February 26, 2021 - 8th Air Force Museum,
Savannah, Georgia
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| On our trip down to Florida, we stayed overnight in Savannah, Georgia. The next morning we checked out the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, right off Interstate 95, and near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. |
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The museum is not really an airplane museum -- it is what it says it is, a museum about the Eight Air Force in World War Two. But they did have a few planes, including their flagship -- a B-17 Flying Fortress.
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| The Eighth Air Force, commanded by General Jimmy Doolittle, won the air war over Germany in early 1944. The air supremacy gained enabled the Normandy invasion and the distruction of German industry and cities, as well as overwhelming tactical air support for the ground forces. |
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The radial engine that powered the B-17 -- the Wright Cyclone R-1820 -- which of course had four of them. This engine powered many other famous WWII aircraft including the Navy's SBD Dauntless dive bomber and the DC-3/C-47 transport. The G-series engine was developed to deliver 1200 hp at 2500 rpm and made up the bulk of R-1820 Cyclone production during World War 2.
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A neat diorama of Operational Tidal Wave: a low-level attack byB-24 Liberators of the the oil refineries in Ploesti, Rumania on August 1, 1943. Ploesti was a significant source of oil for Nazi Germany during much of World War II, and was heavily defended. The Ninth Air Force (98th and 376th Bombardment Groups) was responsible for the overall conduct of the raid, and the partially formed Eighth Air Force provided three additional bomb groups (44th, 93rd, and 389th). All the bombers employed were B-24 Liberators.
This mission was one of the costliest for the USAAF in the European Theater, with 53 aircraft and 660 air crewmen lost. It was proportionally the most costly major Allied air raid of the war, and its date was later referred to as "Black Sunday". Five Medals of Honor and 56 Distinguished Service Crosses along with numerous others awards went to Operation Tidal Wave crew members.
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| Speaking of B-24s, here is the front-end of a Liberator. |
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Overhead is a German Me-109 fighter. The plane was so realistic I couldn't tell if it was real or a replica. A docent told me he gets asked that all the time. It is a replica. Notice the P-51 Mustang hot on the 109's tail. It is a replica too.
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| Some models of Eight Air Force P-47 Thunderbolts. |
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This garden memorial area was in back of the museum.
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| Yay, Eight Air Force! |
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