Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force began its life as the VIII Bomber Command on the 19th of January 1942. It activated at Langley Field, Virginia, just two weeks later. An advanced detachment moved to RAF Daws Hill near High Wycombe in England by late February. The first ground echelon of the 97th Bombardment Group arrived at RAF Polebrook and RAF Grafton Underwood on the 9th of June 1942. Combat operations started with a raid on four airfields in the Netherlands on the 4th of July 1942. Six Douglas Boston bombers from the 15th Bombardment Squadron flew alongside six more from No. 226 Squadron RAF. Captain Charles C. Kegelman led one of these aircraft. His right propeller was shot away over De Kooy Airfield while his engine caught fire. He managed to bring the damaged bomber home and received the Distinguished Service Cross from General Carl Spaatz on the 11th of July. Regular heavy bomber missions began on the 17th of August 1942 when twelve Boeing B-17E Flying Fortresses attacked marshalling yards in Rouen-Sotteville, France. Paul Tibbets piloted that historic lead plane.
Cold and clear weather forecasted for the last week of February 1944 set the stage for Operation Argument. On the night of 19, the 20th of February, the Royal Air Force bombed Leipzig with 823 aircraft. The Eighth Air Force responded with over 1,000 B-17s and B-24s plus more than 800 fighters. Twelve aircraft factories faced attacks across Germany. B-17s targeted Junkers Ju 88 production at Leipzig and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. B-24s struck Gothaer Waggonfabrik producing Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters. They also hit Focke Wulf Fw 190A plants at Tutow and Heinkel's headquarters at Rostock. The Luftwaffe launched its sixth major raid of the Baby Blitz the following night with only about 165 German aircraft. Over 900 bombers and 700 fighters from the Eighth Air Force hit Braunschweig area factories the next day. More than 60 Luftwaffe fighters were shot down while losing 19 US bombers and 5 US fighters. On the 24th of February, over 800 bombers attacked Schweinfurt and Baltic coast targets. Some 230 B-24s hit the Messerschmitt Bf 110 assembly plant at Gotha with a loss of 24 aircraft. A tragic error occurred on the 22nd of February when Nijmegen was bombed by twelve aircraft of the 446th Bombardment Group and two from the 453rd. Eight hundred fifty civilians including children died in that mistaken strike.
The North American P-51 Mustang first entered squadron service in Europe with British forces in early 1942. Rolls-Royce engineers realized equipping it with a Merlin engine would substantially improve performance. By mid-1942 they installed a four-bladed propeller to further enhance capabilities. The USAAF issued a letter contract for 2,200 P-51Bs with Packard V-1650-3 engines based on the Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk68. Late 1943 saw the P-51B introduced to the European Theater. It could fly as far on internal fuel tanks as the P-47 could with drop tanks. Major General Jimmy Doolittle changed policy requiring fighters to stay with bombers at all times. American fighter pilots flew far ahead of bomber formations clearing skies of Luftwaffe opposition. This strategy disabled twin-engined Zerstörergeschwader heavy fighter wings throughout most of 1944. Fighters then strafed German airfields while returning to base contributing significantly to air superiority achievement. By mid-1944 Eighth Air Force reached total strength exceeding 200,000 people. At peak strength it fielded forty heavy bomber groups and fifteen fighter groups. A single mission often dispatched more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and over 1,000 fighters. By 1945 all but one fighter group were equipped with the P-51D.
Eighth Air Force did not strike oil industry targets until the 13th of May 1944 when 749 bombers pounded facilities in Leipzig and Brüx. Almost 740 fighters escorted these missions. Over 300 German fighters attacked the bomber forces losing almost half their aircraft. Claims exceeded 47 Luftwaffe fighters by American pilots though 46 bombers fell to enemy fire. After D-Day attacks on German oil assumed top priority across the Reich. Vast fleets of B-24s and B-17s hit refineries in Germany and Czechoslovakia during late 1944 and early 1945. Eighth Air Force struck targets as far east as Hungary while Fifteenth Air Force targeted Yugoslavia Romania and northeastern Italy. On at least eighteen occasions Merseburg refineries in Leuna received hits. These facilities refined majority of Germany's synthetic fuel for jet aircraft. By end of 1944 only three out of ninety-one Reich refineries worked normally. Twenty-nine remained partially functional while remainder were completely destroyed. This campaign crippled German aviation production capabilities near war's end.
World War II proved strategic air power value to proponents who had championed it for two decades. Eighth Air Force incorporated into new Strategic Air Command on the 7th of June 1946. Headquarters moved from Okinawa to MacDill Field Florida becoming SAC second numbered air force. At MacDill headquarters manned chiefly by personnel from 58th Bombardment Wing stationed at Fort Worth Army Air Field. That base assignment lasted until the 1st of November 1946 when transferred to Fort Worth later renamed Carswell AFB. Both Davis-Monthan and Fort Worth Army Airfields served as B-29 training bases during World War II. Assets assigned to Eighth Air Force included B-29 Superfortresses though many were war-weary from long combat missions. By late 1940s B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators became obsolete mostly sent to smelters. A handful performed non-combat duties through mid-1950s as air-sea rescue or photo-reconnaissance aircraft. The 1948 blockade of West Berlin caused United States to deploy SAC B-29 bomber force back to United Kingdom and West Germany. Communist victories in Chinese Civil War in 1949 and Korean War outbreak in 1950 meant expanding SAC to address threats both Europe and Asia.
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Common questions
When did the Eighth Air Force begin its operations?
The Eighth Air Force began as the VIII Bomber Command on the 19th of January 1942. It activated at Langley Field, Virginia, two weeks later and moved an advanced detachment to RAF Daws Hill by late February.
What was the first combat operation conducted by the Eighth Air Force?
Combat operations started with a raid on four airfields in the Netherlands on the 4th of July 1942. Six Douglas Boston bombers from the 15th Bombardment Squadron flew alongside six more from No. 226 Squadron RAF during this mission.
How many personnel were assigned to the Eighth Air Force by mid-1944?
By mid-1944 the Eighth Air Force reached total strength exceeding 200,000 people. At peak strength it fielded forty heavy bomber groups and fifteen fighter groups.
Which aircraft model equipped most Eighth Air Force fighter groups by 1945?
By 1945 all but one fighter group were equipped with the P-51D. The North American P-51 Mustang entered squadron service in Europe with British forces in early 1942 before being adopted by USAAF units.
When did the Eighth Air Force start striking oil industry targets?
The Eighth Air Force did not strike oil industry targets until the 13th of May 1944 when 749 bombers pounded facilities in Leipzig and Brüx. Almost 740 fighters escorted these missions against German refineries.
On what date was the Eighth Air Force incorporated into Strategic Air Command?
The Eighth Air Force incorporated into new Strategic Air Command on the 7th of June 1946. Headquarters moved from Okinawa to MacDill Field Florida becoming SAC second numbered air force.