In June 1942, the Chief of the Air Staff directed that an historian be appointed to record the military operations of the USAAC.
[1] Williams directed the recruitment and placement of historians in the Air Staff and at unit headquarters worldwide.
Of necessity, their focus during the war was "selection and collection of materials"[3] though they were often involved in producing action reports and unit history monographs.
They agreed on the condition that they would be given a free hand in editorial decisions and access to all pertinent materials, a requirement which they state "has been lived up to in letter and in spirit".
[7] The seven volumes and their publication dates are: A companion volume, Combat Chronology 1941–1945, was compiled by Kit C. Carter and Robert Mueller and jointly published in 1973 by the Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center of the Air University and the Office of Air Force History, Headquarters USAF.