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I worked for a time in the Cambridge, UK area. There was a local put and all around that pub - there are bronze plaques. Some of these plaques state some history, including 42/early 43.
The plaque - IIRC- stated that young Americans came half way round the world, some young men who probably never even did stuff in life yet - to fight for Freedom and climbed up ladders knowingly taking the last step and having a mission survival rate of 0.5 missions.

I don't know what to say when I recall looking at that plaque. Its an unpayable, staggering, heart breaking moment to recall their honour, sacrifice, bravery. Those early days in late 42, early 43 were the grim reaper flights. Bad ideas, bad leadership calls, and into a meat grinder that awaited allied flyers. The RAF Bomber command at that point had had enough maulings and daylight raiding was largely binned.

There are really no words, and few deeds that I can say or do in remembering USAAF and the 8Th. I will add some notes below -
These missions, however, carried a high price. Half of the U.S. Army Air Forces' casualties in World War II were suffered by Eighth Air Force (more than 47,000 casualties, with more than 26,000 dead). Seventeen Medals of Honor went to Eighth Air Force personnel during the war. By war's end, they had been awarded a number of other medals to include 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals. Many more awards were made to Eighth Air Force veterans after the war that remain uncounted. There were 261 fighter aces in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. Thirty-one of these aces had 15 or more aircraft kills apiece. Another 305 enlisted gunners were also recognized as aces.

The USAAF eventually got very large, and once escort fighters really got into the meat of things, one of the USAAF strategic aims of breaking the Luftwaffe was largely done. The late war escort waves, in association with the German Luftwaffe being ground down - meant that losses in 44, 45 lessened over that time.

I have put together some films in memory towards the mighty 8th and the young Americans who I hold in the greatest regard. Not nearly so many people watch my crummy stuff, but I make it with a love to the fallen whom I can never repay.:-

   • AVRO Lancaster B MK3 escorts the migh...  
   • AVRO Lancaster B MK3 escorts the migh...  
   • A lonely Handley Page Hampden escorts...  
   • Bristol Blenheim IV escorts the might...  
   • Bristol Beaufort VIII Escorts the mig...  
   • AVRO Lincoln escorts the mighty 8th i...  
   • Lonely AVRO Shackleton escorts the mi...  
   • Lonely Short Sterling escorts the mig...  
   • Fictional - - Lonely Vickers Wellingt...  
   • Lonely Handley Page Halifax escorting...  
   • Fictional - A lonely Lancaster Mk III...  
   • Essen 45 4k  

In follow on and in equal regard, it is sometimes considered the late war and larger USAAF force holds its head up against anyone, but its little brother - in the fight from day one, is sometimes overlooked. Post war, to in my humble opinion, the bloody hands of war led to a disgraceful treatment of the men of bomber command. Only later was this reversed with a war memorial to the men of bomber command. That force, backed by a million and a half people in supply chain, had the most terrible losses_in British_Military_History. When you consider some things like the somme, and so on, this brings it home. They were all volunteers, and they too kept climbing in planes knowing their odds. In the above Videos, I have the men of the RAF doing an escort in honour of the US heroes.

In total 364,514 operational sorties were flown,
1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped,8,325
aircraft lost in action. Bomber Command crews
also suffered a high casualty rate: 55,573 were
killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, a 44.4%
death rate. A further 8,403 men were wounded
in action, and 9,838 became prisoners of war.

Only 24% of the flight crews came home unscathed.
The worst attrition rate of any combat troops in
British Military History.


Now videos for the British ones.
   • Avro Lancaster - Bomber Command - Dar...  
   • 12 WAVES  W4 4k Warthunder Cinematic.  
   • Bomber Command in the Battle of Brita...  
   • J for Jester -- Warthunder Cinematic.  

I don't expect anyone to run off watching these, but they were made in memory. This video, and those videos - for the fallen.

Lastly, I think some of the best real in depth details - and I do mean details can be found here. Greg tears things apart and gets into great detail around many aspects of the planes (B17, Lancaster, others)