The 44th Bomb Group in World War II : the "Flying- Eight-Balls" over Europe in the B-24

The 44th Bomb Group in World War II: The «Flying Eight-Balls» over Europe in the B-24 The 44th Bomb Group, which flew the B-24 Liberator, was the pioneer unit for what evolved from the Mighty Eighths 2nd Bomb Wing into a full-scale Bomb (and later Air) Division. The Group amassed an impressive 343 missions and won two Distinguished Unit Citations between November 1942 and April 1945, dropping nearly 19,000 tons of ordnance in the process including the legendary August 1943 Ploesti mission. These statistics were achieved at a material cost of around 200 aircraft, and a human cost of some 2,000 airmen MIA, as the 8th USAAF focused its strategic bombing campaign in the face of determined Luftwaffe opposition. Om 8th USAAF 44th Bomb Group operationer med B 24 Liberator i perioden 1942 til 2. verdenskrigs afslutning i 1945. Fra deres base i England kastede 44th Bomb Group ca. 19.000 ton bomber over tyskland, mistede ca 200 fly og 2000 besætningsmedlemmer under 8th USAAF strategiske bombning af Tyskland