Birthplace of Eighth Air Force

Birthplace of Eighth Air Force is a Georgia historical marker in Chatham County, dedicated 1966.

At Old Chatham Armory, on Bull Street in Savannah.

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

On 28 January 1942, the Eighth Air Force was activated in the adjacent building, a National Guard Armory at the time. Having moved to England, the Eighth was ready on 17 August to test the theory that daylight bombing raids could be made with profitable results. Twelve B-17's participated in this mission, striking the railway marshalling yards at Rouen, France, and returning 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. Under the leaderships of Generals Carl A. Spaatz, Ira C. Eaker and James H. Doolittle, it flew over 600,000 sorties delivering over 700,000 tons of bombs and destroying over 15,000 German aircraft. On one single mission, December 24, 1944, it was able to send 2,000 B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators and nearly 1,000 fighters in the Battle of Germany. The renowned winged-eight, the emblem of the Eighth Air Force, was designed by former Air Force Major Ed Winter, a native of Savannah.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Historical maps covering this location

1874 · Plache VII. Sea Islands. (Carolina du Sud). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1942 · Savannah, South Carolina (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1955 · Savannah, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)
1955 · Sanborn Fire Insurance Map — Savannah, Ga. (1955) (OldInsuranceMaps.net — Sanborn Map Collection)
1978 · Savannah, Georgia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Savannah, South Carolina, 1942, covering the location of Birthplace of Eighth Air Force, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Savannah, South Carolina, 1942, covering this location. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This historical marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program and was erected by the Georgia Historical Commission. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Nina Anderson Papeunder 1 mi
Lawton Memorial: St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Churchunder 1 mi
Saint Phillips Monumental A.M.E. Churchunder 1 mi
Forsyth Parkunder 1 mi

On the National Register nearby

Savannah Victorian Historic District280 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.