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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force, © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 2 Jan 2026
The Ninth Air Force supported Allied ground operations in the European Theater of Operations, including:
  • Air drops, of paratroopers, glider troops, and key supplies.
  • Other air transport missions.
  • Interdiction of enemy road and rail lines and airfields.
  • Attacks on smaller industrial targets.
  • Attacks on enemy troop or supply concentrations.
  • Air cover over combat zones.

With the activation of the Ninth Army in France on 5 September 1944, four US armies were in combat on the ground in the European Theater. Each of these armies had a measure of operational control over a tactical air command, consisting of units from the Ninth and Twelfth Air Forces, as shown below:
First Army, entered combat 6 Jun 1944: IX Tactical Air Command from the Ninth Air Force.
Third Army (Patton), entered combat 1 Aug 1944:
Seventh Army (Patch) entered combat 15 Aug 1944: 
Ninth Army (Simpson), entered combat 5 Sep 1944: XIX Tactical Air Command from the Ninth Air Force.

As Allied forces advanced through France and Belgium and into Germany, increasing numbers of Ninth Air Force units moved from England to the European continent.
‡ Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead - WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force: ​​03-09 - WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force: (17 dead, updated 17 Nov 2025)
  • Including Twelfth Air Force deaths while based in France supporting the ETO.
† Anderson, Virgil Wendell, SN T-003902, US Army Air Force, Buena Vista and Pott. Cos.
  • 95th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 440th Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Chateaudun, Eure-et-Loir Dept., NW of Orleans, France; Douglas C-47A Skytrain/Dakota #42-100906 co-pilot; KIA 27 Dec 1944 near St. Hubert, west of Bastogne, Belgium; flak brought plane down during glider tow mission carrying supplies to Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge; three dead, two survivors.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Braden, Grant Nathaniel, SN 0-690-177, US Army Air Force, Montgomery Co.
  • 597th Bomb. Sqdn., 397th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Péronne, Somme Dept., east of Amiens, France; Martin B-26 Marauder #42-96162 Dottie Dee pilot; KIA 30 Jan 1945 near Courtisols, SE of Reims, Marne, France; plane crashed in a snowstorm returning from a weather reconnaissance mission; crew of four all died.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Chickering, Herbert R., SN 0-706-135, US Army Air Force, Montgomery & Madison Cos.
  • 339th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 349th Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force; Curtis-Wright C-46D Commando #44-77839 pilot; DNB 6 May 1945 SW of London, England at Gibbet Hill, Haslemere, Surrey on a repatriation flight from France to England; flying low in bad weather, aircraft wing hit a radar tower; all 30 aboard (five crew & 25 passengers) & one other person died.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
†  Delong, Lloyd, SN 37-117-114, US Army Air Force, Pott. Co.
  • 409th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, flying Douglas A-26 Invaders, based at Brétigny-sur-Orge, Essonne Dept., south of Paris, France; DNB 3 Nov 1944 at Fleury-Mérogis, near Paris; head injuries from falling from a moving truck.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
†  Downs, Thomas George, SN 0-745-648, US Army Air Force, Pott. Co.
  • 85th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 437th Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Ramsbury, Wiltshire, England; Douglas C-47A Skytrain/Dakota #43-15655 pilot; DNB 27 Aug 1944 at landing field ALG A-22 near Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France; crashed while landing, four dead.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Gee, Richard Arthur, SN 0-496-121, US Army Air Force, Marion Co.
  • 430th Fighter Sqdn., 474th Fighter Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Warmwell, SE of Dorchester, Dorset, England; Lockheed P-38J Lightning #42-67675​ pilot; KIA 22 Jun 1944 NW of Cherbourg, Hainneville, Manche, Basse-Normandie, France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
​† ​Gunsolley, Max Gerald, SN 37-656-287, US Army Air Force, Des Moines Co.
  • 644th Bomb. Sqdn, 410th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Gosfield, west of Colchester, Essex, England; Douglas A-20G Havoc #43-10192 crew member w/ pilot Robert C. Bruce; KIA 3 Jun 1944; aircraft last seen heading to the coast through a flak zone; BNR.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Halterman, Claude Allen Jr., SN 0-767-204, US Army Air Force, Ventura Co., CA
  • 390th Fighter Sqdn., 366th Fighter Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Asch, Zutendaal, Belgium; Republic P-47 Thunderbolt #42-28098 pilot; KIA 28 Feb 1945 near Grevenbroich, SW of Düsseldorf, Germany; aircraft hit by flak & crashed; BNR.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
†  Holiday, Albert Henry, SN 17-029-435, US Army Air Force, Harrison & Ringgold Cos.
  • 641st Bomb. Sqdn., 409th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Little Walden, Essex, England; North American A-20G Havoc #43-9703 gunner w/ pilot Joseph R. Armistead; KIA 11 Jun 1944 Uttlesford District, Essex, England; three aircraft collided after takeoff, two crashed; five died from the eight crew members of the two lost aircraft.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Howard, Charles Joseph, SN 0-2-067-716, US Army Air Force, Pott. Co.
  • 37th Bomb. Sqdn., 17th Bomb Gp., Twelfth Air Force, assigned to First Tactical Air Force, supporting Seventh Army; based at Dijon-Longvic, Burgundy, France; Martin B-26F Marauder #42-96326 copilot w/ pilot Kenneth Bedor; KIA 26 Apr 1945 near target of Neuburg an der Donau, between Munich and Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany; shot down by Messerschmitt ME-262 jet fighter from Luftwaffe Sqdn. JV-44.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force @ Twelfth Air Force
† Hunter, Gail Ray, SN 37-109-559, US Army Air Force, Cass Co.
  • 558th Bomb. Sqdn., 387th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Chpping Ongar, NE of London, Essex, England; Martin B-26 Marauder #41-31664 Heavenly Body flight engineer & top turret gunner w/ pilot Charles W. Schober; KIA 8 Jun 1944 south of Caen, Normandy, France; aircraft hit by flak shortly after bombing ammunition dump in Foret de Grimbosq, exploded before hitting ground; crew of seven all died.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Kelley, Oren H., SN 17-033-747, US Army Air Force, Cass Co.
  • 43rd Troop Carrier Sqdn., 315th Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Aldermaston, Berkshire, England; Douglas C-47A Skytrain/Dakota C-47A #42-23479 radio operator; DNB 17 Sep 1943; accident during joint training exercise with Royal Air Force near Great Bircham, Norfolk, England.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Napier, Roy Hugh, SN 0-769-905, US Army Air Force, Pott. Co.
  • 485th Fighter Sqdn., 370th Fighter Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Florennes-Juzaine, Belgium, ~70 miles south of Brussels; Lockheed P-38J Lightning #42-67822 pilot; KIA 3 Jan 1945; aircraft crash.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Smith, Henry Clayton, SN 37-480-433, US Army Air Force, Mills Co.
  • 494th Bomb. Sqdn., 344th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Stansted, near Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire, England; Martin B-26G5 Marauder #43-34406 tail gunner; KIA 23 Sep 1944 near Venlo, SE Netherlands; plane shot down by flak; two crew may have survived, remaining four died.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Stith, George Noel, SN 0-697-177, US Army Air Force, Pott. Co.
  • 557th Bomb. Sqdn., 387th Bomb. Gp., Ninth Air Force, based at Clastres, France, east of Amiens; Martin B-26F Marauder #42-96309 pilot; KIA 23 Dec 1944, near Bastogne, Belgium; plane returning from bombing mission over Hagen, Germany, crashed from flak; three killed, four POW.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
​† Thede, Ivan William, SN 37-498-432, US Army Air Force, Calhoun & Carroll Cos.​
  • 79th Troop Carrier Sqdn., 436th Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Membury Air Field, five miles WNW of Hungerford, Berkshire, England; Douglas C47 Skytrain/Dakota #42-100522 crew member with pilot Robert Stoddart; KIA 17 Sep 1944 near Son, north of Eindhoven, Netherlands; aircraft was carrying members of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and was hit near the drop zone; no survivors.
  • Military Note: posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross award.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
† Wenstrand, Robert Darwin, SN 0-701-356, US Army Air Force, Page Co.​
  • 53rd Troop Carrier Sqdn., 61st Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Barkston Heath, Lincolnshire, England, east of Nottingham; Douglas C-47 Dakota/Skytrain navigator; DNB 3 Dec 1944 over North Sea; BNR.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force