Over the course of WWII the 8th Air Force became the largest air armada in the world capable of sending more the 2,000 heavy bombers and over 1,000 fighter planes on a single mission. By May, 1945 The 8th had flown more then 600,000 missions and dropped over 670,000 tons of bombs. The cost of defeating the Nazi scourge was staggering: 26,000 Eighth AF airmen were killed another 28,000 became prisoners of war. The 8th Air Force lost over 5,100 aircraft in WWII including 4,100 heavy bombers.
