of Merit and saying that "...for the first time established the application of a tactical air force operating in support of an American Army." Acting rank An acting rank
552-408: Was addressed and paid at the higher rank. When the ship returned to the United States, or joined a fleet or squadron, the appointment was subject to review by the commander-in-chief of the fleet or squadron or the Department of the Navy. Another type of temporary appointment was an "order to perform". This was issued in a similar manner to an acting appointment for a lower grade officer to perform
576-545: Was assigned to the XII Air Support Command on May 28, 1943, and subsequently attached to the 33rd Fighter Group. The actual squadron assignments and detachments varied throughout the war depending on the specific needs of the air force. The table above illustrates the squadron assignments and commanders for the important period of World War II when the Allies prepared to invade Italy ( Operation Husky ), having just won
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