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Eighth Air Force
| January 28, 1942 |
53 days after Pearl Harbor the Eighth Air Force is activated, headquartered at the National Armory on Bull Street in Savannah
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City of Savannah, Georgia |
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Eighth Air Force |
| July 2, 1942 |
Eighth Army Air Corps flies the first European mission of the USAAC (United States Army Air Corps). It is a low-level bombing run against a series of small air bases in the Netherlands. For some reason this date is frequently misquoted as July 4 and the location moved to the marshalling area at Rouen. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| August 17, 1942 |
Eighth Army Air Corps launched a mission against German marshalling areas in the Rouen, France railyard using American made B-17s. They are over the target for 7 minutes |
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Eighth Air Force |
| August 1, 1943 |
Bombers from the Eighth (Army) Air Force join with the Ninth in Operation Tidal Wave, a second attempt to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti. Considered to be a disaster (54 out of 177 planes lost), the mission did significantly reduce oil production at the facility for months. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| August 17, 1943 |
In simultaneous attacks on Regensburg and Schweinfurt, the Eighth (Army) Air Force conducts raids on a Messerschmitt factory (Regensburg) and ball-bearing plants (Schweinfurt) from its secret base in England. Of 376 mission aircraft 60 are lost. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| September 27, 1943 |
Using new "belly tanks" to dramatically extend the distance they can fly, P-47 bombers raid Emden, then return to the secret Eight Army Air Force in England. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| October 14, 1943 |
In a second raid on the ball-bearing plants in Schweinfurt, Germany, the Eighth Air Force effectively destroys the target. 60 of 291 planes do not return. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| February 20, 1944 |
Start of "Big Week", six days of missions designed to destroy German aircraft production. The Eighth Air Force (England) and the Ninth Air Force (Italy) participate. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| March 4, 1944 |
Lt. Chuck Yeager shoots down his first German fighter while serving in the Eighth (Army) Air Force |
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Eighth Air Force |
| May 21, 1944 |
Eighth Air Force begins Operation Chattanooga Choo-Choo, systematic raids in Germany and France designed to destroy the Nazi's ability to move munitions and supplies by railroad. It is specifically designed to soften up German lines in advance of D-Day |
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Eighth Air Force |
| June 6, 1944 |
D-Day, Normandy, France. More than 15,000 sorties are flown over France and Germany, led by the Eighth Air Force. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| June 9, 1944 |
Eighth Air Force establishes a base in Allied-occupied France |
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Eighth Air Force |
| August 24, 1944 |
Eighth Air Force's 78th Fighter Group shoots down the experimental Me-262, a German jet-powered fighter. It is the first jet fighter to be shot down. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| February 3, 1945 |
Eighth Air Force participates in a massive B-17 raid against Berlin, Germany. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| June 13, 1955 |
Eighth Air Force reassigned to the Strategic Air Command (SAC) |
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Eighth Air Force |
| January 1, 1975 |
Headquarters of the Eighth Air Force moved to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana |
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Eighth Air Force |
| May 4, 1996 |
Dedication of the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, Pooler, Georgia. |
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Eighth Air Force |
| September 7, 2006 |
After visiting with Little League World Champions from Columbus, Georgia, President George W. Bush visits Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler for a fund-raiser for Republican Max Burns and the Cobb Galleria in Marietta for a speech on the War Against Terror |
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Eighth Air Force |
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Columbus, Georgia |
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