Army Air Force School of Applied Tactics
| Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics | |
|---|---|
| Active | 27 October 1942 – 8 March 1946 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Type | Professional Military Education |
| Garrison/HQ |
Orlando Army Air Base, Florida Operational Airfields in Florida |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Brig. Gen. Hume Peabody |
The Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (known as AAFSAT) was a major command of the United States Army Air Forces. It was merged with Army Air Forces Proving Ground Command on 8 March 1946 at Orlando Army Airbase, Florida.
The Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics was a major command and military training organization of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Its function was to train cadres from newly formed units in combat operations under simulated field conditions as the cores around which new combat groups would be formed.
The lack of a true tactical training center and the closure of the Air Corps Tactical School in 1940, coupled with the impracticality of further splitting of existing combat groups into cadre for new groups, made AAFSAT a necessity. The Commandant of AAFSAT was Brigadier General Hume Peabody, formerly assistant commandant of the ACTS.
In addition to its training function, the school also developed as a tactical doctrine development center, assuming the functions formerly assigned the ACTS. In this function it also became known as the Army Air Forces Tactical Center (AAFTAC).
At the entry of the United States into World War II on 7 December 1941, the USAAF had expanded to 67 groups from a pre-1939 total of 15, but approximately half were paper units just forming. The entry into the war meant an immediate significant increase in the numbers of new combat groups, expanding to 269 groups by the end of 1943.
The training establishment then in place was inadequate to train units wholesale, and the concept of training cadres who in turn would direct the training of their assigned units was adopted. AAFSAT was established 9 October 1942, to provide this training. The first group receiving AAFSAT training to deploy overseas was the 390th Bomb Group (Heavy) in July 1943, based in England with the Eighth Air Force.
Headquarters USAAF originally intended that four tactical schools be developed across the United States, one for each of the four major military aviation functions. However "to save administrative costs and physical outlay" (Army Air Forces Historical Study 13) and to facilitate coordination between the schools, all four would be consolidated at a single location. Orlando was chosen 1 November 1942, primarily because it was already the location of Fighter Command School, which would be subordinated to AAFSAT, and because of its large geographical area. The school officially opened 12 November 1942. Between November 1942 and September 1945, AAFSAT trained 54,000 personnel and the cadres of 44 bombardment groups.
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