Original Item: Only One Available. Here we have a fantastic "Base Plaque" for the U.S. Army Air Forces "Eighth Air Force", originally formed as the VIII Bomber Command on 19 January 1942. These were hung on the wall inside the command bases of the unit, and it is definitely an early hand-made example, and measures 18 ¾"H x 17"W. The "shield" at the rear is made from laminated wood, with a round piece of wood installed on top. A copper / bronze Winged 8 is bolted from the rear onto the circle, with an aluminum star with a red painted star also bolted from the rear. There is an intact metal hanger on the rear, made from solid copper wire, which we would recommend replacing if you plan ty display this fine piece.

Condition is very good, and this is just what a WWII USAAF Enthusiast needs hanging on the wall!

The Eighth Air Force was established as VIII Bomber Command on 19 January 1942 and activated at Langley Field, Virginia on 1 February. It was reassigned to Savannah Army Air Base, Georgia on 10 February 1942. An advanced detachment of VIII Bomber Command was established at RAF Daws Hill, near RAF Bomber Command Headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, on 23 February in preparation for its units to arrive in the United Kingdom from the United States. The first combat group of VIII Bomber Command to arrive in the United Kingdom was the ground echelon of the 97th Bombardment Group, which arrived at RAF Polebrook and RAF Grafton Underwood on 9 June 1942.

During World War II, the offensive air forces of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) came to be classified as strategic or tactical. A strategic air force was that with a mission to attack an enemy's war effort beyond his front-line forces, predominantly production and supply facilities, whereas a tactical air force supported ground campaigns, usually with objectives selected through co-operation with the armies.

In Europe, Eighth Air Force was the first USAAF strategic air force, with a mission to support an invasion of continental Europe from the British Isles. Eighth Air Force carried out strategic daytime bombing operations in Western Europe from airfields in eastern England as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive.