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This is Volume One of The Army Air Forces in World War II, titled Plans and Early Operations, January 1939 to August 1942, edited by Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate. The University of Chicago Press first published it in 1948, and the Office of Air Force History reprinted it in 1983. The front matter explains how the AAF historical program was set up during the war. The index covers Pacific, Atlantic and European operations, and nothing in the text concerns unidentified aerial phenomena.
“Churchill”21 pages
T H E E I G H T H A I R F O R C E Isle as soon as the other movement had cleared the field there. The way was clear by 2 2 July, when twenty-eight P-38’s of the 14th Group escorted by six B-17’s flew from Presque Isle to Goose Bay. The other planes followed in a continuing movement that was dis- tinguished chiefly by the pioneering effort of the 92d Group in accomplishing between 1 5 and 2 7 August the nonstop flight of all four of its squadrons from Gander in Newfoundland to Prestwick without the loss of a plane.155 By the end of August, 386 aircraft-164 P-38’s, I 19 B-17’s, and 103 C-47’s-had crossed to England by the North Atlantic ferry route. Additional groups and replacement aircraft for the Eighth and Twelfth Air Forces would follow during the remainder of the year; all told, 920 planes by I January 1943 had attempted the crossing ar?d 882 reached their destinations, of which approximately 700 belonged to the Eighth. The anticipated accident ratio of 10 per cent did not materialize-it actually amounted to 5.2 per cent. Of the 38 planes failing to reach Prestwick, 29 were classified as “wrecked” and 9 as “lost.” The AAF had been particularly anxious about the P-38’s, but out of 186 dispatched during 1942 only 7 failed to reach their destina- tion; in addition to the 6 wrecked in July, I was subsequently l 0 ~ t . l ~ ’ And before passing on, it should be noted that nearly all of the 700 planes delivered to the Eighth were flown by their own combat crews, not by veteran and highly trained ferry or transport pilots. As the movements developed, the principal concern of AAF leaders in England was over the slowness of the initial movement and the prospect that winter would cut off this line of reinforcement. They hoped that improvement of communications and weather facilities would permit not only bombers but fighters to make the flight, but Headquarters, AAF felt the risks were too great. After December, the North Atlantic route was closed to virtually all planes until spring.15‘ Establishment in United Kingdom The period extending from the opening of General Spaatz’ head- quarters in the United Kingdom on 18 June 15’ to the first heavy bomber mission on 1 7 August saw the completion of the initial stage in the development of the Eighth Air Force. Its headquarters-in code WIDEWING-was located in the suburbs southwest of London a t Bushy Park, Teddington. During the latter part of June and in July, the newly established headquarters gathered into its hands the 645
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