The Mighty Eighth's B-52 force consists of 76 bombers assigned to two active duty wings, the 2d Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana and the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and one reserve wing, the 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Eighth Air Force History > 8th Air Force/J-GSOC > Display By 1945, all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups were equipped with the P-51D. Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force in February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. function showFBShare() {
In June 1946, the headquarters relocated to MacDill Field, Fla., to join the new Strategic Air Command (SAC).
Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum - New Georgia Encyclopedia "Butcher Shop" 97th Bomb Group B-17 E 41-2578 Pilots, Paul Tibbets and Frank Armstrong. They thought these bombers should have strong defensive armament to fight through enemy fighter aircraft, and they would fly high, making them harder targets for enemy interception and antiaircraft fire. buttons: ['share'],
At the same time, aerial refueling techniques were improved to the extent that Eighth Air Force bombers could still reach targets in Europe and Asia even if overseas bases were destroyed by an enemy attack. Eighth Air Force was established as VIII Bomber Command on 19 January 1942 and activated at Langley Field, Virginia on 1 February. $currentSlide.find(".fancy-detail-link").on("touchstart", function() { captionToggle(); });
Generally, when bombers approached the target and entered what was called the flak field, enemy fighters peeled away to land, refuel, and rearm. During the Cold War (19451991), 8 AF was one of three Numbered Air Forces of the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC), with a three-star general headquartered at Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts commanding USAF strategic bombers and missiles on a global scale. A fatalistic sense of acceptance became prevalent. The 8th Air Force was targeted in this operation. They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. In its early days, SAC had fighter wings for the escorting its aircraft equipped with the new F-82E Twin Mustang along with long range F-51H Mustangs and F-47N Thunderbolts, all of which were designed late in World War II for use in the planned invasion of Japan. By wars end, the AAF had built the 8th Air Force in England into a major contributor to final victory. The organization reported administratively to the Fifteenth Air Force at Colorado Springs, Colorado. }
In order to quickly assemble these formations, specially outfitted assembly ships were created from older bombers. Eighth Air Force bomb wings, stationed in the Persian Gulf region, also attacked Iraq's Republican Guard forces and numerous key strategic targets, while other units provided air refueling and tactical reconnaissance throughout the conflict. The 308th Bombardment Wing (308th BW) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Luckadoo recalled that the enemy fighters attacked the bombers as soon as they crossed the border into France and continued all the way through to the target. The command staff and all personnel of the 58th Bomb wing were eliminated on 1 November 1946 and the organization was reduced to a paper unit. mid-1944, the 8th Air Force had reached a total strength of
Second Schweinfurt raid - Wikipedia By the time the group rotated back to the United States, they had flown more than 23,000 combat hours in more than 12,000 sorties. The flak was so thick, Luckadoo said that if you put your wheels down you could taxi on it. Combined with the expected fighter opposition, October 8 was not going to be an easy day for the bomber crews. if ($(".af3-caption-body").length > 0 && $(".af3-caption-body").css("height") != undefined) {
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For this reason, Eighth Air Force is commonly known as the "Mighty Eighth." Navigators on H2X-equipped B-17s and B-24s of the U.S. Army Air Forces used radar charts like this one. '
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Following the end of the war in Europe in May 1945 plans were made to transfer some of the B-17/B-24 heavy bomber groups of Eighth Air Force to the Pacific Theater of Operations and upgrade them to Boeing B-29 Superfortress Very Heavy (VH) bomb groups. event.stopImmediatePropagation();
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U.S. 93rd Bombardment Group Flew Many Missions Throughout World War II In the 12 years he was Manager of Research Services, Seth and his team increased the oral history collection from 25 to nearly 5,000 oral histories. In Europe, Eighth Air Force was the first USAAF strategic air force, with a mission to support an invasion of continental Europe from the British Isles. In 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. For the VIII Bomber Command of 1945-1946, see, Numbered air force of the United States Air Force, Start of offensive operations against Nazi-occupied territory, Target For Today 1943 VIII Bomber Command film, Lineage, assignments, components, and stations, The Eighth Air Force's now commonly-accepted nickname, "The Mighty Eighth", derives from the title of British farmer and life-long Eighth Air Force historian, two American-crewed and one RAF-crewed Bostons against each target, Lineage & Honors, 389th Strategic Missile Wing, through 1965, USAF Historical Research Center, Learn how and when to remove this template message, World War II European-African-Middle Eastern Theater, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm, equipping the Mustang with a Rolls-Royce Merlin, United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, 58th Bombardment Wing (later Air Division), blockade of West Berlin by the Eastern bloc, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), 1st Bombardment (later, 1st Air) Division, 820th Air (later, 820 Strategic Aerospace) Division, 67th Information Operations (later, 67th Network Warfare) Wing, 509th Bombardment (later, 509th Bomb) Wing, Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility, Hadley, "Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) (ACC)", "WWII 8thAAF COMBAT CHRONOLOGY - JANUARY 1944 THROUGH JUNE 1944", "Combat Chronology of the US Army Air Forces - May 1944", "USAF Historical Research Agency Document 00219137", "Command of Eighth Air Force changes hands", "E-4Bs realign under 8th Air Force, 595th CACG stands up", "History of the 445th Bomb Group, Revised Edition", "Factsheet 100 Air Refueling Wing (USAFE)", "Factsheet 322 Air Expeditionary Group (USAFE)", "Lineage and Honors History of the 385 Air Expeditionary Group (AMC)", "Factsheet 386 Air Expeditionary Wing (ACC)", "Factsheet 479th Flying Training Group (AETC)", "Factsheet 492 Special Operations Wing (AFSOC)", "8th Air Force to become new cyber command", USAF Fact Sheets: Eighth Air Force History, Eight Air Force tactical mission report of Operation Shuttle, Establishment of the Eighth Air Force in the United Kingdom, The Ruhr one of the main target of the 8th USAAF in Europe, 19431945, Map of 8th Air Force airfields in England 19421945, A 1956 LIFE photo of every plane in the Eighth Air Force's arsenal, 4th Fighter Group Association, 65 Fighter Wing, 8th Air Force World War II, National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, House Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Strategic Air Command in the United Kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eighth_Air_Force&oldid=1137214118, 1942 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state), Air Forces of the United States Army Air Forces, Military units and formations in Louisiana, Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War, Numbered air forces of the United States Air Force, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2010, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with self-published sources from September 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2014, Wikipedia articles incorporating text from public domain works of the United States Government, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 3 June 2008 present (as Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic)), Fort Worth Army Air Field (Later Carswell Air Force Base), Texas, VIII Air Force Composite Command: 22 Feb 1944 1 Feb 1945, VIII Air Force Service Command: 22 Feb 1944 16 Jul 1945, 608th Air Operations Center (formerly 608th Air Operations Group and 608th Air and Space Operations Center), 1 Jan 1994 present, Air Force Information Operations: 1 May 2007 present, Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, 13 Jun 1955, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, 1 Jan 1975 present, This page was last edited on 3 February 2023, at 12:09. Having almost total air superiority throughout the collapsing German Reich, Eighth Air Force hit targets as far east as Hungary, while Fifteenth Air Force hit oil industry facilities in Yugoslavia, Romania, and northeastern Italy. By the end of the mission, the Eighth Air Force had lost 30 bombers and 300 men. Thirty-one of these aces had 15 or more aircraft kills apiece. Yet, despite the opposition, the bombers continued toward the Bosch factory. let detailSize = "full";
Originally, the U.S. Army Air Forces activated the Eighth at Savannah, Georgia, on 28 January 1942 with three major subordinate units: the VIII Bomber Command (BC), the VIII Fighter Command (FC), and the VIII Ground Air Services Command (GASC). The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Kegelman's aircraft lost altitude and even bounced off the ground, but he was able to bring the damaged bomber home and received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) from General Spaatz on 11 July. . debounceTimer = setTimeout(function () {
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8th Air Force The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. VIII Bomber Command was the heavy bombardment arm of Eighth Air Force which also came to include a large intelligence, photo interpretation, and mission planning staff in the early days of the strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany and Nazi-controlled Occupied Europe. The United States Eighth Air Force deployed to England with a daunting mission: destroy Germanys ability to wage war, and gain command of the European skies to pave the way for an Allied land invasion. The 381st lost seven of 18 deployed. function getDetailsURL(fbObj) {
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Nevertheless, in March and April 1945, Allied fighter patrol patterns over Me 262 airfields resulted in numerous losses of jets and serious attrition of the force. ABMC Headquarters The American theory on daylight bombing lay in the aircraft the crewmen flew: the rugged Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the main heavy bomber of the Eighth Air Force. These attacks and the July 4th raid were just the beginning. They did not realize that they were over Dutch territory; 850 civilians, including children on their way to school, were among the casualties. General Robert Travis, aerial commander of the mission, made the decision to circle the target and wait for the clouds to move. The photograph shows housing destroyed by the RAF during night raids. Conversely, the Eighth was in the crosshairs of the Luftwaffe, determined more than ever to defend their cities and facilities. var newImgWth = (origImgWth * ratio);
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SAC was founded by the men who fought in World War II, who knew the importance of fighter escorts. [6] Alerted to the attack, the airfield defences were prepared for the raid when it arrived. And simultaneously, the Pacific Theater competed for aircraft. The raids on the German aircraft industry comprising much of "Big Week" caused so much damage that the Germans were forced to disperse aircraft manufacturing eastward, to safer parts of the Reich. afterShow: function (instance, current) {
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Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified.
Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. On July 4th, 1942 the first American bomber mission flown from England by the U.S Army Air Forces (AAF) flew towards the occupied Netherlands. Altogether, the Eighth's bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on a nation slightly smaller than the state of Colorado. That leadership allowed the men to be exposed to enemy fire for what seemed like an eternity, for little or no results in terms of bombing accuracy, made the crews irate. From there you can link to each of the
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On 7 May, another 1,000 bombers hit additional targets along the English Channel coast, hitting fortifications, bridges and marshaling areas. The RAF had been making night raids on Berlin since 1940, (with heavy raids in 1943) and nuisance de Havilland Mosquito raids in daylight, but this was the first major daylight bombing raid on the German capital. The obvious confusion in the air over Stuttgart and the heavy casualties sustained yet again caused many men to begin to doubt the leadership of the air campaign. At peak strength, Eighth Air Force had forty heavy bomber groups, fifteen fighter groups, and four specialized support groups. After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
8th Air Force - Bombardment Group - World War II With the end of fighting in Korea, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had taken office in January 1953, called for a "new look" at national defense. The result was that the Luftwaffe was notable by its absence over the skies of Europe after D-Day and the Allies were starting to achieve air superiority over the continent. $(".fancybox-content").css("transform",
On 7 April, Eighth Air Force dispatched thirty-two B-17 and B-24 groups and fourteen Mustang groups (the sheer numbers of attacking Allied aircraft were so large in 1945 that they were now counted by the group) to targets in the small area of Germany still controlled by the Nazis, hitting the remaining airfields where the Luftwaffe jets were stationed. In 1943, bomber crews were tasked with a 25-mission tour of duty. There were fewer and fewer guys returning every day. One of the many who didnt return from Stuttgart added, We felt as if they didnt know what the hell they were doing up there, especially over Stuttgart. In the 1980s, the Eighth participated in several key operations such as running the tanker task force for Operation Urgent Fury in 1983 and directing all air refueling operations for Operation El Dorado Canyon in 1986 and Operation Just Cause in 1989. Their children and descendants, who are representatives of these Veterans, saw the need to keep the history and experiences of these warriors alive. isMobile = true;
About 23 February, the VIII BC moved to England, first to Daws Hill and later to High Wycombe, where it established its wartime headquarters in the Wycombe Abbey school for girls. Much has been made in the historical record of the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany in early March of 1945. Although there were many available which were returned from Twentieth Air Force in the Pacific Theater they were war-weary from the many long combat missions flown during the war.
Under ACC, the Eighth received control over active duty, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard units in the central U.S. and two overseas locations. A popular saying at the time was that to fly in the Eighth Air Force then was like holding a ticket to a funeral your own.Abnormal behavior became more common. They observed British night bombing operations and the German Blitz against the RAF and British cities. It dug a crater just two feet deep and nine feet wide. Then in January 1994, ACC reorganized Eighth Air Force as a general purpose Numbered Air Force (NAF) with a warfighting mission to support the U.S. Joint Forces and U.S. Strategic Commands. The Air Force retired nearly all of its piston-engined B-29/B-50s and they were replaced by new Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft. German anti-aircraft fire, or flak, was one of those deadly threats.
452nd Bomb Group | American Air Museum
The original Eighth Air Force was redesignated as the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). On 22 March, over 800 bombers, led by H2X radar equipped bombers hit Berlin yet again, bombing targets through a thick rainy overcast causing more destruction to various industries. The bombs missed the target almost completely. By mid-1944, the unit had a total strength of more than 200,000 people, and it could send more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission against enemy targets in Europe. On 22 February 1944, a massive reorganization of American airpower took place in Europe. The 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), nicknamed "Can Do" was activated 1-March-1942 at Salt Lake City Air Base, Utah which was their primary training base until 11-Jun-1942 when they relocated to Geiger Field, Washington until 29-Jun-1942, then on to Muroc Lake . In what became known as "Black Thursday", the 8th Air Force's 1st and 3rd Air Divisions flew from bases in East Anglia and attacked German ball bearing factories 400 miles away at Schweinfurt, Germany.
With the loss of two American crews, this first mission from England by the AAF foreshadowed the challenges faced during the war. var winWth = $(window).innerWidth();
Says Matzen, "The Eighth Air Force was determined to knock out the German aircraft manufacturing capabilities, so they looked for one week where they could have clear weather to have a series. For the survivors, there wasnt much time for contemplation of those lost. }
At the close of 1946, they shared only a handful of operational bombers, all B-29 Superfortresses. $(window).on("resize", function (event) {
Beginnings of the 8th Air Force in World War II. As they approached the initial point, or IP, the fighters pressed even closer.
He began his career conducting oral histories and research for HBOs miniseries The Pacific and holds the distinction of being the first historian hired by the Museums Research Department. function isMobile() {
In addition, German airfields in France and Belgium were attacked. The German fighters reaped a devilish harvest in the skies over Bremen, a harvest repeated in the next few missions in what became called Black Week by those fortunate enough to live through it. Eighth Air Force B-17s bomb the U-boat base at Lorient, France. clearTimeout(debounceTimer);
October 27-29 at New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
WWII Air War Over Europe - 390th Memorial Museum - Tucson, AZ Nearly seven months after the United States declared war, the symbolic July 4th raid served as a milestone for the AAF in Europe.
Activated in the US on I Feb 1942. The mission of "The Mighty Eighth" is to safeguard America's interests through strategic deterrence and global combat power.
Eighth Air Force | American Air Museum These operations by light airplanes were small compared with those of World War II, but they did demonstrate the efficacy of the strategic air offensive. The 27th was relieved of its duties supporting U.N. forces in Korea and returned to Bergstrom AFB on 31 July 1951, but was redeployed to Misawa AB, Japan during 6 October 1952 13 February 1953 to provide air defense. The assets of the former training units were simply assigned to Eighth Air Force. His directive was simple: "Win the air war and isolate the battlefield. Many never did, however, as between 1942 and 1945 flying bombing missions for the "Mighty 8th" proved to be the most dangerous occupation in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
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Of 64 planes participating in the raid, 53 . The Wilhelmshaven World War II bombings by the Allies of World War II destroyed targets at Wilhelmshaven in Germany.
Over 300 German fighters attacked the bomber forces, losing almost half its aircraft, with claims of upwards of 47 Luftwaffe fighters by American fighter pilots. isDesktopInit = false;
308th Bombardment Wing (U.S. Army Air Forces) - Wikipedia The Mighty Eighth's modern history is equally impressive. return isMobile;
On that. On 1 May, over 1,300 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers made an all-out attack on the enemy's rail network, striking at targets in France and Belgium. The right propeller of Kegelman's Boston was shot away by flak while over the target at De Kooy Airfield[7][self-published source?]
Early Operations: Eighth Air Force in England Altogether, the Eighth Air Force dropped over 4,800 tons of high explosive on Berlin during the first week of March. Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. Plans for the invasion of North Africa, known as Operation Torch, distracted from the effort. By the end of 1944, only three out of ninety-one refineries in the Reich were still working normally, twenty-nine were partially functional, and the remainder were completely destroyed. These Veterans, born in the 1920s and before, were members of the greatest air armada of all time. The first combat group of VIII Bomber Command to arrive in the United Kingdom was the ground echelon of the 97th Bombardment Group, which arrived at RAF Polebrook and RAF Grafton Underwood on 9 June 1942. The Eighth's units played a key role in the 42-day Gulf War in 1991. if (isMobile())
[12], Eighth Air Force's mission in the Pacific was initially to organize and train new bomber groups for combat against Japan. Soon, the five foot five airman would make US military aviation history.
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