The modern day Eighth Air Force traces its lineage to the VIII BC, which came to life on 1 February 1942 at Langley Field, Virginia. let isDesktopInit = false;
Activated in the US on I Feb 1942. $(".fancybox-caption__body").removeClass("af3-caption-body");
We are a 501C3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. "VIII Bomber Command" redirects here. A strategic air force was that with a mission to attack an enemy's war effort beyond his front-line forces, predominantly production and supply facilities, whereas a tactical air force supported ground campaigns, usually with objectives selected through co-operation with the armies.
8th AF 448th BG World War II. Major General Jimmy Doolittle relinquished command of the Fifteenth Air Force to Major General Nathan F. Twining and on January 6, 1944, took over command of the Eighth Air Force from Lieutenant General Ira C. Eaker at RAF Daws Hill. In all, twelve aircraft factories were attacked, with the B-17s heading to Leipzig (Allgemeine Transportanlagen-Gesellschaft[de] Junkers Ju 88 production and Erla Maschinenwerk[de] Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters), Bernburg-Strenzfeld (Junkers Ju 88 plant) and Oschersleben (AGO plant making Focke Wulf Fw 190A fighters), while the B-24s hitting the Gothaer Waggonfabrik (production of Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters), the Fw 190 Arado Flugzeugwerke plant at Tutow and Heinkel's "Heinkel-Nord" headquarters at Rostock (production of He 111 bombers). Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. [9] Doolittle was well known to American airmen as the famous "Tokyo Raider" and former air racer. Redesignated Far East AF in Oct 1941, and Fifth AF in Feb 1942. Fighters from both Eighth and Ninth Air Forces made wide sweeps over the area, mounting strafing missions at airfields and rail networks. Over 60 Luftwaffe fighters were shot down with a loss of 19 US bombers and 5 US fighters. On 7 June 1946, Headquarters Eighth Air Force was reassigned without personnel or equipment from Okinawa to MacDill Field, Florida, becoming SAC's second numbered air force. This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. $(".af3-caption-body").removeClass(detailSize);
Fifteen months after Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force reorganized. $(".fancybox-content").removeAttr("style");
As part of this game-changing strategy, especially after the bombers had hit their targets, the USAAF's fighters were then free to strafe German airfields and transport while returning to base, contributing significantly to the achievement of air superiority by Allied air forces over Europe. It could, and often did, dispatch more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and more than 1,000 fighters on a single mission to multiple targets. Eighth Air Force trains, tests, exercises and demonstrates combat-ready forces for rapid employment worldwide. 8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII - TaraCopp. var origImgHgt = $(".fancybox-image").prop("naturalHeight");
Also, by using a four-bladed propeller, rather than the three-bladed one used on the P-51A, the performance was greatly improved; the XP-51B achieved a level speed of 441mph at 29,800ft (9,100m), over 100mph (160km/h) faster than the Allison-engined P-51A at that altitude. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").addClass("photo-detail-gradient");
Join Our Newsletter. 2d Air Division: 1943-1945. Although Eighth Air Force's strategic bomber force was not committed to combat in Korea, the Eighth deployed the 27th Fighter Escort Wing for combat action in Korea and earned numerous honors and awards for their combat record during the Korean War. Looking for Roster of American Officers in the 3rd Army at Operation Dragoon during WWII 0.
The losses of the Allied Air Forces were replaced within weeks. isMobile = true;
For instance, the Eighth suffered about half of the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties (47,483 out of 115,332), including more than 26,000 dead. $(".fancybox-content").css("height", newImgHgt + "px");
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Eighth Air Force Historical Society 8th Air Force Bases in England Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB Air Force Personnel Center Barksdale AFB, Louisiana (Current 8th AF headquarters) Department of Veterans Affairs Fold 3 by Ancestry.com MacArthur Memorial Kassel Mission National Archives and Records . }));
Eighth Air Force bomb wings, stationed in the Persian Gulf region, also attacked Iraq's Republican Guard forces and numerous key strategic targets, while other units provided air refueling and tactical reconnaissance throughout the conflict. /
Eighth Air Force controls long-range nuclear-capable bomber assets throughout the United States and overseas locations. if (isMobile())
Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to the US on 7 Jun 1946. Eighth Air Force carried out strategic daytime bombing operations in Western Europe from airfields in eastern England as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive. On 1 May, over 1,300 Eighth Air Force heavy bombers made an all-out attack on the enemy's rail network, striking at targets in France and Belgium. We must have a valid email address! 2d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. VIDEO (silent): 8th AF mission to Muenster, Germany. The Me 262A was a difficult foe for the P-47s and P-51s, possessing a distinct speed advantage. "translate(" + dstLeft + "px, " + dstTop + "px)");
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Altogether, the Eighth Air Force dropped over 4,800 tons of high explosive on Berlin during the first week of March. if ($(".af3-caption-body").length > 0 && $(".af3-caption-body").css("height") != undefined) {
After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. return '' +
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By 1945, all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups were equipped with the P-51D. Redesignated Eighth AF on 22 Feb 1944. Elements of 8 AF engaged in combat operations during the Korean War (19501953); Vietnam War (19611975), as well as Operation Desert Storm (19901991) over Iraq and occupied Kuwait in the First Persian Gulf War. $(".base-caption-info").addClass("full-height");
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Even so, the "pathfinder" bombers of the RAF Alconbury-based 482d Bomb Group proved very capable of finding the targets and guiding the bombers to them. SAC fighter wings assigned to Eighth Air Force were: Fighter escorts were no longer needed once SAC was equipped with Boeing B-47 Stratojet and then Boeing B-52 Stratofortress jet bombers carrying nuclear bombs. The 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association's (BGMA) purpose is to keep alive the spirit of the 91st BG (H) and to maintain the fellowship of all those who fought together in WWII . }
The ALLIED FORCE campaign also marked the Eighth's return to Europe and the participation of U.S. bombers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) first combat operation. The operation was a pyrrhic success for the Luftwaffe as the losses suffered by the German air arm were irreplaceable and over 300 Luftwaffe aircraft were shot down, mostly by Allied anti-aircraft guns. Initially, Eighth Air Force under SAC consisted of the following: Personnel and equipment from the inactivated 449th Bomb Group were reassigned to the 7th Bomb Group (later 7th Bomb Wing). For two years, the wing remained in this status until the 58th Bomb Wing was inactivated on 16 October 1948. if (/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|ipad|iris|kindle|Android|Silk|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\. in World War II. As the nuclear weapons carried by the bombers were so powerful that only one plane was assigned to a target that might have previously needed a whole bomb group of aircraft. function captionToggle() {
United States 8th Air Force, WWII Welcome to the 96th Bombardment Group(H) Station 138 - Snetterton, England. 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.
Based in Parham, England, the 390th Bombardment Group (H) flew 301 combat missions against German military targets. Dates shown are when the Group was operational. Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force in February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. 445BG. We also located the series World War II Statistical Summaries, 1942-1945 in Record Group 18 .
There were 261 fighter aces in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. This air force lost most of its men and equipment in the defense of the Philippines after 7 Dec 1941. afterShow: function (instance, current) {
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. SAC was founded by the men who fought in World War II, who knew the importance of fighter escorts. These data were taken from the Loading Lists of the 385th BG combat missions missions, preserved in the U. S. National Archives in College Park, MD. 466th Bombardment Group - 8th Air Force 468th Bomber Group - 20th Air Force 488th Bombardment Group 493rd bombardment group - 8th Air Force 497th Bomber Group - 20th Air Force. var winHgt = $(window).innerHeight()
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