National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

SMS Spotlight: National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

Join us for Super Museum Sunday on February 7, 2016, featuring free admission to many museums and other cultural sites throughout Georgia!

Located only minutes from downtown Savannah, the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force preserves the history and stories of the Eighth Air Force.

Founded at Hunter Field in Savannah on January 28, 1942 as the Eighth bomber command and later redesignated as The Eighth Air Force, the Mighty Eighth as it would come to be known, was one of the most impressive air armadas ever seen by the world and helped bring an end to Hitler’s reign over Europe during World War II.

Stationed in England during the war, the Eighth Air Force was the first to test the effectiveness of daytime bombing raids and did so using twelve B-17’s to strike the railway marshalling yards at Rouen, France, and return safely to their home base. This highly successful mission established the pattern for the strategic bombardment of Nazi Germany — the Eighth Air Force by day and the RAF by night.

Visitors can experience the unforgettable stories of bravery, experience a bomber mission and briefing, and see the fully restored World War II B-17 Flying Fortress “City of Savannah” inside the museum’s Combat Gallery. Outside the museum the Memorial Gardens and Chapel of the Fallen Eagles offer visitors a quiet place of reflection. All this and more, FREE of when you visit Sunday, February 7 as part of the Georgia History Festival’s Super Museum Sunday (SMS).


Above photo: Courtesy of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force