Farms: "The Mighty Eighth" part 1 of 3
Productivity | Information | History | View | Quality
The "Mighty Eighth" began operations in England on Feb. 20, 1942, when Brig. Gen. Ira C. Eaker led a seven-man advance team to scout the country and prepare for the arrival of American combat flying units. For the next four years, England became the USAAF's "unsinkable aircraft carrier" as they fought the Luftwaffe and Hitler's Axis forces. By D-Day on June 6, 1944, the USAAF had two-thirds of its operational forces in England and by the end of the war, almost 350,000 airmen had passed through the 8th Air Force. Weaved into the green patchwork of East Anglia were more than 130 American bases, about 75 of them airfields. East Anglia appears as the bulge on the map north of London, and it's about the size of Vermont. The Eighth flew from bases with names the GIs said sounded like they came from nursery rhymes -- Bury St. Edmunds, Bassingbourn, Eye, Kingscliffe, Podington, Bungay, Martlesham Heath, Little Walden, Molesworth and Duxford, to name a few. During the war years, U.S. servicemen outnumbered local nationals 50 to one in some villages. A normal station was home to about 50 heavy bombers -- Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators -- and 2,500 men who flew, serviced and repaired the planes or supported air operations. Each morning bombers took off at 30- to 45-second intervals and would gather 20,000 feet above England in a slow revolving spiral before crossing the North Sea and blasting the Third Reich's war-machinery plants, fuel supplies and airfields. "The spectacle of seeing hundreds of aircraft trailing formations was an extraordinary sight," said Freeman, who was a base rat at Boxted near Colchester. "On one cold and freezing day, early in 1945, when I was 15, I saw the contrails of a thousand bombers forming in the sky at one time. I didn't count a thousand, but there were 28 groups, and I knew that each group had 30 to 40 in each formation. "At the time I didn't quite appreciate it," Freeman said. "But there were 25,000 young airmen up there going to war. A lot of times people talk about the number of aircraft going to war, and they don't quite appreciate the cost in human lives." Although the average age of a bomber crew member was 22, flying still took a physical and mental toll on them. A combination of extreme cold, fluctuating air pressure, constant noise and vibration, 10-hour missions and stress caused by the fear of being shot down by fighters or flak exhausted the crews, and, as a result, most of them literally slept when not flying. A standard tour for a heavy bomber crew was 25 combat missions; however, most didn't make it half way. After the U.S. Army Air Forces gained air superiority, the magic number was raised to 30 and then 35 missions. Aircrew members completing their tour were inducted into the "Lucky Bastards Club." On May 17, 1943, Maj. Robert K. Morgan and his crew joined this exclusive club first, and were sent home. "We were all very young guys, and the odds of surviving weren't very good. This was before we started receiving fighter escorts, so the chances of buying the farm were high," said Morgan. "I lost my right and left wingmen a couple of times," said the retired colonel who now lives in North Carolina. "After that you start asking yourself 'Why me? Why did I come back and not them?' There has to be some reason or you were just damn lucky." During the latter years of the war, luck had little to do with the bomber crew's increased survival rate. The 8th Air Force owned the skies over occupied Germany thanks to fighter pilots like Francis "Gabby" Gabreski, the 8th Air Force's most successful fighter ace with 28 kills in the air and three on the ground during the war. Gabreski, an Oil City, Pa., native, flew the P-47 Thunderbolt with the 56th Fighter Group, nicknamed Zemke's Wolfpack after its commander Hub Zemke. Gabreski scored one triple and eight double kills while with the group, and he credits his success to training, equipment, leadership and faith. "Back then, we didn't have time to mourn. Sure, we were sorry and a bit depressed for a short period, but tomorrow was another day and another mission. "The mission was always No. 1," he said. "And it was a very simple job-to give escort to B-17s and B-24s at high altitude. You wanted to make sure the bombers you were escorting weren't shot down. Secondly, you thought about survival. You wanted to come back, so you could fight again tomorrow. We knew it was going to be a one-day war." According to Freeman, the greatest achievement of the 8th Air Force during the second world war was gaining air superiority over enemy territory, which had been thought impossible. "Without an air force to attack or protect, the Germans were finished," Freeman said. "When D-Day came, Eisenhower could say to his forces, 'If you see any aircraft overhead, they will be allied.' "
Comments
-
two planes lost LOL it's like if he was playingnVS noob BOT.
-
Only lost two planes?!! that's 16 men! 16 grieving families. No such thing as ONLY two planes!
-
NOT A LOT OF SLICK MANUVERS FROM THE GERMAN PILOTS ,THEY JUST TAKE IT UP ARSE AND FLY STRAIGHT...HOW VERY UN-HOLYWOOD.
-
2 planes lost??? oh come on...
-
Only two plane lost scuch a liar
-
because we were experienced in bombing Germany, the yanks weren't as experienced in bombing Germany as we were so they didn't know what they were facing, so they got cut to pieces by bf-109s in daylight
-
POLISH HERO !!!!
-
The Brits bombed at night with their Lancastesr because they were much slower and they were getting shot down in very high numbers. The Lancaster had a higher bomb payload but less defensive guns and was slow. The American B17 had many guns, a lighter payload and was capable of higher altitudes and faster speeds.
-
Apparantly the majority of the trains the Americans shot at were shot at with out the pilot knowing who the occupants were. If the train shot back then the pilot knew it was a milatry train. But to find out if it was milatry the attacking pilot had to shot first.
-
The Americans often bombed or shot anyone it seems. On many a straffing mission they spayed towns with machine gun fire from the air. But those little bodies down below were often not Germans. The germans had access to the airraid shelters where as the Jews, and other non-desirables by the germans were locked out. If you never had a card you were not let in. There were lots of people who never had cards.
-
The French lived in France, Rouen. Even if there were occupying Germans who were using the rail yards. It seems likly they would have been a minority and the majority of workers would have been involentary Frenchmen & Women.Either side of the railway in the videos were what looked like residential areas of houses.I believe German soldiers did not live in that type of accomodation.Not on housing estates.Also if the Germans were occupying then they would have had access to the airraid shelters.
-
This is obviously a British movietone.
-
@Tifoso420 He was in the 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy). His name is Clifford Adams. I found a link to the distinguished flying cross for him, but youtube will not let me post it. I have his crew photo by the plane and will try to upload it to youtube in the future under picadilly commando 351st
-
Why did the americans have to bomb in daylight and the limey's got to go at night?If you ask me, the smart guys were the one's that went to Switzerland and sat out the war.
-
Simply a propaganda movie of the US. 78000 bomber and fighter pilots of the USAAFwere killed in action over the sky of Germany and western Europe. They got their air superiority but the payed a usury prize for it.
-
my grandpa was a Co-pilot in the 388th bomb group, his name was Albert Conta. he flew 39 missions over France, Poland, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. He cleared the way for the men on the ground during D-Day. His plane was called "Reuel's Revenge", they named it this because thier radio operators name was Reuel and he was killed on a mission, so they named the plane after him. On his final mission he had an inch of bone shot off of his arm. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. Honor Americas Vets.
-
@bettendorfer78 My uncle was a ball turret gunner on a plane with that very name.(there may have been several, of course) He was in the 306th BG, 369th BS.
-
Thank your Grandpa for me, without the selfless actions of men like your Grandpa, none of us would enjoy the freedom we have today
-
@SCOTTYSWAD great stuff that bomber guy has on youtube.. I don't think he answers questions...
-
Superb. Thanks for this.