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Army Air Corps
Air Corps Gear
P.A.Q.

Strictly speaking, the U.S. Army Air Corps was re-designated as the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1941. For perhaps traditional reasons or perhaps to distance it from the separated Air Force service stemming from 1947, the U.S. Army Air Forces of WWII are still often and affectionately referred to as the Army Air Corps.

During World War II the U.S. Army Air Forces was organized into several separate numbered Air Forces each assigned to a theater of operation. The First through Fourth Air Forces were located in the continental USA, while the Fifth through Fifteenth and the Twentieth were based around the world.

Arguably, the most famous of the Air Forces was the Eighth Air Force which operated from England as a strategic bombing force over Europe. The Eighth Air Force consisted of three divisions of bomber groups. The First and Third Divisions were equipped with B-17 Flying Fortress aircraft, while the Second Division was equipped with B-24 Liberator aircraft.

I am a B-17 enthusiast. The Flying Fortress is one of the best known planes ever to fly. Its destructive legacy, however, is in stark contrast to its alluring beauty and graceful curves.

There are a great number of Web sites devoted to topics relevant to the U.S. Army Air Corps. To explore some of these, just follow the links.

Army Air Corps Gear

Updated: 28 May 2000.

Above are the Collings Foundation's B-17 "Nine 0 Nine" and B-24 "All American." That's me posed along side each.
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Take a ride in "Nine 0 Nine"

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Left to right: airborne, historic Moffett Field (CA) from above the radio compartment, looking aft from the radio compartment.

Left to right: from the left waist, from the top turret, the bombardier's view in the nose.