Mediterranean Allied Air Forces
| Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) | |
|---|---|
| Active | December 1943 – 1945 |
| Allegiance | Allies of World War II |
| Branch | Brazilian Air Force, British Royal Air Force, Free French Air Force, Hellenic Air Force, Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Polish Air Force, Rhodesian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, South African Air Force, United States Army Air Force, and other Allied air forces. |
| Type | Major Air Command |
| Role | Unified command for Allied Air Forces in Mediterranean |
| Engagements | Italian Campaign (Battle of Anzio, Rome-Arno, North Apennines, Po Valley), Southern France, |
| Insignia | |
| Mediterranean Allied Air Forces Shoulder Sleeve Insigne. Approved 14 August 1944. |  |
The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) was the major Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean theater from mid-December 1943 until the end of the Second World War.
The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) became the official Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) after the previous Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was disbanded on December 10, 1943. Initially, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder who had commanded MAC, was retained as Air Commander-in-Chief of MAAF but in mid-January 1944, Lieutenant General Ira Eaker took over command of MAAF when Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Tedder as his Deputy Supreme Allied Commander to plan the air operations for the Normandy Landings. In March 1945, Lieutenant General John K. Cannon assumed command of MAAF.
In keeping with the previous Allied convention established at the Casablanca Conference of naming commanders from one air force [United States Army Air Force (USAAF) or Royal Air Force (RAF)] and their deputies from the other air force, Eaker's Deputy Air Commander-in-Chief of MAAF became Air Marshal Sir John Slessor on January 20, 1944. Slessor, who also was named Commander-in-Chief of RAF Mediterranean and Middle East (previously AHQ Malta, a major sub-command of the disbanded MAC), had been the commander of RAF Coastal Command which was taken over by Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, the previous commander of RAF Middle East Command, another major sub-command of the disbanded MAC.
...
Wikipedia