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  • Women’s Army Corps in Europe

    “The WAC has been of inestimable value...Its members have worked devotedly, often at arduous tasks requiring exceptional performance.”            —General Carl Spaatz, US Strategic Air Forces commander   About half of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) personnel—or “WACs”—sent overseas served in Europe. 

  • "Keeping them Flying": Mechanics and Bomb Leaders

    Bomber crews’ lives depended on the skill and diligence of their ground crews.  Ground crews constantly maintained the large, complex bombers, repaired battle damage, and performed modifications to make the aircraft more effective.  Bomb loaders in the ordnance section had the dangerous duty of

  • Crippling the Nazi War Machine: USAAF Strategic Bombing in Europe

      At great sacrifice, the US Army Air Forces’ (USAAF) daylight strategic bombing campaign played a critical role in winning the war in Europe.        What is Strategic Bombing?          Strategic bombing is a strategy to destroy a country’s ability or will to fight by attacking its homeland from the

  • Black Thursday: Schweinfurt, October 14, 1943

    The Eighth Air Force attack against the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany, on October 14, 1943, became known as "Black Thursday.”   After friendly fighters turned back at the German border, the bomber formations fought a running battle alone against the Luftwaffe.  The bomber crews

  • Heavy Bomber “Firsts”

    The Memphis Belle was not the first USAAF heavy bomber to finish 25 missions—it was the first to complete 25 missions over Europe and return to the US.  A small number of heavy bombers finished their 25th missions before the Memphis Belle, including:  B-17E Suzy-Q The Suzy-Q, a 19th BG B-17E, was

  • Regensburg/Schweinfurt, August 17, 1943

    On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany.   To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force

  • "Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress"

    The 1944 documentary movie “Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress” increased the aircraft and crew’s already substantial fame.  This unique film was the brainchild of legendary film director William Wyler. In 1942, Major Wyler went to England to film heavy bomber operations in Europe.  He and

  • The Memphis Belle: American Icon

    The Memphis Belle and its crew became timeless symbols of the service and sacrifice of the heavy bomber crews and support personnel who helped defeat Nazi Germany.  This famed aircraft was the first US Army Air Forces heavy bomber to return to the United States after completing 25 missions over

  • Memphis Belle Crew

    The young men assigned to the Memphis Belle represented a typical Eighth Air Force heavy bomber crew.  They ranged in age from 19 to 26 and came from states across the US, including Washington, Indiana, Texas, and Connecticut.  Like their Eighth Air Force counterparts—and contrary to a popular

  • Strategic Bombing Victorious

    “In my opinion the war was decided by the air offensive...it happened when you started large-scale attacks on our synthetic oil plants simultaneously with attacks on our communications.”            —Generalfeldmarschall Erhard Milch, Luftwaffe Armaments Chief   By the fall of 1944, with thousands of