The Second Air Division was one of the three heavy bomber divisions of the 8th Air Force during World War II. It was the primary B-24 Liberator formation of the 8th Air Force and played a major role in the Allied strategic bombing campaign against Nazi Germany from bases in eastern England. The division originated in October 1942 as the 2nd Bombardment Wing, created as the 8th Air Force rapidly expanded its heavy bomber force in Britain. In September 1943, the wing was reorganized and redesignated the 2nd Air Division.
Unlike the other two 8th Air Force bomber divisions, which flew the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the 2nd Air Division was equipped primarily with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, leveraging the B-24's greater range, speed, and bomb load over the B-17's.
The 2nd Air Division was headquartered in Norfolk and Suffolk, where a network of American airfields housed its bomb groups. At its peak in 1944, the division controlled 14 heavy bombardment groups and 5 fighter groups. The first operational group was the 44th Bombardment Group, which arrived in late 1942.
The 2nd Air Division began combat operations in late 1942, striking targets in German-occupied Europe. Early missions focused on submarine bases along the French coast, shipyards, port facilities, aircraft factories, and a variety of industrial targets. These operations were part of the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive, which was focused on the destruction of German industrial capacity through daylight precision bombing.
As the 8th Air Force expanded in 1943, the 2nd Air Division became a major component of the strategic bombing effort. Its B-24 groups attacked targets deep inside Germany, including aircraft production facilities, ball-bearing factories, transportation networks and oil refineries. Before long-range fighter escorts became available, these missions were extremely dangerous. German interceptors from the Luftwaffe and heavy anti-aircraft fire inflicted heavy losses on bomber formations. The division suffered severe losses during missions such as the Second Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission attacks on German industrial centers in 1943-1944. Losses were sometimes 20-25% of attacking aircraft, far above sustainable levels. The situation improved in 1944 with the arrival of long-range escort fighters such as the North American P-51 Mustang and Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, which could accompany bombers all the way to German targets.
The 2nd Air Division played a significant role in several major WWII Campaigns. Big Week took place in February 1944, and the division participated in a concentrated series of attacks on German aircraft factories intended to cripple the Luftwaffe. During the spring of 1944, 2nd Air Division bombers engaged in the preparation for the D-Day Normandy landings by targeting rail lines, airfields, and coastal defenses in France. From late 1944 into 1945, the division supported Oil and Transportation campaigns by focusing heavily on destroying Germany's fuel production and transportation networks, attacks that severely weakened the German war economy.
By early 1945, German air defenses had weakened significantly. The 2nd Air Division continued bombing strategic targets until Germany surrendered in May 1945, marking the end of the war in Europe. After the end of the war in Europe, the division's units returned to the United States and were gradually inactivated as the wartime structure of the U.S. Army Air Forces was dismantled.
In Summary: A total of 95,948 sorties were flown in 429 operational missions by the division’s B-24’s, which dropped a total of 199,983 tons of bombs. Bomber crews accounted for 1,079 German aircraft destroyed in the air, and P47’s and P-51’s of the fighter wing destroyed another 3,670 enemy aircraft in the air and on the ground. A total of 1,458 bombers and 649 fighters were lost in operations against the enemy.