The 5th Air Force had its early beginnings as the Philippine Department Air Force on 20 September 1941 under the command of Brigadier General Henry B. Clagett.
It was renamed to the Far East Air Force (FEAF) on 28 October 1941 and was under the command of Major-General Lewis Hyde Brereton. The FEAF fought in the Philippines at the outbreak of the Pacific War. They covered the retreat south to Java and then escaped back to Australia where they played a small part in the Battle of the Coral Sea (7-8 May 1942) and went on to became the nucleus of the new Fifth Air Force.
On 9 August 1942, the American Chief of Staff, General Marshall gave orders to establish the 5th Air Force and gave George C. Kenney immediate command of this new air force and all other Allied air units in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA). Kenney's headquarters were located in Brisbane.
The 5th Air Force USAAF was established in Australia on 3 September 1942 under the command of Major General George Kenney who had arrived in Brisbane, in the State of Queensland in Australia on 29 July 1942. Kenney made a lightning tour of bases in northern Queensland and summarily fired the entire command air staff.
At the time that Kenney had arrived, there were three fighter groups, 5 bombardments groups, two transport squadrons and one photographic squadron operational in the SWPA comprising 1,602 officers and 18,116 men.
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