Posted by Allen on 10/18/2003, 12:43 pm The 8th AF had 7.42% of it's guys killed(compared to 3.29% for the USMC). "Of those who flew the original twenty-five-mission bomber tour of 1942-43, just 35 percent survived;" The author summarizes the 8th's contribution as - 1. the elimination of the Luftwaffe from other tasks(other than opposing the bombers) and, finally, it's elimination from the sky entirely 2. the disruption of Germany's planned allocations of manpower and resources away from the fighting fronts Here's a sample - "He[Lt. Col. Elwyn Righetti] was the top ground strafer of enemy aircraft with 27 to his crdit. He was killed only a few days before the group's last mission of the war. He was hit by ground fire while strafing a German airfield. He was streaming coolant from a radiator puncture and knew he had about five more minutes before his engine seized up but instead of heading west as far as he could get, he announced he still had some ammo and made another pass on the field, destroying one more enemy plane before his engine froze up. He bellied in at the field he had been strafing and was killed by German civilians as he announced on his radio at that time he had a broken nose but otherwise was ok."(page 430)
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I just finished "The Mighty Eighth" by Gerald Astor. It is an oral history type account of the 8th Air Force.
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