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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= XIII Fighter Command
|image=413th Fighter Squadron F-47N Thunderbolt 1945.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption=Command [[P-47 Thunderbolt]]<ref group=note>Aircraft is Republic P-47N-5-RE Thunderbolt, serial 44-88572 of the [[413th Fighter Squadron]].</ref>
|dates=1943–1946
|country={{USA}}
|branch={{air force|USA}}
|type=
|role=Command of [[fighter aircraft|fighter]] units
|size=
|command_structure=
|mascot=
|battles=[[Southwest Pacific Theater]]<br/>[[China-Burma-India Theater]]<ref name=Maurer13FC>Maurer, ''Combat Units'', p. 451</ref>
|notable_commanders=Brig Gen [[Dean C. Strother]]<ref name=Maurer13FC/>
|anniversaries=
|decorations=
|battle_honours=
}}

The '''XIII Fighter Command ''' was a [[United States Army Air Forces]] formation. It was last assigned to [[Thirteenth Air Force]], based at [[Manila]], [[Luzon]], Philippines. It was inactivated on 15 March 1946.

==History==
XIII Fighter Command was a [[World War II]] command and control organization for Thirteenth Air Force. Its mission was to provide command and control authority of Army Air Force fighter organizations within the Thirteenth Air Force Area of Responsibility.

It participated in the following campaigns: China Defensive; Guadalcanal; New Guinea; Northern Solomons; Bismarck Archipelago; Western Pacific; Leyte; Luzon; Southern Philippines; China Offensive.

==Lineage==
* Constituted as the '''XIII Fighter Command''' on 14 December 1942
: Activated on 13 January 1943
: Inactivated on 15 March 1946
: Disbanded on 8 October 1948<ref name=Maurer13FC/>

===Assignments===
* [[Thirteenth Air Force]], 13 January 1943 – 15 March 1946<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/432189/thirteenth-air-force-air-forces-pacific-pacaf/ |last1=Kane|first1=Robert B.|title=Thirteenth Air Force (Air Forces Pacific) (PACAF)|date=October 21, 2011|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=December 24, 2021}}</ref>

===Stations===
* [[Plaine Des Gaiacs Airfield]], [[New Caledonia]], Melanesia, 13 January 1943
* [[Santo-Pekoa International Airport|Pekoa Airfield]], [[Espiritu Santo]], New Hebrides, 22 January 1943
* [[Carney Airfield]], [[Guadalcanal]], Solomon Islands, December 1943
* [[Sansapor Airfield|Sansapor (March) Airfield]], Netherlands East Indies, 15 August 1944
* [[Bayug Airfield]], [[Burauen, Leyte]], Philippines, 10 January 1945
* [[Puerto Princesa Airfield]], [[Palawan]], Philippines, 1 March 1945
* [[Manila]], [[Luzon]], Philippines, November 1945 – 15 March 1946<ref name=Maurer13FC/>

===Components===
; Groups
* [[18th Fighter Group]], 14 April 1943 – 15 March 1946<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/434125/18-operations-group-pacaf/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 18 Operations Group (PACAF)|date=June 27, 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=December 29, 2021}}</ref>
* [[42nd Bombardment Group]], attached 1 October 1944 – 8 January 1945, c. 22 March – c. September 1945<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/434105/42-air-base-wing-aetc/ |last1=Haulman|first1=Daniel|title=Factsheet 42 Air Base Wing (AETC)|date=June 13, 2018|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=December 30, 2021}}</ref>
* [[347th Fighter Group]]: 13 January 1943 – 1 January 1946 (attached to [[I Island Command]] 1 July – c. 29 December 1943)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/433335/347-rescue-group-acc/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 347 Rescue Group (ACC)|date=July 12, 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref>
* [[414th Fighter Group]]: 1 January–30 September 1946<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/432636/414-fighter-group-afrc/ |last1=Robertson|first1=Patsy|title=Factsheet 414 Fighter Group (AFRC)|date=August 9, 2017|publisher=Air Force Historical Research Agency|access-date=January 16, 2022}}</ref>

; Squadrons
* [[17th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron]]: 10 December 1945 – 1 February 1946<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 93-94</ref>
* [[419th Night Fighter Squadron]]: 25 August 1944 – 10 January 1946<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', p. 515</ref>
* [[550th Night Fighter Squadron]]: 12 December 1944 – 15 December 1945 (attached to [[XIII Bomber Command]] 14 February 1945, [[85th Fighter Wing]] 7 April – c. 17 June 1945)<ref>Maurer, ''Combat Squadrons'', pp. 654-655</ref>

==See also==
* [[United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific Area]]

==References==
===Notes===
; Explanatory notes
{{Reflist|group=note}}

; Citations
{{Reflist|40em}}

===Bibliography===
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Air Force Combat Units of World War II|orig-year= 1961|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180735/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Sep/21/2001330256/-1/-1/0/AFD-100921-044.pdf|url-status= dead|archive-date= 20 December 2016|access-date= December 17, 2016|edition=reprint|year=1983|publisher= Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-912799-02-1|lccn=61060979}}
* {{cite book|editor=Maurer, Maurer|title=Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II|orig-year=1969|url= http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161220180455/http://media.defense.gov/2010/Dec/02/2001329899/-1/-1/0/AFD-101202-002.pdf |url-status= dead |archive-date= 20 December 2016 |edition= reprint|access-date= December 17, 2016|year=1982|publisher=Office of Air Force History|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0-405-12194-6|oclc=72556|lccn=70605402}}

{{USAAF 13th Air Force World War II}}

[[Category:Intermediate fighter commands of the United States Army Air Forces|13 Command Fighter]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1946]]

XIII Fighter Command - Revision history

imported>Mztourist at 05:32, 8 May 2025