' + Over 60 Luftwaffe fighters were shot down with a loss of 19 US bombers and 5 US fighters. Twelve B-17s of the 8th Air Forces 97th Heavy Bombardment Group raided the Sotteville-ls-Rouen railroad yards, while six more made a diversionary strike. List of air operations during the Battle of Europe - Wikipedia Navigators on H2X-equipped B-17s and B-24s of the U.S. Army Air Forces used radar charts like this one. The Me 262A was a difficult foe for the P-47s and P-51s, possessing a distinct speed advantage. As the Americans flew further into Europe and Germany, the missions became deadlier. There were 261 fighter aces in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. (Heavy Bombers) and as an historical record of events that took place in Europe during World War II. He began his career conducting oral histories and research for HBOs miniseries The Pacific and holds the distinction of being the first historian hired by the Museums Research Department. A 500-pound bomb, standard for precision missions after 1943, had a lethal radius of only 60 to 90 feet. 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. } 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. Within three years it grew to become the greatest military striking force in history. $(".fancybox-content").removeAttr("style"); Superior aerodynamic and structural design gave the B-17 and B-24 respective extreme ranges of 800 and 1200 miles. Tested by the developer himself, Mayer found the tactic worked exceedingly well. BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La -- On Jan. 27, 1943, 91 B-17 and B-24 bombers from 8th Air Force launched from England to conduct America's first World War II strike against the Nazi fatherland.During this historic attack, 58 bombers reached their targets and dropped 137.5 tons of munitions on the port of Wilhelmshaven to destroy strategic naval construction facilities. function captionToggle() { Targets that directly affected the German war machine became priorities. Advanced electro mechanical Norden M series bombsights could accurately deliver bomb loads at extreme altitude. #WWII . 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. quickly find the Missions by number or by date. Early Operations: Eighth Air Force in England $(document).ready(function () { Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The wing served in combat with Fifth Air Force from February 1944 to August 1945, operating as a task force with various groups and squadrons that were . The other American-flown Boston had been shot down over De Kooy[6]. On 22 February 1944, due to many mistakes, Nijmegen was bombarded by twelve aircraft of the 446th Bombardment Group and two aircraft of the 453rd. } The 452nd Bomb Group flew B-17 Flying Fortresses from Deopham Green, Norfolk, from January 1944. These attacks and the July 4th raid were just the beginning. There would be over 1,000 aircraft by January 1943. Colonel Frank A. Armstrong may have been the commander of the 97th, but at the time of the raid, not yet left seat qualified. var isMobile = false; //initiate as false $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("CLOSE", "SHOW")); Fighter-production facilities, ball-bearing plants, shipyards, and other military targets were in the crosshairs of the Eighth. There were fewer and fewer guys returning every day. One of the many who didnt return from Stuttgart added, We felt as if they didnt know what the hell they were doing up there, especially over Stuttgart. Schweinfurt was not the Eighth Air Force's only target on August 17. 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. (browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino/i.test(navigator.userAgent) With each step through 2002, the Eighth continues to add more feats to its growing legacy. At Andersen AFB, the Eighth took over the direction of all bombing and refueling operations in Southeast Asia. During World War II, Eighth Air Force earned a reputation as a great warfighting organization. The command controlled three airfields on Okinawa, Bolo, Futema, and Kadena Airfield. VIII Bomber Command, re-designated as Eighth Air Force, and Ninth Air Force were assigned to (USSTAF). Personnel and equipment from the inactivated 40th and 444th Bomb Groups were reassigned to the 43d Bomb Group. The photograph shows housing destroyed by the RAF during night raids. The following day, on 9 March, H2X radar-equipped B-17s mounted a third attack on the Reich capital through clouds. [citation needed]. var caption = ''; 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. By mid-1944, the unit had a total strength of more than 200,000 people, and it could send more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission against enemy targets in Europe.

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