' + Eighth Airforce headquarters was established in England on April 15, 1942 and Spaatz took over in June. [9] Doolittle was well known to American airmen as the famous "Tokyo Raider" and former air racer. 8th Air Force Historical Society | 8th Air Force Historical Society Modern mechanized armies need a robust logistics chain to provide fuel, ammunition, and other sinews of war to sustain combat operations. 305th Operations Group - Wikipedia else { // Animation complete. To reduce the risk to its bomber fleet in the United States, Eighth Air Force aircraft stood nuclear alert, providing a deterrent against an attack on the United States by the Soviet Union. 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. Fifteen months after Operation DESERT STORM, the Air Force reorganized. It dug a crater just two feet deep and nine feet wide. Generally, when bombers approached the target and entered what was called the flak field, enemy fighters peeled away to land, refuel, and rearm. function captionToggle() { The reorganization transformed the Eighth into the only information operations and bomber NAF in the Air Force. The VIII Bomber Command launched its first raid in North-western Europe on 4 July 1942, when six RAF Douglas A-20 Havocs flown by crews of the 15th Bombardment Squadron (Light) (accompanied by another six Bostons from the more experienced No. $(".af3-caption-body").animate({ height: displayhgt }, 800); As part of this realignment, most SAC bomber forces west of the Mississippi River were reassigned to 15th AF. "translate(" + dstLeft + "px, " + dstTop + "px)"); 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. 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. 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). 8th Air Force The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. Air War from 1939-1945 | American Experience | PBS [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. 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. 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. For two years, the wing remained in this status until the 58th Bomb Wing was inactivated on 16 October 1948. The German pilot only had seconds to aim, fire, and peel away before careening into the heavy bombers. 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. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("CLOSE", "SHOW")); Eighth Air Force - Wikipedia Most crews never made it past their fifth. Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. The first escort mission for the bombers was not flown until 5 December. 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. They did not realize that they were over Dutch territory; 850 civilians, including children on their way to school, were among the casualties. 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. Eighth Air Force trains, tests, exercises and demonstrates combat-ready forces for rapid employment worldwide. The Eighth Air Force suffered half of the U.S Army Air Forces' casualties in World War 2 (47,000-plus casualties with more than 26,000 dead). October 27-29 at New Orleans Lakefront Airport. This calendar covers the Missions and other Importantly, the Eighth's bombing effectiveness influenced the North Vietnamese to end hostilities. And simultaneously, the Pacific Theater competed for aircraft. They observed British night bombing operations and the German Blitz against the RAF and British cities. // device detection At all heights, the rate of climb was approximately doubled. 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. buttons: ['share'], Many more awards were made to Eighth Air Force veterans after the war that remain uncounted. return '' 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). Fifteen Allied bombers were attacked, eight were successfully destroyed. The American theory on daylight bombing lay in the aircraft the crewmen flew: the rugged Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the main heavy bomber of the Eighth Air Force. var newImgHgt = (origImgHgt * ratio); The nuclear arms race shifted into high gear. At peak strength, Eighth Air Force had forty heavy bomber groups, fifteen fighter groups, and four specialized support groups. The 93rd Bomb Group was activated on March 1, 1942, under the command of Colonel Edward J. Timberlake at Barksdale Army Air Field in Louisiana. 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. 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 . Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces at Nagoya, Japan, where it was inactivated on 30 June 1948. As they approached the initial point, or IP, the fighters pressed even closer. These missions, however, carried a high price. That leadership allowed the men to be exposed to enemy fire for what seemed like an eternity, for little or no results in terms of bombing accuracy, made the crews irate. $(document).ready(function () { Several events in the late 1940s reversed the drawdown of United States strategic forces. })); || /1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\-(n|u)|c55\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\-5|g\-mo|go(\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\-(m|p|t)|hei\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\-c|ht(c(\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\-|\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\-w|m3ga|m50\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\-g|qa\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\-[2-7]|i\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\-|oo|p\-)|sdk\/|se(c(\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\-|shar|sie(\-|m)|sk\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\-|v\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\-|tdg\-|tel(i|m)|tim\-|t\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\-|m3|m5)|tx\-9|up(\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\-|your|zeto|zte\-/i.test(navigator.userAgent.substr(0, 4))) { $(".fancybox-button").css("display", "none"); Eighth Air Force is one of two active duty numbered air forces in Air Force Global Strike Command. 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. Personnel and equipment from the inactivated 40th and 444th Bomb Groups were reassigned to the 43d Bomb Group. 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. After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. In addition, German airfields in France and Belgium were attacked. in 1944 with a record number of 79 Missions in August. Six months later, after Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declaration of war, plans were started to send heavy and medium bombers, with reconnaissance and fighter aircraft to England. 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. John Keema of the 390th Bomb Group said, No matter the target they were defending, they were balls to the wall. function getDetailsURL(fbObj) { 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. 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). strategic bombing during World War II - Britannica At the close of 1946, they shared only a handful of operational bombers, all B-29 Superfortresses. 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. At the Arcadia Conference, held in Washington, DC, from December 24, 1941 to January 14, 1942, the Western Allies agreed to a Germany First policy to govern global strategy, but the question where to engage Germany, and when, remained unsettled. function isMobile() { } By the end of the mission, the Eighth Air Force had lost 30 bombers and 300 men. For the survivors, there wasnt much time for contemplation of those lost. Continuing with the 12 B-17s that flew Mission #1 of the 8th AF, Aug 17, 1942, target Rouen marshalling yard. showFBShare(); 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. $(".fancybox-button").css("display", "block"); It was the largest of the deployed combat Army Air Forces in numbers of personnel, aircraft, and equipment. 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. 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. 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. } A 500-pound bomb, standard for precision missions after 1943, had a lethal radius of only 60 to 90 feet. By wars end, the AAF had built the 8th Air Force in England into a major contributor to final victory. Under ACC, Eighth Air Force provides command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C2ISR); long-range attack; and information operations forces to Air Force components and warfighting commands. return isMobile; This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. 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. 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. Understanding that war might come soon for the United States, Spaatz and his two assistants observed the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. winHgt / origImgHgt); 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. An advanced detachment of VIII Bomber Command was established at RAF Daws Hill, near RAF Bomber Command Headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, on 23 February in preparation for its units to arrive in the United Kingdom from the United States. Phone: 703-584-1501. var caption = ''; In what became known as "Black Thursday", the 8th Air Force's 1st and 3rd Air Divisions flew from bases in East Anglia and attacked German ball bearing factories 400 miles away at Schweinfurt, Germany. Yet, despite the opposition, the bombers continued toward the Bosch factory. } These bomb wings were drastically undermanned and under equipped. Eighth Air Force Bomber Command became the Eighth Air Force in February 1944, it oversaw bombardment of strategic targets in Europe until 1945. The USAAF was finally fully sold on the Mustang, and a letter contract for 2200 P-51Bs was issued. General Carl Spaatz returned to England to command the USSTAF. $(".fancybox-content").removeAttr("style"); caption += $(this).find('figcaption').html() + The assaults were violent, head-on passes that resulted in high casualties among the lead crews.