For the fly-boys of the U.S. Army Air Corps’ Eighth Air Force, June 6, 1944 was a day of great excitement and anticipation. Despite the exhaustion that comes with a fifteen hour day, all concerned recognized well that they were participating in an historic event that would be discussed long after they had left this life, but of greater importance was their understanding that the tides of war were shifting in the Allies’ favor.
“D-Day wasn’t a good day for flying…We took off at 1720 hours and climbed up through the overcast to join our formation…everyone aboard was very much interested in what ‘our friends’ were doing downstairs…Over France was revealed the mystery of no flak and no enemy fighters”
In his book Wartime, Paul Fussel noted that the Allies had placed as many as 11,000 planes in the skies above France that day.
Click here to read about the 8th Air Force and their bombing efforts in the skies above Germany.
Click here to read more magazine articles about D-Day
