$(".base-caption-info").addClass("full-height"); The second Schweinfurt raid, [10] also called Black Thursday, was a World War II air battle that took place on 14 October 1943, over Nazi Germany between forces of the United States 8th Air Force and German Luftwaffe fighter arm ( Jagdwaffe ). 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. 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'. During World War II, the group's predecessor unit, the 305th Bombardment Group was one of the first VIII Bomber Command Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress units in England, and, was one of the most-decorated USAAF heavy-bombardment groups in the European Theater. That base assignment lasted until 1 November 1946, when SAC transferred the Eighth to Fort Worth (later renamed Carswell AFB). Stuttgart, Germany, and the Bosch factory located there were the targets for the Eighth on September 6. On October 8, they did not peel away. The reorganization transformed the Eighth into the only information operations and bomber NAF in the Air Force. The following day, on 9 March, H2X radar-equipped B-17s mounted a third attack on the Reich capital through clouds. Welcome to the 91st Bomb Group! Three passes were made and, the clouds had not broken, all while precious fuel was being burned and B-17s were being shot down by fighters and anti-aircraft artillery. The bombs missed the target almost completely. }, afterShow: function (instance, current) { October 8s target was the shipyard in dreaded Bremen, known as Flak City by the aircrews. Support to the latter command included the operation of Task Force 204 (bombers). The Me 262 was also less maneuverable than the P-51 and so trained Allied pilots could turn tighter than an Me 262A. On the night of 1920 February, the RAF bombed Leipzig with 823 aircraft. This was largely so that the Air Force could perpetuate the names of groups that had distinguished themselves in World War II. quickly find the Missions by number or by date. 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. "VIII Bomber Command" redirects here. A popular saying at the time was that to fly in the Eighth Air Force then was like holding a ticket to a funeral your own.Abnormal behavior became more common. [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. function closeDetails() { 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. Arming wire tag from one of the bombs dropped by the Eighth Air Force in its first heavy bomber raid against Nazi-occupied Europe, against the Rouen-Sotteville railway yards in France on August 17, 1942. 1 September: At 4:40am the Luftwaffe starts World War II with the terror bombing of the Polish city of Wielu. if (isMobile()) { There would be over 1,000 aircraft by January 1943. Half of the U.S. Army Air Forces' casualties in World War II were suffered by Eighth Air Force (more than 47,000 casualties, with more than 26,000 dead). While posturing itself for that mission change, the Eighth also supported Operation ENDURING FREEDOM against terrorists in Afghanistan, and NOBLE EAGLE for the homeland defense of America. Most of the missions occurred in 1944 with a record number of 79 Missions in August. And simultaneously, the Pacific Theater competed for aircraft. There were 261 fighter aces in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. Throughout the first six months of Enduring Freedom, the Mighty Eighth's bombers were instrumental in the eradication of many targets and opposing combatants in Afghanistan. On the morning of March 18, 1,329 bombers and 733 fighters of the US Eighth Air Force formed up over England and set a course for northern Germany. In the year 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. 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. By 6 June, Allied fighter pilots had succeeded in damaging or destroying hundreds of locomotives, thousands of motorized vehicles, and many bridges. ABMC Headquarters Forty-five B-17s failed to return to England that night. Eighth Airforce headquarters was established in England on April 15, 1942 and Spaatz took over in June. Luckadoo recalled that the enemy fighters attacked the bombers as soon as they crossed the border into France and continued all the way through to the target. VIII Bomber Command | Military Wiki | Fandom $(".fancybox-content").css("height", newImgHgt + "px"); "Black Thursday" October 14, 1943: The Second Schweinfurt Bombing Raid They didnt hesitate.. As a contrast, the Luftwaffe was undertaking the sixth major raid of the "Baby Blitz" the following night (20/21 February), with only some 165 German aircraft sortieing against British targets. The original Eighth Air Force was redesignated as the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF). The treaty that Hitler hated even more than the Treaty of Versailles and one of the most important treaties you have probably never heard of. 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. July 4, 1942: The Mighty Eighth's First Bombing Raid - HistoryNet PLEASE SUPPORT THE 8AF.ORG PROJECT! After the Southeast Asian war, Eighth Air Force moved on 1 January 1975 to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana. The Wilhelmshaven bombings: A mission of valor - 8th Air Force/J-GSOC $(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html($(".fancy-photo-detail-link").html().replace("SHOW", "CLOSE")); $(".fancybox-caption__body").addClass("af3-caption-body"); Americans bomb Germans for first time - History The result: a greater reliance on nuclear weapons and air power to deter war. $(".af3-caption-body").animate({ height: displayhgt }, 800); Fighting the Allies during the North African campaign of 1942-1943, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommels Afrika Korps (DAK) was resupplied by a concerted air and sea lift effort. 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. By 1945, all but one of the Eighth Air Force fighter groups were equipped with the P-51D. }); Spaatz found 1940 British night bomber forces small and ineffective, but thought it was the beginning of real airpower. He considered Luftwaffe bombing forces large but so oriented to supporting ground forces that they could not perform strategic missions. 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. As the nuclear weapons carried by the bombers were so powerful that only one plane was assigned to a target that might have previously needed a whole bomb group of aircraft. On 6 June 1944 itself, the Group bombed coastal defences before the landings. It dug a crater just two feet deep and nine feet wide. The Eighth's combat record also shows 566 aces (261 fighter pilots with 31 having 15 or more victories and 305 enlisted gunners), over 440,000 bomber sorties to drop 697,000 tons of bombs, and over 5,100 aircraft losses and 11,200 aerial victories. In the grisly battle for European air supremacy, the Luftwaffe proveda deadly foe to Allied bombers. There are (46894) servicemen of the 8th AF Bomber Groups in this archive. In 1943, the Luftwaffe was at peak strength against American bombers. $currentSlide.find(".fancy-detail-link").on("touchstart", function() { captionToggle(); }); The operation failed to achieve air superiority, even temporarily, and the German Army continued to be exposed to air attack. Second Schweinfurt raid - Wikipedia However, the P-51B was introduced as a tactical fighter, so the first deliveries of the P-51B in November 1943 were assigned to three groups in the tactical Ninth Air Force at the expense of VIII Bomber Command, whose need for a long range escort fighter was critical. The Eighth Air Force vs. The Luftwaffe - The National WWII Museum 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 . It played an important role in many missions now recognized as key to winning WWII such as D-Day, Munster, Schweinfurt, and the raid on Berlin. B-17s hit the Skoda armaments factory at Pilsen in Czechoslovakia, while B-24s bombed rail complexes in Bad Reichenhall and Freilassing, surrounding Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. 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). The air crews hit strategic sites in Germany but also supported the movement of ground forces across Europe after D-Day. Many never did, however, as between 1942 and 1945 flying bombing missions for the "Mighty 8th" proved to be the most dangerous occupation in the U.S. Army Air Forces. The 305th Bombardment Group (Heavy), nicknamed "Can Do" was activated 1-March-1942 at Salt Lake City Air Base, Utah which was their primary training base until 11-Jun-1942 when they relocated to Geiger Field, Washington until 29-Jun-1942, then on to Muroc Lake . Eighth Air Force was established as VIII Bomber Command on 19 January 1942 and activated at Langley Field, Virginia on 1 February. They did not realize that they were over Dutch territory; 850 civilians, including children on their way to school, were among the casualties. Less than a week after "Big Week", Eighth Air Force made its first attack on the Reich's capital, Berlin. 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.