The Eighth Air Force’s hard luck unit was filled with colorful personalities who made the unit one of the most storied of World War II.

Mark Stepelton flew in some of the most dangerous environments of the war by escorting bombing aircraft over occupied Europe and conducting air interdiction missions, striking enemy targets deep behind the lines. 

In the span of only a few days in October 1943, the US Army Air Forces was forced to reconsider its entire strategic bombing endeavor in the European theater.

German technology surpassed the Allies' with the production of radio-guided weapons that worked in a combat environment. As early as 1943, the Henschel (Hs) 293 and the Ruhrstahl X-1 (Fritz X) were the first guided bombs employed in combat. These weapons debuted around the time of the Allied assault on Salerno and were a new concern for fleet defense. 

Churchill’s famous quip about the Royal Air Force’s “few” was inspirational, but Fighter Command wasn’t so few and even had several advantages. 

The Eighth Air Force’s first penetrating strike into Nazi Germany was a bloody affair that provided lessons for both sides. 

Most people are aware that Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the plane that made the first atomic attacks. However, the B-29s delivering America’s first atomic weapons were far from ordinary.

While most people are familiar with the names of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” as the atomic weapons used over Japan, what they may not be familiar with was how different the respective technologies of each bomb were and why this difference mattered. 

The fire seemed to become a living entity, changing course at will, consuming everything in its path, and generating a heat that melted glass and cutlery and turned bricks to ash. For over four hours, Hamburg burned. 

Many of the tactics, techniques, and procedures used during the invasion of Sicily set a precedent for further development in Allied amphibious assaults in the European theater of operations.