8th air force wwii roster

Redesignated Eighth AF on 22 Feb 1944. 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. 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. $(".fancybox-caption__body").addClass("mobile"); 8th Air Force 448th Bomb Group, England WWII - TaraCopp. The result was that the Luftwaffe was notable by its absence over the skies of Europe after D-Day and the Allies were starting to achieve air superiority over the continent. closeDetails(); [6] Alerted to the attack, the airfield defences were prepared for the raid when it arrived. 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. Unit records are useful in piecing together stories about a unit or group, as well as about individuals who served in them. $(".fancybox-content").css("width", newImgWth + "px"); $(".fancybox-caption__body").removeClass("af3-caption-body"); 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. 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. On 25 February, both Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces hit numerous targets at Frth airfield, Augsburg and Regensburg, attacking Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Bf 109 plants. 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. The nuclear arms race shifted into high gear. Fifteen months after Operation Desert Storm, the Air Force reorganized. $(".af3-caption-body").stop(true, false).animate({ height: "0vh" }, 800, function () { 5 months ago. The Me 262A was a difficult foe for the P-47s and P-51s, possessing a distinct speed advantage. 12th Bombardment Wing: 1942-1944. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").removeClass("photo-detail-gradient"); After Korean War, on 13 June 1955 SAC moved the unit to Westover AFB, Massachusetts, where it transitioned to the jet age. $(".fancybox-caption").removeClass("af3-caption-bg"); 1st Bomb Division Markings 2nd Bomb Division Markings 3rd Bomb Division Markings Sources: detailSize = "full"; $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("CLOSE", "SHOW")); The losses of the Allied Air Forces were replaced within weeks. On D-Day, over 2,300 sorties were flown by Eighth Air Force heavy bombers in the Normandy and Cherbourg invasion areas, all aimed at neutralizing enemy coastal defenses and front-line troops. getDetailsURL($(this).parent()) + Although the Luftwaffe could, and did, mount effective attacks on the ever-larger formations of Allied heavy bombers, the sheer numbers of B-17s and B-24s attacking enemy targets was overwhelming the German fighter force, which simply could not sustain the losses the Eighth Air Force bombers and fighters were inflicting on it. 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. That base assignment lasted until 1 November 1946, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Fort Worth (later renamed Carswell AFB). 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. On 7 April, Eighth Air Force dispatched thirty-two B-17 and B-24 groups and fourteen Mustang groups (the sheer numbers of attacking Allied aircraft were so large in 1945 that they were now counted by the group) to targets in the small area of Germany still controlled by the Nazis, hitting the remaining airfields where the Luftwaffe jets were stationed. 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. var dstLeft = Math.floor((winWth - newImgWth)) / 2; 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. 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. } Located at Hunter Field, Colonel Asa N. Duncan was the first commander. Of the. 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. SAC was founded by the men who fought in World War II, who knew the importance of fighter escorts. World War II proved what the proponents of air power had been championing for the previous two decadesthe great value of strategic forces in bombing an enemy's industrial complex and of tactical forces in controlling the skies above a battlefield. Personnel and equipment from the inactivated 40th and 444th Bomb Groups were reassigned to the 43d Bomb Group. function closeDetails() { At Andersen AFB, the Eighth took over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. $(".fancybox-caption__body").prepend(prependClosing()); In May 1942 Command of the 8th Air Force was assumed by Major General Carl A. ", The Eighth Air Force team consists of more than 16,000 Regular Air Force (e.g., active duty), Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve professionals operating and maintaining a variety of aircraft capable of deploying air power to any area of the world. 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. Please visit the websites of our wonderful partners in history. As part of this realignment, most SAC bomber forces west of the Mississippi River were reassigned to 15th AF. displayhgt = "90vh"; 8th Air Force, 1st Wing, 1st Division The Ragged Irregulars. Altogether, the Eighth's bombers flew 325 sorties to drop over 7 million pounds of ordnance on enemy targets in that campaign. [citation needed]. Eighth Air Force is one of two active duty numbered air forces in Air Force Global Strike Command. Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified. A lack of fuel and available pilots for the new jets greatly reduced their effectiveness. let $this = $('[data-fancybox]').fancybox($.extend(true, {}, $.fancybox.defaults, { B-17 Aluminum Overcast. 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. On 24 February, with the weather clearing over central Germany, Eighth Air Force sent over 800 bombers, hitting Schweinfurt and attacks on the Baltic coast, with a total of 11 B-17s being lost. 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. Even so, the "pathfinder" bombers of the RAF Alconbury-based 482d Bomb Group proved very capable of finding the targets and guiding the bombers to them. The 8th Army Air Force, 96th Bomb Group (H) Association. else { 8 th AirForce.com. By 1945, all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups were equipped with the P-51D. That buildup limited the Eighth's Korean War involvement to the deployment of its 27th Fighter Escort Wing. [9] Doolittle was well known to American airmen as the famous "Tokyo Raider" and former air racer. / 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. On 7 May, another 1,000 bombers hit additional targets along the English Channel coast, hitting fortifications, bridges and marshaling areas. Eighth Air Force, with headquarters at Barksdale Air Force Base in the Bossier City Shreveport, Louisiana metro area, supports U.S. Strategic Command, and is designated as U.S. Strategic Command's Task Force 204, providing on-alert, combat-ready forces to the president. Further ground fire caused damage to his right wing, and the engine caught fire. Their children and descendants, who are representatives of these Veterans, saw the need to keep the history and experiences of these warriors alive. debounceTimer = null; An official website of the United States government, Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil. $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("SHOW", "CLOSE")); }); $(".fancybox-caption").addClass("af3-caption-bg"); The 305th was activated in the United States in March 1942 and moved to England in August-October. On 16 April, this record was broken when over 700 German aircraft were destroyed on the ground. Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara, commander of 8th Air Force, relieved two commanders today from their positions of leadership at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, due to a loss of confidence in their ability to complete their assigned duties."These personnel actions were necessary to maintain the very The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. Also after the deployment of forces to Far East Air Force to engage in combat over Korea, the history of Eighth Air Force becomes indistinguishable from that of SAC. } By war's end, they had been awarded a number of other medals to include 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals. United States 8th Air Force, WWII Welcome to the 96th Bombardment Group(H) Station 138 - Snetterton, England. 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. After D-Day, attacks on the German oil industry assumed top priority which was widely dispersed around the Reich. 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. 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). Eighth Air Force Historical Society 8th Air Force Bases in England Air Force Historical Research Agency, Maxwell AFB Air Force Personnel Center Barksdale AFB, Louisiana (Current 8th AF headquarters) Department of Veterans Affairs Fold 3 by Ancestry.com MacArthur Memorial Kassel Mission National Archives and Records . 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. var winHgt = $(window).innerHeight() 41-24577) of the 358th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, RAF Molesworth. let debounceTimer; Communist victories in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 meant that the United States would have to expand SAC to address these potential threats both in Europe as well as Asia. We need help with transcribing data. 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. Men born between about 1877 and . 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. 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. 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. On the night of 1920 February, the RAF bombed Leipzig with 823 aircraft. 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. By 1955 the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress would be entering the inventory in substantial numbers, as prop B-36s were phased out of heavy bombardment units rapidly. '