The Mighty Eighth

Archival Summary & Scope

In this gripping collection of oral histories, the men of the Eighth Air Force recount the "greatest air war in human history." Tasked with a groundbreaking—and devastatingly costly—campaign of daylight precision bombing, these crews suffered more casualties than the entire U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific.

Despite the savagery of the conflict, their relentless strikes on German munitions and industry proved to be a decisive weapon in grinding the Nazi war machine to a halt. This is a story of immense sacrifice and courage, told firsthand by the pilots and engineers who survived the "Mighty Eighth."