}, Want to help? No. Divisions, Wings & Groups Last Name Beginning With (R) Updated 1/14/12. On 8 March, another raid of 600 bombers and 200 fighters hit the Berlin area again, destroying the VKF ball-bearing plant at Erkner. The command controlled three airfields on Okinawa, Bolo, Futema, and Kadena Airfield. A handful remained in service performing non-combat duties through the mid-1950s as air-sea rescue aircraft (SB-17, SB-24); photo-reconnaissance aircraft (RB-17, RB-24), and as unmanned target drones (QB-17) and their controllers (DB-17). It also . 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. 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). 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. 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. 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. caption += $(this).find('figcaption').html() + 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. 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. 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. It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. That same day, the VIII BC became Eighth Air Force. 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. In 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. Official homepage of the 385th bomb group association. The 305th was activated in the United States in March 1942 and moved to England in August-October. On 22 February 1944, a massive reorganization of American airpower took place in Europe. It became operational on 7 November 1942 (along with the 44th, 91st and 303rd . 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 . 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. At the close of 1946, they shared only a handful of operational bombers, all B-29 Superfortresses. detailSize = "full"; 316th Bombardment Wing: 1945- 1946. afterShow: function (instance, current) { Redesignated Eighth AF on 22 Feb 1944. 8th Air Force, 1st Wing, 1st Division The Ragged Irregulars. The engine was to be the Packard V-1650-3, based on the Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk68. var dstLeft = Math.floor((winWth - newImgWth)) / 2; 8th Air Force commander relieves two commanders at Minot. 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. 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. Dear Val Burgess, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! 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. //initial desktop view var caption = ''; B-17 Aluminum Overcast. return '' 3d Bombardment Wing: 1942-1943. 5 months ago. return ''; Archived from the original on 4 December 2003. The 8th Air Force motto is "Peace Through Strength. } var winWth = $(window).innerWidth(); getDownloadURL($(this).parent()) + Nevertheless, in March and April 1945, Allied fighter patrol patterns over Me 262 airfields resulted in numerous losses of jets and serious attrition of the force. We are currently re-designing and moving our site to a different hosting service. 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. 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. 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 Eighth Air Force earned the unofficial nickname 'The Mighty Eighth' in the 1970s following the publication of Roger Freeman's book 'The Mighty Eighth'. The Japanese, however, surrendered before the Eighth's first combat sortie in the Pacific. 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. 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. let isDesktopInit = false; Get detailed instructios o how to register for the Reunion. 3d Air Division: 1943-1945. On 6 March 1944, over 700 heavy bombers along with 800 escort fighters of the Eighth Air Force hit numerous targets within Berlin, dropping the first American bombs on the capital of the Third Reich. 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. $(".fancybox-caption").addClass("af3-caption-bg"); 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. let $this = $('[data-fancybox]').fancybox($.extend(true, {}, $.fancybox.defaults, { In order to quickly assemble these formations, specially outfitted assembly ships were created from older bombers. Eighth Air Force Bomb Group Tail Markings Prior to 13 September 1943 -- Several Groups were not yet assigned. buttons: ['share'], It was created from a. ROSTER OF AIRMEN. On 16 April, this record was broken when over 700 German aircraft were destroyed on the ground. 2d Air Division: 1943-1945. Less than a week after "Big Week", Eighth Air Force made its first attack on the Reich's capital, Berlin. function isMobile() { It was the largest of the deployed combat Army Air Forces in numbers of personnel, aircraft, and equipment. } First seen by Allied airmen during the late summer of 1944, it wasn't until March 1945 that German jet aircraft started to attack Allied bomber formations in earnest. 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. 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. . $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("SHOW", "CLOSE")); This air force lost most of its men and equipment in the defense of the Philippines after 7 Dec 1941. 8th AF 448th BG World War II. Although some personnel and combat units were assigned before V-J Day, the Eighth did not participate in combat against Japan. $(".af3-caption-body").removeClass(detailSize); 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 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. Aircraft and ground crew of Boeing B-17F-25-BO Fortress "Hell's Angels" (AAF Ser. By comparison, the U.S. Navy suffered 37,000 deaths out of the 4.1 million in WW II. (Heavy Bombers) and as an historical record of events that took place in Europe during World War II. 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. }); '">DETAILS'; $(".fancybox-caption__body").prepend(prependClosing()); 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. 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. Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified. Eighth Air Force trains, tests, exercises and demonstrates combat-ready forces for rapid employment worldwide. $(".fancybox-content").removeAttr("style"); In addition, almost 300 German aircraft of all types were destroyed in strafing attacks. 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. 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. if (isMobile()) 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. return '