The Mighty Eighth Podcast

Remarkable stories about the People, Planes & Places of the United States 8th Army Air Force during WW2. Co-hosted by @JohannTasker & @MikeHistorian

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Here it is our latest podcast!
https://t.co/9KfN7Sp4F8

[ARCHIVE 40 @Archive40xl]

WWII Air Drama: Damaged B-17 Faces Fighter Interception

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Attacking a well formed combat box of USAAF heavies was not a job for the faint hearted.

[Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2]

Luftwaffe Guncamera footage Messerschmitt Bf-109G6 | Battle for Germany June 1944

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Lucky girl!

[War Times @wartirnes]

What It’s Like Inside the Nose of a B-17 Flying Fortress 🇺🇸

Rare footage from inside the plexiglass nose of a surviving B-17 Flying Fortress gives a close-up look at the bomber’s iconic forward compartment while in flight.

The video clearly shows the famous Norden bombsight, .50 caliber cheek guns with ammunition belts loaded, and the cramped navigator’s station where crews operated during WWII bombing missions over Europe.

This exact position was once occupied by bombardiers and navigators flying deep into enemy territory aboard the Flying Fortress.

📹 Patrick Carey

[Just Ger 🇺🇲 @BigGer_1970]

The late Charlton Heston enlisted into U.S. Army Air Force 1943. Flying seven combat missions part of 77th Bombardment Group as a radio op & aerial gunner during WWII seeing combat in the Pacific N.W. Theater over the Aleutian Islands. Staff Sergeant Heston, forever a veteran 🇺🇸

[Kurt Steiner @Kurt_Steiner]

American Empire

[Mike Peters @MikeHistorian]

Absolute pleasure to meet up with the walking Mighty Eighth encyclopedia that is @MalOzzie at Madingley this morning. A really interesting and enjoyable walk in the rain listening to his stories of the names on the memorial to the missing.

[J&L Historical @Jason_R_Burt]

🚨NEW: WW2 vet Stan Stanley, who spent 14 months hiding from the Nazis in Holland, has died at 106. 🇺🇸

After his B-24 was shot down over Holland, he evaded capture with the help of Dutch civilians, moving from safe house to safe house until Canadians liberated the region. ✈️

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Great insight into the US view of Britain during WWII.

[Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2]

Know Your Ally: Britain

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Fascinating footage Tim. So much talk about the fearsome 88mm Flak. Not enough about these monsters.

[Aviation Archive - Tim Farmer @aviationarchive]

Footage of a German 10.5 cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft gun(I believe) along side another lower caliber Flak gun demonstrating their synchronization using an analog sighting computer. 👀

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Some great groundcrew images on this account...

[WWII Photos @JGuybee]

Ground crew made an 'on the line' check of the radio in the P-51 Mustang 'Hot Shot Charlies' of the 364th Fighter Group, US 383rd Fighter Squadron, RAF Honnington, England, United Kingdom, 5 Apr 1945

[Kurt Steiner @Kurt_Steiner]

Once upon a time…

[Philip Brazier @PhilipBrazier3]

Second day of the tour. Looking at Rackheath and the excellent 2nd Air Division Heritage Gallery in Swaffham.
@Mighty8thPod @8thAirForceWW2 @AmerLibraryUK

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

We have a podcast on the Eagle Squadrons, please download and listen if you want to know more.

[Untold War Stories @UntoldWarFacts]

A red-haired messenger boy at an MGM movie studio in Hollywood paid for his own flying lessons in the 1930s.

By 1940 he was flying a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain.

He was one of the first Americans to fight for Britain, more than a year before Pearl Harbor.

He was carrying a secret that could have ended his flying career.

This is the story of Red Tobin..🧵1/6

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

Great work!

[Philip Brazier @PhilipBrazier3]

After research, comparing old photos with the ground and gaining landowners permission, this is where Brian (r) was shown that his dad's B24 resided under our feet.
@8thAirForceWW2 @Mighty8thPod @MikeHistorian @AmerLibraryUK

[The Mighty Eighth Podcast @Mighty8thPod]

The Airfield that features prominently in our last podcast on Op Aphrodite.

[John Fielding Aerial Images @johnfielding001]

Former RAF Fersfield in Norfolk, forever linked to the American Kennedy family. Built in 1943 and opened in 1944 as a wartime bomber airfield, it became one of Britain's most secret Second World War bases.
From here, Operation Aphrodite missions were launched using explosive-filled aircraft intended to strike heavily defended German targets. On 12 August 1944, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., elder brother of future US President John F. Kennedy, took off from Fersfield in a converted PB4Y Liberator. The aircraft exploded over Suffolk, killing Kennedy and his co-pilot before they could escape.
Fersfield was also home to Mosquito squadrons including 464 (RAAF) and 487 (RNZAF), whose crews were associated with some of the war's most daring low-level precision attacks. These included the famous Amiens Prison raid and later Operation Carthage against the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen in March 1945.
After the war the airfield closed and today much of the former runway system survives as farm tracks and field boundaries, concealing a remarkable chapter of Norfolk's wartime history. #Kennedys #NorfolkAirfields #aerial

[Mike Peters @MikeHistorian]

I am really pleased to announce that Bomb Group is coming out in paperback this July. The pre-order price is an absolute bargain. Tale a look below...

[J&L Historical @Jason_R_Burt]

In 1943, an American bomber flying over Germany was hit 11 times in the fuel tanks by explosive ordnance, but none of them exploded. ✈️

When the shells were cut open, they contained no explosives. One held a note in Czech that read, 'This is all we can do for you now.' 🇨🇿🇺🇸

[𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 - 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐞 - 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞⭐️❤️ @NgocThach74]

That landing scene always chokes me up a little. A good movie.🎞️
The crew attempts to land the Memphis Belle with malfunctioning landing gear and only one working engine.

Unabashedly sentimental, this war film was produced by David Putnam in partnership with Catherine Wyler, whose father William Wyler directed an acclaimed documentary about the real-life events depicted in the film.

[Mike Peters @MikeHistorian]

Day 8 of the Masters of the Air - Mighty Eighth tour with the National WWII Museum culminated with a visit to the Battle of Britain Bunker Museum. A fascinating visit that allowed us to compare the Dowding system with the later German air defence system.

[John Fielding Aerial Images @johnfielding001]

@Mighty8thPod RAF Framlingham - USAAF Station 153