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. We must have a valid email address! 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. The Eighth's units played a key role in the 42-day Gulf War in 1991. $currentSlide.find(".fancy-detail-link").on("touchstart", function() { captionToggle(); });
8th Air Force (ETO) Operational Units. Dear Val Burgess, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 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. 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. '">DOWNLOAD';
They did not realize that they were over Dutch territory; 850 civilians, including children on their way to school, were among the casualties. These bomb wings were drastically undermanned and under equipped. That base assignment lasted until 1 November 1946, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Fort Worth (later renamed Carswell AFB). if (item.type === 'image') {
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have served in the 8th Air Force since World War II. The Me 262A was a difficult foe for the P-47s and P-51s, possessing a distinct speed advantage. 3d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. 4th Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. In the planned invasion of Japan, the mission of Eighth Air Force would be to conduct B-29 Superfortress raids from Okinawa in coordination with Twentieth Air Force operating from airfields in the Mariana Islands.[12]. Bomber wings of the 8th Air Force include: This article incorporates public domain material from Eighth Air Force. Last Name Beginning With (B) Updated 6/2/12. His administration chose to invest in the Air Force, especially Strategic Air Command. $(".base-caption-info").removeClass("full-height");
For this reason, Eighth Air Force is commonly known as the "Mighty Eighth." 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. In the year 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. /
These missions, however, carried a high price. worldwartwoveterans@gmail.com. 8th and 15th AF flight, ground crew and crash photos: B-24, B-17, P-51, B-26, P-47, P-38. Annual Dues fund our work including the magazine* and reunions. Spaatz and Doolittle's plan was to use the US Strategic Air Forces in a series of co-ordinated raids, code-named Operation 'Argument' (popularly known as 'Big Week' ) and supported by RAF night bombing, on the German aircraft industry at the earliest possible date. This air power includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force, deploying the Rockwell B-1 Lancer, Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. var caption = '';
Read more about Supporting the AALCM. U.S. Military Personnel that Served in WWII. Based in Parham, England, the 390th Bombardment Group (H) flew 301 combat missions against German military targets. 3d Air Division: 1943-1945. return '
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They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. var winWth = $(window).innerWidth();
Redesignated Far East AF in Oct 1941, and Fifth AF in Feb 1942. Activated in the US on I Feb 1942. The reorganization transformed the Eighth into the only information operations and bomber NAF in the Air Force. 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. The organization reported administratively to the Fifteenth Air Force at Colorado Springs, Colorado. 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. Allied bomber escort fighters would fly high above the bombers diving from this height gave them extra speed, thus reducing the speed difference. The assets of the former training units were simply assigned to Eighth Air Force. However, the Luftwaffe was successful in shooting down 46 bombers in a very unequal fight.[10]. Men born between about 1877 and . Men and women continue the fight for liberty and peace serving in the 8th Air Force now headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, Louisiana. }
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. 1st Air Division: 1943-1945. Then in April 1970, SAC moved the Eighth without personnel or equipment to Andersen AFB Guam, absorbing resources of the 3d Air Division. 226 Squadron RAF) commanded by Captain Charles C. Kegelman attacked four airfields[b] in the Netherlands.
SAC was founded by the men who fought in World War II, who knew the importance of fighter escorts. VIDEO (silent): 8th AF mission to Muenster, Germany. While posturing itself for that mission change, the Eighth also supported Operation Enduring Freedom in which the Air Force operates against targets in Afghanistan, and Operation Noble Eagle for the defense of North American airspace. Less than a week after "Big Week", Eighth Air Force made its first attack on the Reich's capital, Berlin. function getDetailsURL(fbObj) {
His directive was simple: "Win the air war and isolate the battlefield. 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 . debounceTimer = null;
The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of America's heavy bomber force: the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the Rockwell B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber aircraft. var winHgt = $(window).innerHeight()
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It could fly as far on its internal fuel tanks as the P-47 could with drop tanks.
On 1 January, the entire German fighter force in the West, comprising combat aircraft from some eleven Jagdgeschwader day fighter wings, took off and attacked 27 Allied airfields in northern France, Belgium and the southern part of the Netherlands in an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries of Europe.
Then in April 1970, SAC moved the Eighth to Andersen AFB, Guam, to take over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. $(".fancybox-content").css("transform",
We are a 501C3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. var newImgWth = (origImgWth * ratio);
An Eighth Air Force unit, the 2d Bomb Wing, spearheaded the air campaign by dispatching B-52s from Barksdale to launch conventional air-launched cruise missiles against Iraqi targets.
Read here to learn more about who the 8th Air Force is. Visit our 8th Air Force Honor Project with rosters of servicemen who served in the groups of the 8th. if ($(".af3-caption-body").length > 0 && $(".af3-caption-body").css("height") != undefined) {
The B-1 force consists of 62 bombers assigned to the active duty 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas and the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Constituted as VIII Bomber Command on 19 Jan 1942. $(".af3-caption-body").removeClass(detailSize);
U.S. Military Personnel that Served in WWII. This operation involved German pilots of the unit ramming their worn-out Bf 109Gs, each barely armed with only one MG 131 machine gun and 50 rounds of ammunition, into American bombers in order to get the Allies to suspend bombing raids long enough for the Germans to make a significant amount of Me 262A jet fighters. $(".fancybox-caption__body").removeClass("af3-caption-body");
Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force in February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. The Luftwaffe countered by installing flak alleys along the approach lines in order to protect the Me 262s from the ground and providing top cover with conventional fighters during takeoff and landing. });
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. The nuclear arms race shifted into high gear. else {
That record, however, carried a high price. 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. 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. After D-Day, attacks on the German oil industry assumed top priority which was widely dispersed around the Reich. Divisions, Wings & Groups After the war in Europe, the Mighty Eighth moved to Okinawa in July 1945, where the unit started to train new bomber groups for combat against Japan. After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. 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" (similarly named but in no way associated with Field Marshal Erwin Rommel) against Iraq, which featured the B-1 Lancer in its combat debut, and 1999 Operation "Allied Force" against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which involved the B-2A Spirit. }
On D-Day, over 2,300 sorties were flown by Eighth Air Force heavy bombers in the Normandy and Cherbourg invasion areas, all aimed at neutralizing enemy coastal defenses and front-line troops. }
The photograph shows housing destroyed by the RAF during night raids. A lack of fuel and available pilots for the new jets greatly reduced their effectiveness. showFBShare() +
Azure, in the lower lobe of the winged Arabic numeral 8 or a mullet throughout argent charged with a torteaux. 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. Altogether, the Eighth's bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets in that campaign. At all heights, the rate of climb was approximately doubled. 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. See What the 8th Air Force is up to Today! else {
Please include this amount with your annual renewal or new membership! Rolls-Royce engineers rapidly realized that equipping the Mustang with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine with its two speed, two stage supercharger would substantially improve performance. 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. One of the main benefits of membership in the Society is our Magazine, the 8th AF News. 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). 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). We need help with transcribing data. "translate(" + dstLeft + "px, " + dstTop + "px)");
384th Bomb Group, Eighth Air Force 139.
Redesignated Ninth AF in Apr 1942. Over 950 fighters had been sent west from the Eastern Front for "Operation Bodenplatte". With Doolittle's permission, American fighter pilots on bomber defense missions would primarily be flying far ahead of the bombers' combat box formations in air supremacy mode, literally "clearing the skies" of any Luftwaffe fighter opposition heading towards the target. Altogether, the Eighth Air Force dropped over 4,800 tons of high explosive on Berlin during the first week of March. Last Name. This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. was activated on 28 January 1942 at the Chatham Armory in Savannah, Georgia. It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. afterClose: function () {
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Join the Society to help preserve the legacy of the veterans of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.
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. caption: function (instance, item) {
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[citation needed] By 1955, SAC no longer needed its fighters and these fighter units were transferred to Tactical Air Command and utilized in a tactical role. Support to the latter command included the operation of Task Force 204 (bombers). $(this).find('figcaption').html() +
8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII. '
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Beeby, John O.
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USAAF. Major General Mark E. Weatherington assumed command of 8th Air Force on 12 June 2020. Login; Frequently Asked . function prependClosing() {
The command serves as Air Forces Strategic Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). On 7 May, another 1,000 bombers hit additional targets along the English Channel coast, hitting fortifications, bridges and marshaling areas. [citation needed]. }
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. 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. However, the only reliable way of dealing with the jets, as with the even faster Me 163B Komet rocket fighters, was to attack them on the ground and during takeoff and landing. The Mighty Eighth's modern history is equally impressive. Afterward, engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. By mid-1944, the 8th AF had reached a total strength of more than 200,000 people. At Andersen AFB, the Eighth took over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. This was the first DSC earned by a member of the Eighth Air Force in World War II.
Please visit the websites of our wonderful partners in history. During World War II, Eighth Air Force earned a reputation as a great warfighting organization. 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 305th Bombardment Group was a B-17 Flying Fortress group of the Eighth Air Force and took part in the daylight strategic bombing campaign over Europe. Eighth Air Force trains, tests, exercises and demonstrates combat-ready forces for rapid employment worldwide. The 8th Army Air Force, 96th Bomb Group (H) Association. By 1955 the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress would be entering the inventory in substantial numbers, as prop B-36s were phased out of heavy bombardment units rapidly.
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. If you don't know of anyone in your family who served during the war, consider asking your family or looking at your family tree for those who would have been the right age to have registered for the draft or who may have served. // Fancy box miscalculates because of race conditions with new layout
[6] Alerted to the attack, the airfield defences were prepared for the raid when it arrived. An Eighth Air Force unit, the 2d Bomb Wing, spearheaded the air campaign by dispatching B-52s from Barksdale to launch conventional air-launched cruise missiles against Iraqi targets. "VIII Bomber Command" redirects here. At its peak, the 8th AF had the ability to launch more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission. Photo Details
On 2 March, when Eighth Air Force bombers were dispatched to attack the synthetic oil refineries at Leipzig, Messerschmitt Me 262As attacked the formation near Dresden. Were proud to be able to present archival issues below: INSTRUCTIONSStart here! This ongoing project documents a basic service history of participating individuals. By comparison, the U.S. Navy suffered 37,000 deaths out of the 4.1 million in WW II. The following day, on 9 March, H2X radar-equipped B-17s mounted a third attack on the Reich capital through clouds. Donations Page. The command controlled three airfields on Okinawa, Bolo, Futema, and Kadena Airfield. During World War II, under the leadership of such Generals as Eaker and Jimmy Doolittle, the 8th AF became the greatest air armada in history.
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. They numbered 350,000 men and women with over 54,000 killed in combat or taken prisoner. Personnel and group records to digital. 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. //initial desktop view
. It was created from a. ROSTER OF AIRMEN. 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. Two days later, on 23 January, the 27th FEW participated in the raid on Sinuju Airfield in North Korea and shot down four more MiG-15s. });
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As part of this realignment, most SAC bomber forces west of the Mississippi River were reassigned to 15th AF. Beech, Keyes Correspondent, US Marines 401 . fbObj.find(".actions .details").attr("href") +
The Japanese, however, surrendered before the Eighth's first combat sortie in the Pacific. 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 failed to achieve air superiority, even temporarily, and the German Army continued to be exposed to air attack. Get detailed instructios o how to register for the Reunion. 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. 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. 385 th Bomb Group, 8 th Air Force. 
