EDITOR’S NOTE: Winfred, his crew, and the entire 453rd Bomb Group are now on their way to the E. T. O. ( European Theater of Operations). While there is a pause in the letters, three informational articles will be provided.
ARTICLE 3 – How the U.S. Air Forces were Organized.
For those without a military background, it may be difficult to understand often used terms such as bomb squadron, bomb group, bomb wing, air division, etc. Below is a diagram and explanation of the organizational levels of the 8th Army Air Force. A link is provided to a video ‘US WWII Aircraft Markings – What Do They Mean? (Eighth Air Force)’ which explains the organizational levels and how individual aircraft could be identified by their markings. Imagine how hard it must have been to know ‘who was who’ with hundreds of planes in the air at the same time.