Seeking statistics of Eighth Air Force during WWII

Dear Val Burgess,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Performance and Statistics Charts, 1943-1945 for the Eighth Air Force in the Records of the Army Air Forces (Record Group 18) that may contain some relevant information. We also located the series World War II Statistical Summaries, 1942-1945 in Record Group 18, and the series World War II Combat Operations Reports, 1941-1946 in Record Group 18 contains some statistical summaries and includes numerous files related to the 8th Air Force that may be useful. We located the series Narrative and Statistical Operational Reports of U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe, 1942-1945 in the Records of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey (Record Group 243) that includes information related to the 8th Air Force during World War II as well. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) at archives2reference@nara.gov for access to these and similar records.

RDT2 has custody of microfilm copies of operational records relating to the U.S. Army Air Force, too. We searched the Air Force History Index to the microfilm and located 8th Air Force escape & evasion records on Reel B5062. Please contact the RDT2 for assistance with these records.

Due to the continued impact of COVID-19, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2.  We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.

For information regarding prisoners of war and U.S. servicemen missing during WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, and other conflicts, we suggest you contact the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Public Affairs Office, 2300 Defense Pentagon, ATTN: External Affairs, Washington DC 20301-2300.

Finally, the US Army Center of Military History has some information on their website about the Army Air Force AND statistics and about the Eighth Air Force AND statistics. Plus, the website for the Eighth Air Force provides an Eighth Air Force History that may be of interest to you. We suggest that you contact these organizations directly for assistance.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!