LEE-OFFICIAL-20220201-068
On 01 February 2022, F35B aircraft from Royal Air Force Marham joined US Air Force B1B and F15 aircraft for multiple fly-pasts over the United Kingdom to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Eighth Air Force. The Royal Air Force’s fifth-generation fighter jets joined the X strategic bombers, which had flown directly from the US, and X for the fly-pasts of both RAF Lakenheath and RAF Duxford. The location was pertinent as it was once home to an Eighth Air Force P-51 unit and now hosts the largest air museum in Europe. Originally stood up on 1st February 1942 at Langley Field, Virginia, VIII Bomber Command moved to England a short while later, first to RAF Daws Hill and later to RAF High Wycombe, the RAF’s Bomber Command, where it established its wartime headquarters in the Wycombe Abbey School. The Eighth Air Force was a US Army Air Force Combat Air Force, focused on the European Theatre, that carried out strategic bombing of targets in France, the Low Countries and Germany. Eighth Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center commander, Major General. Andrew Gebara said “The Eighth Air Force has a long, rich history that dates back to World War II. Not only does this flight signify the longevity and reach of the United States’ bomber force, but it pays tribute to our UK allies as well. Eighth Air Force has had a close relationship with the Royal Air Force since its beginning.” On 22nd February 1944, the US reorganised its Air Forces in Europe by renaming Eighth Air Force as the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe, which is today known as United States Air Forces in Europe.