The 'Mighty 8th' is the name given to the 8th United States Army Air Force (USAAF).

The organisational structure changed during the course of the war, but towards the end, in February 1945, the structure was as follows:

It was split into three Air Divisions (AD). The mainstay of each Air Division were the Bombardment Groups (Heavy) - often abbreviated to BG (H). Each BG (H) was split into four Bombardment Squadrons (BS), with each squadron allocated 18 aircraft and 24 crews. Each crew consisted of 9-11 men.

Within an Air Division, the Bomb Groups were organised into four wings, the Combat Bombardment Wings, with each wing comprising three or four BG (H).

The planes flown by a BG (H) were either     B-17 Flying Fortress     or     B-24 Liberator. Each plane had a unique numeric identifier, which makes for fascinating research.

Each BG (H) was assigned to one air field. Air fields were designated by their name and by a Station number (abbreviated to Sta).

Total Personnel in an Air Division

A typical Air Division, with three BG(H) per Combat Bombardment Wing would consist of:

4        Combat Bombardment Wings

12      Bombardment Groups (H)

48     Bombardment Squadrons

864   Aircraft

1152  Crews (approximately 11,520 men)

Total personnel (aircrew plus ground crew) 27,132 men, comprising 5,580 Officers and 21,552 Enlisted men