Get detailed instructios o how to register for the Reunion. 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. buttons: ['share'], } 2d Air Division: 1943-1945. var origImgWth = $(".fancybox-image").prop("naturalWidth"); During World War II, under the leadership of such generals as Ira Eaker and Jimmy Doolittle, the VIII BC (then Eighth Air Force) formed the greatest air armada in history. The intensive bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong during 11days in December 1972, known as LINEBACKER II, was but one highlight of those war years. Click here to read to learn more about the history of the 8th Air Force. The 1948 blockade of West Berlin by the Eastern bloc and the outbreak of the Cold War caused the United States to deploy SAC's B-29 bomber force back to the United Kingdom and West Germany. if (detailSize === "half") { The other American-flown Boston had been shot down over De Kooy[6]. The 8th Air Force was targeted in this operation. The 8th Air Force Historical Society was created in 1975 to preserve the legacy of the Mighty Eighth and the part it played in World War II. By the late 1940s, the B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators used in the European Theater of the war were thoroughly obsolete as combat aircraft and were mostly sent to the smelters. var winHgt = $(window).innerHeight() The Eighth's units played a key role in the 42-day Gulf War in 1991. debounceTimer = setTimeout(function () { 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. 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. let detailSize = "full"; }, Constituted as VIII Bomber Command on 19 Jan 1942. Rudder, James E. 2nd Ranger Battalion; 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division 53; 243; 384; 476; 557 . The photograph shows housing destroyed by the RAF during night raids. 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. This strategy fatally disabled the twin-engined Zerstrergeschwader heavy fighter wings and their replacement, single-engined Sturmgruppen of heavily armed Fw 190As, clearing each force of bomber destroyers in their turn from Germany's skies throughout most of 1944. 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. As the new commander of the Eighth Air Force from January 1944 onwards, Major General Jimmy Doolittle's major influence on the European air war occurred early that year when he made a critical change to the policy requiring escorting fighters to remain with the bombers at all times. $(".fancybox-caption__body").addClass("af3-caption-body"); [6] Alerted to the attack, the airfield defences were prepared for the raid when it arrived. 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. // Animation complete. [12], On Okinawa, Eighth Air Force derived its headquarters personnel from the inactivated XX Bomber Command, and Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle assumed command, being reassigned from England on 19 July. 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). Moved to Egypt and began operations on 12 Nov 1942, participating in the Allied drive across Egypt and Libya, the campaign in Tunisia, and the invasions of Sicily and Italy. The assets of the former training units were simply assigned to Eighth Air Force. In late 1943, the P-51B Mustang was introduced to the European Theater by the USAAF. 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. 8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII - TaraCopp. 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. Of the. caption: function (instance, item) { else { Eighth Air Force has five Regular Air Force bomb wings, two Air Reserve Total Force Integration bomb wings (one in Air Force Reserve Command and one in the Air National Guard), and one detachment in the continental United States. We are a 501C3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Eighth Air Force was established as VIII Bomber Command on 19 January 1942 and activated at Langley Field, Virginia on 1 February. On the night of 1920 February, the RAF bombed Leipzig with 823 aircraft. let isDesktopInit = false; 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). var newImgHgt = (origImgHgt * ratio); 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. [9] Doolittle was well known to American airmen as the famous "Tokyo Raider" and former air racer. Both Davis-Monthan and Fort Worth Army Airfields were B-29 training bases during World War II, and the Eighth Air Force Bomb Groups were simply activated at the same field and on the same day as the original Army Air Force Continental Air Forces training bomb groups were inactivated. The original Eighth Air Force was redesignated as the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). As part of this plan, Eighth Air Force headquarters was reassigned to Sakugawa (Kadena Airfield), Okinawa, on 16 July 1945, being assigned to the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific without personnel or equipment. getDetailsURL($(this).parent()) + Constituted as VIII Bomber Command on 19 Jan 1942. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("SHOW", "CLOSE")); 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. His administration chose to invest in the Air Force, especially Strategic Air Command. Fifteen months after Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force reorganized. Donations Page. var winWth = $(window).innerWidth(); Commanding Officers Connections Air Offensive, Europe ; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace ; Central Europe; Asiatic-Pacific Theater. Further ground fire caused damage to his right wing, and the engine caught fire. CAMPAIGNS. Were proud to be able to present archival issues below: INSTRUCTIONSStart here! Bomber wings of the 8th Air Force include: This article incorporates public domain material from Eighth Air Force. Join the Society to help preserve the legacy of the veterans of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. Unit records are useful in piecing together stories about a unit or group, as well as about individuals who served in them. Altogether, the Eighth's bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets in that campaign. 8 th AirForce.com. 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. 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. Throughout the first six months of Enduring Freedom, the Mighty Eighth's bombers were instrumental in the eradication of many targets and opposing combatants in Afghanistan. '">DETAILS'; In 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. 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. We welcome members of the 388 FBW (Korea) the 388 TFW (VietNam) and the 388 FW (today). Vast fleets of B-24s and B-17s escorted by P-51Ds and long-range P-38Ls hit refineries in Germany and Czechoslovakia in late 1944 and early 1945. Major General James C. Dawkins Jr. assumed command of 8th Air Force on 20 August 2018, after having served as the Deputy Director for Nuclear, Homeland Defense, and Current Operations on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.[13] On 12 June 2020, he was succeeded by Major General Mark E. Weatherington, who had previously served as deputy commander of Air Education and Training Command at Joint Base San Antonio in Randolph, Texas.[14]. The 388 Bomb Group association was formed to insure the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women of the 388th are remembered. Transferred, without personnel, equipment, and combat elements, to Okinawa on 16 Jul 1945. The 8th lost 31 bombers, the 15th lost 33. The Eighth's brave men earned 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals. 1st Air Division: 1943-1945. Although SAC fighter squadrons upgraded to Republic F-84F Thunderstreak jet fighters in the early 1950s, the new jet bombers flew so high and so fast there was little danger of them being intercepted by enemy fighters. 385 th Bomb Group, 8 th Air Force. Want to help? 8th Air Force (ETO) Operational Units. However, the Luftwaffe jets were simply too few and too late to have any serious effect on the Allied air armadas now sweeping over the Reich with near-impunity. 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. Beeby, John O. 3d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. var caption = ''; At the close of 1946, they shared only a handful of operational bombers, all B-29 Superfortresses. Fighters from both Eighth and Ninth Air Forces made wide sweeps over the area, mounting strafing missions at airfields and rail networks. During the 17 months this unit was deployed to England, they flew 281 combat missions between 13 Dec 43 and 25 Apr 45. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); National and Regional Reunions held annually across the United States, Tours, Seminars, Symposiums, Banquets, Veteran Question & Answer Sessions and more, Access to Bomb Group, Fighter Group and POW experts and researchers, Our award-winning magazine presented quarterly by mail or electronically. $(this).find('figcaption').html() + 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. In 1965, Eighth Air Force entered combat again, this time in Southeast Asia. Beech, Keyes Correspondent, US Marines 401 . Aircraft and ground crew of Boeing B-17F-25-BO Fortress "Hell's Angels" (AAF Ser. $(".fancybox-caption").addClass("af3-caption-bg"); Thank you for visiting our site. 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. (Approved 20 May 1943. was activated on 28 January 1942 at the Chatham Armory in Savannah, Georgia. 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. There is an entry for each credited mission which that individual flew. 445BG. 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 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. 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. 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). 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. 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. Afterward, engaged primarily in bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. It also . At the same time, a smaller force hit an Fw 190 repair depot at Zwickau. 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. 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. captionToggle(); [citation needed]. 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. The 398th was formed in the United States in 1943 and was stationed in Nuthampstead, England from April 1944 until June 1945. 'Tooey' Spaatz (right). Get detailed instructios o how to register for the Reunion. } On 22 February 1944, the Army reorganized its Air Forces in Europe by renaming Eighth Air Force as the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (now known as the United States Air Forces in Europe). The effect of the Mustangs, fully operating as an air supremacy fighter force, on the Luftwaffe defenders was arguably swift and decisive. $(window).on("resize", function (event) { It dispersed its planes to a large number of bases across the United States so as not to have too many concentrated at a single location. It played an important role in many missions now recognized as key to winning WWII such as D-Day, Munster, Schweinfurt, and the raid on Berlin. It was reassigned to Savannah Army Air Base, Georgia on 10 February 1942. As a professional researcher and World War II historian, Bill Beigel provides research services to genealogists, historians, authors, and civilians who are looking for information found in WW2 military unit records. Last Name. For this reason, Eighth Air Force is commonly known as the "Mighty Eighth." "VIII Bomber Command" redirects here. Regular combat operations by the VIII Bomber Command began on 17 August 1942, when the 97th Bombardment Group flew twelve Boeing B-17E Flying Fortresses on the first VIII Bomber Command heavy bomber mission of the war from RAF Grafton Underwood, attacking the Rouen-Sotteville marshalling yards in France. At first, the Eighth deployed its B-52 bomber and KC-135 tanker units from the U.S. to operating bases in Guam, Okinawa and Thailand. 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. 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. return; 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 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 right propeller of Kegelman's Boston was shot away by flak while over the target at De Kooy Airfield[7][self-published source?] The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. have served in the 8th Air Force since World War II. } Later in Dec 1941 headquarters and some crews and planes moved to Australia . $(".fancybox-content").css("width", newImgWth + "px"); That buildup limited the Eighth's Korean War involvement to the deployment of its 27th Fighter Escort Wing. Located at Hunter Field, Colonel Asa N. Duncan was the first commander. The vinyl used is UV and water resistant, and will last many years without . B-17s hit the Skoda armaments factory at Pilsen in Czechoslovakia, while B-24s bombed rail complexes in Bad Reichenhall and Freilassing, surrounding Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. Several events in the late 1940s reversed the drawdown of United States strategic forces. In January 1945, the Luftwaffe attempted one last major air offensive against the Allied Air Forces. 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. '">DOWNLOAD'; var $currentSlide = $(".fancybox-slide.fancybox-slide--current.fancybox-slide--image").parent().parent(); At Andersen AFB, the Eighth took over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. 8th Air Force commander relieves two commanders at Minot. 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. After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. Login; Frequently Asked . First Name. function getDetailsURL(fbObj) { 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. 2 views Eighth Air Force Bomb Group Tail Markings Prior to 13 September 1943 -- Several Groups were not yet assigned. 2d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. }); Photo Details 8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII. Contact Us, If you have any data on servicemen and their units and would like to submit it to our digital library; please Contact Us, Copyright, Army Air Corps Library and Museum, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Major General Mark E. Weatherington assumed command of 8th Air Force on 12 June 2020. Personnel and equipment from the inactivated 40th and 444th Bomb Groups were reassigned to the 43d Bomb Group. (photo: American Cemetery,Cambridge, England). 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