Very interesting piece on how the Air Forces in Africa, (USAAF) were taken out of the hands of US ground commanders.
US airpower was ready for its independence. The North African debacle kicked away the last obstacles.
Up From Kasserine Pass By Rebecca Grant
Caesar had the Rubicon. Paul had the road to Damascus. For American airpower, there was the Battle of Kasserine Pass. German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s February 1943 rout of American forces in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa turned out to be a watershed event. In this desperate battle in Tunisia, US Army doctrine tied airpower, as an auxiliary force, to the corps commander—with disastrous results. US forces fought without effective air superiority or timely air support. Up From Kasserine Pass - September 2007