Yorktown Volunteer Trip to 8th AF Base, Savanah (Pooler), GA

The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air is located in Pooler, Georgia, near Savannah.  It is dedicated to the history of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps that served in the European Theatre from England during World War II.  Among the many World War II exhibits are aircraft including a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber a model of a Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter, and a 3/4-scale model of a P-51 Mustang fighter. Aircraft on display outside include the B-47 Stratojet, MiG-17, and F-4 Phantom II from the post-WW II Cold War era.The Mighty Eighth Air Force opened their own museum on May 15, 1996. 

Volunteer group photo with our tour guide Paul Grassey, aged 94, who was a B-24 pilot during WW II with the Mighty Eighth Air Force.  Grassey has served as a volunteer for 18 years and is now a board trustee. You Tube of Grassey at the museum can be seen at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iYbIS2gmo.  He also published a book "It's Character  That Counts"  about his experiences during WW II.  

General James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle (1896-1993) was a pioneering pilot, aeronautical engineer, combat leader and military strategist whose career stretched from World War I to the  Cold War. He is most famous for leading a daring bombing raid over Tokyo in 1942, the first American attack on the Japanese mainland. Doolittle’s 16 planes dropped their bombs and then, lacking fuel to return to their carrier, flew on to crash-land in China and the Soviet Union.

Jimmy Stewart (1908-1997).  Having learned to fly in 1935, he was drafted into the United States Army in 1940 as a private (after twice failing the medical for being underweight). During the course of World War II he rose to the rank of colonel, first as an instructor at home in the United States, and later on combat missions in Europe. He remained involved with the United States Air Force Reserve after the war and retired in 1959 as a brigadier general.

The Boeing B-17, nicknamed the “Flying Fortress”, was a long range heavy bomber that was given the task of destroying enemy war facilities through precision strategic bombardment.

Tail Gun on the B-17.  The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun emplacement in the tail end of the aircraft with an unobstructed view toward the rear of the aircraft.

The "tora" of the title is the two-syllable Japanese codeword used to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved. It is a coincidence that "tora" means "tiger" in Japanese. “Tora! Tora! Tora!” is a 1970 Japanese-American war film that dramatizes the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku and stars Martin Balsam, Joseph Cotten, Sō Yamamura, E. G. Marshall, James Whitmore, and Jason Robards. 

 The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission.  The definitive version, the P-51D, was powered by Rolls-Royce Merlin 66 two-stage two-speed supercharged engine and was armed with six .50 caliber Browning machine guns.  From late 1943 Mustangs were used by the USAAF's Eighth Air Force to escort bombers in raids over Germany, while the RAF's Second Tactical Air Force and the USAAF's Ninth Air Force used the Mustangs as fighter-bombers, which helped ensure Allied air superiority in 1944.  The P-51 was also used by Allied air forces in the North African, Mediterranean, Italian and Pacific theaters. During World War II, Mustang pilots claimed to have destroyed 4,950 enemy aircraft. At the start of the Korean War, the Mustang was the main fighter-bomber. 

The Boeing Stearman designated by the Army as the PT-17, was used as the primary trainer for  60,000 pilots in all branches of the U.S. military services during the war.  

The Douglas SBD Dauntless was a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD ("Scout Bomber Douglas") was the United States Navy's main carrier-borne scout plane and dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The type earned its nickname "Slow But Deadly" (with the SBD initials) during this period.

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter was a military strategic airlifter in service with the United States Air Force Military Airlift Command.  The strategic role demanded that the aircraft be capable of missions with a radius of at least 3,500 nautical miles (4,000 miles) with a 60,000 pound load. The tactical role required it to be able to perform low-altitude air drops of supplies, and carry and drop paratroops in combat.  The aircraft remained in service for almost 40 years until the USAF withdrew the C-141 from service on May 5, 2006, replacing the aircraft with the C-17. 

The B-25 became the most widely used medium bomber of WWII because of its adaptability and durability.  It flew a great variety of missions in all climates against all enemies and is one of the most widely recognized bombers of that era.  It flew the first high profile mission of the war, Jimmy Doolittle's daring daylight raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942.    The B-25 was in service for the entire war and served in all theaters of the War.   The movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" starring Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson, Robert Walker and Robert Mitchum recreates the bombing runs and subsequent forced landings in China  

Airman Down exhibit by walking under an unfurled parachute representing the airmen who bailed out over enemy territory. This exhibit includes a recreated “safe house” and a POW camp which houses artifacts donated by former POWS.