10106 U.S.A.A.F. Fighter Pilot, 1943-45The United States Army Air Forces (U. S. A. A. F. or A. A. F.) was the major land based aerial warfare service of the United States Army. When established it was composed of 15 permanent combat groups, each organized into three or four flying squadrons. By World War II it held 67 combat groups: 26 were classified as Bombardment; 26 Pursuit groups (renamed fighter group in May 1942); 9 Reconnaissance groups; and 6 Troop Carrier Combat Cargo groups.