' + 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 WWII . The 398th was formed in the United States in 1943 and was stationed in Nuthampstead, England from April 1944 until June 1945. In 2000, the Air Force decided to integrate information operations into Eighth Air Force. The next day, the largest formation of German jets ever seen, most likely from the Luftwaffe's specialist 7th Fighter Wing, Jagdgeschwader 7 Nowotny, made attacks on Eighth Air Force bomber formations over Dresden and the oil targets at Essen, shooting down a total of three bombers. As a result, Eighth Air Force was incorporated into the new SAC. clearTimeout(debounceTimer); At peak strength, Eighth Air Force had forty heavy bomber groups, fifteen fighter groups, and four specialized support groups. VIII Fighter Command 1944-1945. 41-24577) of the 358th Bomb Squadron, 303rd Bomb Group, RAF Molesworth. } It also . Start here! On 16 April, this record was broken when over 700 German aircraft were destroyed on the ground. } Originally, the U.S. Army Air Forces activated the Eighth at Savannah, Georgia, on 28 January 1942 with three major subordinate units: the VIII Bomber Command (BC), the VIII Fighter Command (FC), and the VIII Ground Air Services Command (GASC). The mission of "The Mighty Eighth" is to safeguard America's interests through strategic deterrence and global combat power. That same day, the VIII BC became Eighth Air Force. The 8th AF was primarily engaged in the bombardment of strategic targets in Europe. Dear Val Burgess, Thank you for posting your request on History Hub! A strategic air force was that with a mission to attack an enemy's war effort beyond his front-line forces, predominantly production and supply facilities, whereas a tactical air force supported ground campaigns, usually with objectives selected through co-operation with the armies. Visit our 8th Air Force Honor Project with rosters of servicemen who served in the groups of the 8th. During World War II, under the leadership of such Generals as Eaker and Jimmy Doolittle, the 8th AF became the greatest air armada in history. The losses of the Allied Air Forces were replaced within weeks. return caption; $(".fancybox-button").css("display", "none"); 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. Eighth Air Force carries out its warfighting missions under U.S. Strategic Command and the air component commands of the other regional Unified combatant commands. function closeDetails() { Eighth Air Force carried out strategic daytime bombing operations in Western Europe from airfields in eastern England as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive. The Air Force retired nearly all of its piston-engined B-29/B-50s and they were replaced by new Boeing B-47 Stratojet aircraft. On 2 March, when Eighth Air Force bombers were dispatched to attack the synthetic oil refineries at Leipzig, Messerschmitt Me 262As attacked the formation near Dresden. winHgt / origImgHgt); return '