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the Eighth Army Air Force (8 AAF) was a United States Army Air Forces combat air force in the European theater of World War II (1939/41–1945), engaging in operations primarily in the Northern Europe area of responsibility; carrying out strategic bombing of enemy targets in France, the Low Countries, and Germany; [3] and engaging in air-to-air ...
The VIII Air Force Composite Command was a subordinate command of Eighth Air Force. It was originally responsible for combat training of aircrews arriving from the United States, a mission it continued until near the end of the war, when the air divisions began the training. Starting in late winter of 1944, the command took over special ...
The Scouting Forces were several fighter flights formed by Eighth Air Force during World War II with a mission to check for Anti-Aircraft (flak) sites; weather conditions, and for Luftwaffe interceptor airfields and units in advance of heavy bomber missions over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany.
On October 8, 1943 John "Lucky" Luckadoo was on his 22nd mission with the 100th bombardment group, or the Bloody Hundredth, in the Eighth Air Force during World War II.
By mid-1944, Eighth Air Force had reached a total strength of more than 200,000 personnel (it is estimated that more than 350,000 Americans served in Eighth Air Force during the war in Europe.) At peak strength, Eighth Air Force had forty heavy bomber groups, fifteen fighter groups, and four specialized support groups.
By December 1943 the service command had absorbed the personnel and functions of A-4 to become the sole logistical agency entitled to act in the name of the commanding general, Eighth Air Force. The VIII Air Force Service Command's headquarters organized the policies, training and logistics of a Base Air Depot Area (BADA), Advanced Air Depot ...
The Air Force Historical Studies Office summarizes the execution of USAAF strategy during World War II: [44] "Arnold's staff made the first priority in the war to launch a strategic bombing offensive in support of the RAF against Germany. The Eighth Air Force, sent to England in 1942, took on that job.
Combat Squadrons of the Air Force, World War II (PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-405-12194-6. LCCN 70605402. OCLC 72556; Watkins, Robert (2008). Battle Colors: Insignia and Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Vol. I (VIII) Bomber Command.