Eighth Air Force Scouting Forces
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The Scouting Forces were several fighter flights formed by
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...
during
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with a mission to check for Anti-Aircraft (flak) sites; weather conditions, and for
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
interceptor airfields and units in advance of heavy bomber missions over
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and
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. These flights were created by Colonel Bud J. Peaslee, commander of the
384th Bombardment Group 384th may refer to: * 384th Air Expeditionary Group, provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command * 384th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive unit of the United States Air Force *384th Air Refueling Squadron (384 ARS) is ...
. Colonel Peaslee suggested this to General James Doolittle in 1944 as a way to gather real-time intelligence prior to bombing missions by Eighth Air Force. During their 6 months of existence, the Eighth Air Force Scouting Forces lost 24 pilots: 9 in training and 15 in combat.


1st Scouting Force

The 1st Scouting Force (experimental) (
P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
;
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...
) was organized at
RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. It was used as a bomber station during the Second World War and through the Cold War, hosting Han ...
, and activated on 19 September 1944. It was assigned as a flight, attached to the
67th Fighter Wing The 67th Fighter Wing was a unit of the United States Air Force for four years, between 1946 and 1950. It was located at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts. It is unrelated to the modern 67th Network Warfare Wing. History World War II Th ...
,
364th Fighter Group 364th may refer to: * 364th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 364th Fighter Group or 131st Bomb Wing, unit of the Missouri Air National Guard, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri * 364th Fighter S ...
. The group maintained its logistics, and detached pilots on a 15-day rotational basis. The unit flew 107 missions before being attached to the
857th Bombardment Squadron The 857th Bombardment Squadron is one of the two predecessors of the 557th Tactical Air Support Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit, formed in 1985 by the consolidation of the 857th with another inactive bombardment squadron. It ...
at
RAF Bassingbourn Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second ...
, and logged another 24 missions.


2d Scouting Force

The 2nd Scouting Force (
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
;
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...
) was formed at
RAF Steeple Morden Royal Air Force Steeple Morden or more simply RAF Steeple Morden is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located west of Royston, Hertfordshire, Royston, Hertfordshire, England. History RAF Bomber Command ...
, and activated on 26 September 1944. It was assigned as a flight, attached to the 65th Fighter Wing,
355th Fighter Group 355th may refer to: Aviation *355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit *355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force *355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Air F ...
. The unit's pilots were assigned from several different fighter units, and successfully finished 136 missions, with the last mission being flown on 21 April 1945.


3d Scouting Force

The 3d Scouting Force (
P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...
;
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...
;
B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
) was formed at
RAF Wormingford Royal Air Force Wormingford, or more simply RAF Wormingford, is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located northwest of Colchester, Essex, England. During World War I Wormingford was a landing ground d ...
, with the support of the 55th Fighter Group. Although originated as a flight of the 55th FG, the 3rd Scouting Force established itself as an independent entity. At the beginning, the pilots of the 55th FG were detached to fly the P-51D's as scouts, but quickly they were replaced by assigned personnel. The 3rd Scouting Force conducted the first of its 140 missions on 15 October 1944, and the last mission on 21 April 1945. The 3rd SF had the uniqueness of having some older B-17F's assigned for doing weather reconnaissance. Although the 3rd Scouting Force was not meant for combat, the unit downed 22 German fighters while defending bombers.


References


The Scouting Force @ littlefriends.co.uk
{{USAAF 8th Air Force UK Military units and formations established in 1944