US Army Air Forces
How skilled were D-Day's troop carrier aircrew?
The US troop carrier aircrew of D-Day: poorly trained, cowardly or just low-grade? It’s time to debunk these myths
Which was best? The USAAF's main European theatre fighters compared
Debate still rages about which was the US Army Air Forces’ best fighter in the European theatre of operations. But is it even possible to reach a meaningful verdict?
Hit or miss? Why the US Eighth Air Force failed in one of its main ambitions
The contribution to Allied victory in Europe by the Eighth Air Force’s heavy bombers was considerable, but its campaign didn’t evolve in the way its commanders had imagined
Luftwaffe's legendary surprise raid on Asch
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver describes the remarkable 45-minute skirmish over Asch – perhaps the wildest fight for any Eighth Air Force fighter unit
Great ace 'Bud' Anderson and his original 'Old Crow'
‘Bud’ Anderson will forever be associated with the P-51 Mustangs he named Old Crow. But the first fighter to which ‘Bud’ had that moniker applied was a Bell P-39 Airacobra, and to mark his 100th birthday, a special salute was planned
The birth of The Eighth Air Force
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver charts the arrival and operations of The Eighth Air Force in the European theatre of World War Two
“My pilots loved this beautiful bird” – US Army Air Force Mosquitos
That comment by one unit commander sums up the views of many in the US Army Air Forces on the de Havilland Mosquito, an aircraft that served the AAF in relatively small numbers, but was arguably superior to anything American makers offered
