Our Society is one of many organizations across the country that honor and preserve the legacy of the Mighty Eighth. 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. getDetailsURL($(this).parent()) + 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. We must have a valid email address! } Notably, the 1 June 1992 change inactivated SAC and the Tactical Air Command (TAC), and reassigned the Mighty Eighth to the new Air Combat Command (ACC). 8th Air Force commander relieves two commanders at Minot. Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified. The original Eighth Air Force was redesignated as the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). } $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").removeClass("photo-detail-gradient"); During the 17 months this unit was deployed to England, they flew 281 combat missions between 13 Dec 43 and 25 Apr 45. 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. United States 8th Air Force, WWII Welcome to the 96th Bombardment Group(H) Station 138 - Snetterton, England. That base assignment lasted until 1 November 1946, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Fort Worth (later renamed Carswell AFB). displayhgt = "90vh"; Constituted as Philippine Department AF on 16 Aug 1941. debounceTimer = setTimeout(function () { Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. 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 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. The Mighty Eighth's modern history is equally impressive. Fifteen Allied bombers were attacked, eight were successfully destroyed. 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. $(".fancybox-content").css("transform", 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. On 7 May, another 1,000 bombers hit additional targets along the English Channel coast, hitting fortifications, bridges and marshaling areas. 549 Bomb Squadron 8th Air Force, 1st Wing, 1st Division The Ragged Irregulars. By 1945, all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups were equipped with the P-51D. VIDEO (silent): 8th AF mission to Muenster, Germany. Many more awards were made to Eighth Air Force veterans after the war that remain uncounted. Annual Dues fund our work including the magazine* and reunions. 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. function isMobile() { This was the first DSC earned by a member of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. / } 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. 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. Some 230 B-24s hit the Messerschmitt Bf 110 assembly plant at Gotha with a loss of 24 aircraft. 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. var newImgHgt = (origImgHgt * ratio); captionToggle(); In the year 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. That base assignment lasted until November 1950, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Carswell AFB (formerly Fort Worth Army Air Field), Texas. 1st Bomb Division Markings 2nd Bomb Division Markings 3rd Bomb Division Markings Sources: It could fly as far on its internal fuel tanks as the P-47 could with drop tanks. On 21 January 1951, Lt. Col. William Bertram, commander of the 523rd Fighter-Escort Squadron, shot down the first MiG-15 for the wing and became the first F-84 pilot with a confirmed MiG kill. At the same time, a smaller force hit an Fw 190 repair depot at Zwickau. Eighth Air Force 139. 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. 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). [12], Eighth Air Force's mission in the Pacific was initially to organize and train new bomber groups for combat against Japan. afterLoad: function (instance, current) { })); 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. This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. After Korean War, on 13 June 1955 SAC moved the unit to Westover AFB, Massachusetts, where it transitioned to the jet age. 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. History. This ongoing project documents a basic service history of participating individuals. Dates shown are when the Group was operational. $(".fancybox-content").css("height", newImgHgt + "px"); $(document).ready(function () { 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 . 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. [6] Alerted to the attack, the airfield defences were prepared for the raid when it arrived. }); The end came on 25 April 1945 when Eighth Air Force flew its last full-scale mission of the European War. Photo Details Unit records are useful in piecing together stories about a unit or group, as well as about individuals who served in them. Redesignated Far East AF in Oct 1941, and Fifth AF in Feb 1942. $(".fancybox-button").css("display", "none"); 385 th Bomb Group, 8 th Air Force. (browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino/i.test(navigator.userAgent) caption += $(this).find('figcaption').html() + Notably, the Eighth's units played a key role in the 42-day Gulf War in 1991. Eighth Air Force was relieved from assignment to Strategic Air Command and assigned to the new Air Combat Command (ACC) on 1 June 1992. Commanding Officers Connections Eighth Air Force is one of two active duty numbered air forces in Air Force Global Strike Command. The right propeller of Kegelman's Boston was shot away by flak while over the target at De Kooy Airfield[7][self-published source?] if (item.type === 'image') { Login; Frequently Asked . The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. 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. No. event.stopImmediatePropagation(); Visit our 8th Air Force Honor Project with rosters of servicemen who served in the groups of the 8th. On 7 April 1945, the Luftwaffe flew its most desperate and deadliest mission, with the dedicated aerial ramming unit Sonderkommando Elbe. In a prelude to the invasion of France, American air attacks began in February 1944 against railroad junctions, airfields, ports and bridges in northern France and along the English Channel coastline. var origImgHgt = $(".fancybox-image").prop("naturalHeight"); 'Tooey' Spaatz (right). Throughout the first six months of ENDURING FREEDOM, the Mighty Eighth's bombers were instrumental in the destruction of key targets and illusive enemy forces in Afghanistan. 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. After D-Day, attacks on the German oil industry assumed top priority which was widely dispersed around the Reich. Download Hi-Res The Me 262 was also less maneuverable than the P-51 and so trained Allied pilots could turn tighter than an Me 262A. 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 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 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. , founded in 1975 by an original 8th Air Force pilot, Lt. Col. John Woolnough, serv as a central organization for its individual State Chapters and Wings. In memory of those who gave their lives in the cause of freedom. In May 1942 Command of the 8th Air Force was assumed by Major General Carl A. let isDesktopInit = false; 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. $(".af3-caption-body").stop(true, false).animate({ height: "0vh" }, 800, function () { 2 views The Japanese, however, surrendered before the Eighth's first combat sortie in the Pacific. The 388 Bomb Group association was formed to insure the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women of the 388th are remembered. Several events in the late 1940s reversed the drawdown of United States strategic forces. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").addClass("photo-detail-gradient"); Constituted as VIII Bomber Command on 19 Jan 1942. var dstLeft = Math.floor((winWth - newImgWth)) / 2; Activated in the US on I Feb 1942. 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. 8th AF 448th BG World War II. 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. 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. afterClose: function () { if (isMobile()) { VIII Bomber Command, after redesignation as Eighth Air Force, was assigned VIII Fighter and VIII Air Support Commands under its command. [citation needed]. The nuclear arms race shifted into high gear. The effect of the Mustangs, fully operating as an air supremacy fighter force, on the Luftwaffe defenders was arguably swift and decisive. The 8th lost 31 bombers, the 15th lost 33. buttons: ['share'], Later in Dec 1941 headquarters and some crews and planes moved to Australia . For information on any of the names listed below, . 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. }); $(".af3-caption-body").removeClass(detailSize); '
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