Welcome to the Mighty Eighth Air Force WW2 Calendar

This calendar covers the Missions and other events of the 8th Air Force, European Theater of Operations during the four year period from January 1, 1942 through May 7, 1945. There were many 8th Air Force Bases built and scattered throughout the countryside in the Southern part England in the early part of 1942 with the first Mission being flown on August 17, 1942. Only twelve B-17 Bombers participated in that mission. The buildup of the 8th Air Force in England was a gradual process and reached a peak on December 24, 1944 when 2034 Bombers and 853 Fighters pounded Germany from the Air. There was a total of 985 Missions completed by wars end. Most of the missions occurred in 1944 with a record number of 79 Missions in August.

Resources for the data found in this calendar can be found at http://www.usaaf.net/chron/index.htm It has been brought to my attention that some of the KIA as reported in the above resource are incorrect in that the numbers may have been calculated from the KIA that returned on the bombers and did not include those crews of lost planes that were listed as Missing in Action and later reported KIA. Also, it is important to note that each of the Bomber Groups that were scattered throughout England had their own Mission numbers so you may find it easier to look for the missions by date.  As an example, the first mission flown by the 303rd Bomb Group was on November 17, 1942 to St Nazaire, France and this was Mission Number 20 of the 8th Air Force as a whole.

The links directly below will take you to the month and year that you select. To return to this page, click on the top picture in any month.

The Daily Calendar Mission Links are Depicted by the Nine Images You See Below