8th air force wwii roster

That same day, the VIII BC became Eighth Air Force. However, the Luftwaffe was successful in shooting down 46 bombers in a very unequal fight.[10]. Please visit the websites of our wonderful partners in history. Bomber wings of the 8th Air Force include: This article incorporates public domain material from Eighth Air Force. Eighth Air Force did not strike at oil industry targets until 13 May 1944 when 749 bombers, escorted by almost 740 fighters, pounded oil targets in the Leipzig area and at Brx in Czechoslovakia. return caption; 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. 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. Click here to read to learn more about the history of the 8th Air Force. 8th Air Force (ETO) Operational Units. // Fancy box miscalculates because of race conditions with new layout }, These missions, however, carried a high price. It was created from a. ROSTER OF AIRMEN. 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. A lack of fuel and available pilots for the new jets greatly reduced their effectiveness. function prependClosing() { var ratio = Math.min(winWth / origImgWth, In order to quickly assemble these formations, specially outfitted assembly ships were created from older bombers. function getDetailsURL(fbObj) { Air Offensive, Europe ; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace ; Central Europe; Asiatic-Pacific Theater. afterShow: function (instance, current) { function showFBShare() { However, it was believed that a strong strategic air arm equipped with B-29s would deter a possible aggressor from attacking the United States for fear of massive retaliation with nuclear weapons. else { 3d Air Division: 1943-1945. 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. } The assets of the former training units were simply assigned to Eighth Air Force. 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). At all heights, the rate of climb was approximately doubled. Their children and descendants, who are representatives of these Veterans, saw the need to keep the history and experiences of these warriors alive. After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. 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. Their goal is to preserve the Legacy created by their relatives who went before them, not because of the vanity of their accomplishments, but rather for the preservation of Democracy and Civilization, for maintaining the values of honesty and patriotism exhibited by their generation. The reorganization transformed the Eighth into the only information operations and bomber NAF in the Air Force. With the end of fighting in Korea, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had taken office in January 1953, called for a "new look" at national defense. var newImgHgt = (origImgHgt * ratio); At Andersen AFB, the Eighth took over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. 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). fbObj.find(".actions .download").attr("href") + 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. That record, however, carried a high price. Donations Page. Redesignated Ninth AF in Apr 1942. 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. INSIGNE. 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. The 388 Bomb Group association was formed to insure the accomplishments and sacrifices of the men and women of the 388th are remembered. In 1949, a realignment of responsibilities for SAC's two air forces occurred. At MacDill, Eighth Air Force headquarters were manned chiefly by personnel from the 58th Bombardment Wing, Very Heavy, stationed at Fort Worth Army Air Fied, Texas. Personnel and group records to digital. Last Name Beginning With (R) Updated 1/14/12. Fifteen months after Operation DESERT STORM, the Air Force reorganized. For the Mighty Eighth, that change heralded an interesting future, one that bring further restructuring, different aircraft system purchases, and a new challenging mission to the NAF. Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. if ($(".af3-caption-body").length > 0 && $(".af3-caption-body").css("height") != undefined) { [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. 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. }); } 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. 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). Activated in the US on I Feb 1942. 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. 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. 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. The other American-flown Boston had been shot down over De Kooy[6]. // device detection Constituted as VIII Bomber Command on 19 Jan 1942. The Eighth received its first B-29 Superfortress on 8 August 1945. } There were 261 fighter aces in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. 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. Constituted as Philippine Department AF on 16 Aug 1941. The first escort mission for the bombers was not flown until 5 December. At peak strength, Eighth Air Force had forty heavy bomber groups, fifteen fighter groups, and four specialized support groups. Under Air Force Global Strike Command since 1 Feb 2010, Eighth Air Force controls strategic bomber (e.g., B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress, and B-1 Lancer) forces throughout the United States and overseas locations. 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. We are a 501C3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. 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. let isDesktopInit = false; 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. '