With the end of combat in Southeast Asia, the Eighth Air Force moved without personnel or equipment to Barksdale Air Force Base Louisiana on 1 January 1975, absorbing the resources of Second Air Force. / clearTimeout(debounceTimer); The Eighth's weapons inventory also changed to include KC-135 air refuelers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (the Atlas, Titan I and Titan II, and all Minuteman models.). }); var winHgt = $(window).innerHeight() Transferred, without personnel and equipment, to the US on 7 Jun 1946. As a contrast, the Luftwaffe was undertaking the sixth major raid of the "Baby Blitz" the following night (20/21 February), with only some 165 German aircraft sortieing against British targets. The command conducted the heavy bombardment operations of Eighth AF from 17 Aug 1942 until early in 1944. VIII Bomber Command, re-designated as Eighth Air Force, and Ninth Air Force were assigned to (USSTAF). 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. For information on any of the names listed below, . On 22 February 1944, due to many mistakes, Nijmegen was bombarded by twelve aircraft of the 446th Bombardment Group and two aircraft of the 453rd. Luftwaffe airfields that were identified as jet and rocket bases, such as Parchim and Bad Zwischenahn, were frequently bombed, and Allied fighters patrolled over the fields to attack jets trying to land. The 8th AAF suffered 26,000 deaths out of the 350,000 officers and men. function getDownloadURL(fbObj) { Those east of the Mississippi were assigned to SAC's other strategic air force, Eighth Air Force, which moved to Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where it commanded all SAC bases in the eastern United States. As a headquarters, the Eighth had another important role in victory over Iraqi forces--operating the logistics supply and air refueling bridge between the U. S. and gulf region. Writing about our entire adventure would take a great deal more space than this article . 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. The VIII Bomber Command launched its first raid in North-western Europe on 4 July 1942, when six RAF Douglas A-20 Havocs flown by crews of the 15th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (accompanied by another six Bostons from the more experienced No. This 8th Air Force WWII Decal is die cut - which means it is cut to the exact shape of the image, and made in the USA at our facilities in Chino Valley, Arizona. The USAAF now finally had an aircraft that could compete on equal terms with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 and the later models of the Messerschmitt Bf 109. else { '
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No. Activated in the Philippines on 20 Sep 1941. Afterward, engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. On 27 June, the United Nations Security Council voted to assist the South Koreans in resisting the invasion. Over 950 fighters had been sent west from the Eastern Front for "Operation Bodenplatte". displayhgt = "90vh";
549 Bomb Squadron
The other American-flown Boston had been shot down over De Kooy[6]. return ''
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385 th Bomb Group, 8 th Air Force. Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified.
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World War II proved what the proponents of air power had been championing for the previous two decadesthe great value of strategic forces in bombing an enemy's industrial complex and of tactical forces in controlling the skies above a battlefield. Login; Frequently Asked . $(".fancybox-content").css("width", newImgWth + "px");
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. The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. Eighth Air Force Bomb Group Tail Markings Prior to 13 September 1943 -- Several Groups were not yet assigned. The Mighty Eighth's modern history is equally impressive.
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At the close of 1946, they shared only a handful of operational bombers, all B-29 Superfortresses. VIII Fighter Command 1944-1945. The integration process started on 1 February 2001, when the Air Force realigned the Air Intelligence Agency (AIA) under ACC and assigned the 67th Information Operations Wing and the 70th Intelligence Wing to the Eighth. An advanced detachment of VIII Bomber Command was established at RAF Daws Hill, near RAF Bomber Command Headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, on 23 February in preparation for its units to arrive in the United Kingdom from the United States. Eighth Air Force is one of two active duty numbered air forces in Air Force Global Strike Command. From May 1942 to July 1945, the Eighth planned and precisely executed America's daylight strategic bombing campaign against Nazi-occupied Europe, and in doing so the organization compiled an impressive war record. That base assignment lasted until 1 November 1946, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Fort Worth (later renamed Carswell AFB). [citation needed]. B-17 Aluminum Overcast. Nick was a life member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, the 15th Air Force Association and the 414th Bombardment Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group Association. 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. 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. The integration process started on 1 February 2001, when the Air Force realigned the Air Intelligence Agency (AIA) under ACC and assigned the 67th Information Operations Wing and the 70th Intelligence Wing to the Eighth. The 388 Bomb Group association was formed to insure the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women of the 388th are remembered. ), Data from Air Force Combat Units of World War II By Maurer, Maurer, Published 1986. Eighth Air Force's effort was over 1,000 B-17s and B-24s and over 800 fighters and the RAF provided sixteen squadrons of North American P-51 Mustangs and Supermarine Spitfires in addition. One notable Eighth Air Force casualty was Brigadier General Arthur W. Vanaman, Chief of Intelligence, who was captured by the Germans in northern France on 27 June 1944, becoming the highest-ranked American POW captured in Europe during the war.[11]. Eighth Air Force carries out its warfighting missions under U.S. Strategic Command and the air component commands of the other regional Unified combatant commands. Visit our 8th Air Force Honor Project with rosters of servicemen who served in the groups of the 8th. Aircraft and ground crew of Boeing B-17F-25-BO Fortress "Hell's Angels" (AAF Ser.
It could fly as far on its internal fuel tanks as the P-47 could with drop tanks. Bomber wings of the 8th Air Force include: This article incorporates public domain material from Eighth Air Force. The reorganization transformed the Eighth into the only information operations and bomber NAF in the Air Force. 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. 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. 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. On 24 February, with the weather clearing over central Germany, Eighth Air Force sent over 800 bombers, hitting Schweinfurt and attacks on the Baltic coast, with a total of 11 B-17s being lost. Eighth Air Force trains, tests, exercises and demonstrates combat-ready forces for rapid employment worldwide. var $currentSlide = $(".fancybox-slide.fancybox-slide--current.fancybox-slide--image").parent().parent();
During World War II, Eighth Air Force earned a reputation as a great warfighting organization. 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. 384th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force 139. Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. }
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Communist victories in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 meant that the United States would have to expand SAC to address these potential threats both in Europe as well as Asia. Altogether, the Eighth's bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets in that campaign. The Eighth's combat record also shows 566 aces (261 fighter pilots with 31 having 15 or more victories and 305 enlisted gunners), over 440,000 bomber sorties to drop 697,000 tons of bombs, and over 5,100 aircraft losses and 11,200 aerial victories. function captionToggle() {
(left) took the Eighth Air Force Bomber Command Headquarters to England the next month and located at High Wycombe, about 40 miles west of London and on the road to Oxford. isMobile = true;
VIII Bomber Command, after redesignation as Eighth Air Force, was assigned VIII Fighter and VIII Air Support Commands under its command. $(".fancybox-caption__body").removeClass("half");
By the time of the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, Eighth Air Force consisted of the following units: On 25 June 1950, the armed forces of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) invaded South Korea. USAAF. VIDEO (silent): 8th AF mission to Muenster, Germany. This is from where the present-day Eighth Air Force's history, lineage and honors derive. 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. $(".af3-caption-body").stop(true, false).animate({ height: "0vh" }, 800, function () {
On at least eighteen occasions, the Merseburg refineries in Leuna, where the majority of Germany's synthetic fuel for jet aircraft was refined, was hit. Later in Dec 1941 headquarters and some crews and planes moved to Australia . However, the P-51B was introduced as a tactical fighter, so the first deliveries of the P-51B in November 1943 were assigned to three groups in the tactical Ninth Air Force at the expense of VIII Bomber Command, whose need for a long range escort fighter was critical. As a result, Eighth Air Force was incorporated into the new SAC. Based in Parham, England, the 390th Bombardment Group (H) flew 301 combat missions against German military targets. The 398th was formed in the United States in 1943 and was stationed in Nuthampstead, England from April 1944 until June 1945. 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. 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. Looking for Roster of American Officers in the 3rd Army at Operation Dragoon during WWII 0. $(".closing-box, .closingx").on("touchstart", function() { captionToggle(); });
'Tooey' Spaatz (right). This website is dedicated to preserving the history of the 445th Bombardment Group (Heavy) that was part of the 8th Air Force during World War II. -Lt. General Jimmy Doolittle, Commanding General, 8th Air Force. As a headquarters, the Eighth had another important role in victory over Iraqi forcesoperating the logistics supply and air refueling bridge between the U.S. and gulf region. Beech, Keyes Correspondent, US Marines 401 . 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.
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In 1965, Eighth Air Force entered combat again, this time in Southeast Asia. //initial desktop view
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It was a last-ditch effort to keep up the momentum of the German forces during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge (Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein). The 8th Air Force was targeted in this operation.
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8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII. 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). 5 months ago. From 1946 through 1949, what little money became available was used to buy new planes (Boeing B-50 Superfortress, Convair B-36 Peacemaker) for SAC, and as the newer aircraft became available, the older B-29s were sent to storage depots or sent to Air Force Reserve units for training missions. (browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino/i.test(navigator.userAgent)
Want to help? Nick was a life member of the Commemorative Air Force, a World War II aircraft heritage society, a charter member of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and a charter member of . The Eighth Air Force was specifically charged with the atomic mission; however, only the 509th Composite Group at Roswell AAF had B-29s that had the capability to drop nuclear weapons the 7th Bomb Group at Fort Worth AAF was modifying their aircraft to carry the atomic bomb. This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. Many bodies were exhumed and returned to the U.S. at the request of families and many families opted to allow their loved ones to remain in U.S. Military and other cemetaries in the United Kingdom and the Continent. [12], Eighth Air Force's mission in the Pacific was initially to organize and train new bomber groups for combat against Japan. In memory of those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. 2d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. U.S. Military Personnel that Served in WWII. In addition, almost 300 German aircraft of all types were destroyed in strafing attacks. Eighth Air Force also supports STRATCOM's Joint Force Headquarters Information Operations and serves as the command element for Air Force wide computer network operations. His administration chose to invest in the Air Force, especially Strategic Air Command. 8th Air Force commander relieves two commanders at Minot. That base assignment lasted until November 1950, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Carswell AFB (formerly Fort Worth Army Air Field), Texas. INSIGNE. 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. // device detection
In 1949, a realignment of responsibilities for SAC's two air forces occurred. Since 1994, the Eighth has participated in a string of contingency operations, such as the 1996 Operation DESERT STRIKE against Iraq, the 1998 Operation DESERT FOX against Iraq, which featured the B-1B in its combat debut, and 1999 Operation ALLIED FORCE against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which involved the B-2A Spirit in its first combat. They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. var origImgWth = $(".fancybox-image").prop("naturalWidth");
Their children and descendants, who are representatives of these Veterans, saw the need to keep the history and experiences of these warriors alive. The intensive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong during 11 days in December 1972, known as Operation Linebacker II, was but one highlight of those war years. The next day, the largest formation of German jets ever seen, most likely from the Luftwaffe's specialist 7th Fighter Wing, Jagdgeschwader 7 Nowotny, made attacks on Eighth Air Force bomber formations over Dresden and the oil targets at Essen, shooting down a total of three bombers. By comparison, the U.S. Navy suffered 37,000 deaths out of the 4.1 million in WW II. }
It was created from a. ROSTER OF AIRMEN. Less than a week after "Big Week", Eighth Air Force made its first attack on the Reich's capital, Berlin. '
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