Resources

Welcome to the 482nd.org Resource section. This page was designed to provide visitors to the 482nd.org website with additional information on the 482nd Bomb Group, 482nd Personnel, the 8th Army Air Force, WWII, Radar, WWII Aircraft, Aviation history, the US Air Force or sources for research. In addition we have placed scans of newspaper articles from WWII, articles and links to informative sites. The staff of the 482nd.org recommends the listed sites as sources of information. We would like to thank FNP Military Press for sponsoring our site. The staff of the 482nd.org recommends you consider membership in both the 8th Air Force Historical Society and the Mighty 8th Heritage Museum. Both these organizations are dedicated to preserving the history of the greatest Air Force ever assembled... "The Mighty 8th"... "Lest we never forget". If you have information or a web link relevant to the 482nd BG or the 8th Air Force that you would like us to consider adding here please contact our site administrator at info@482nd.org.

Pathfinders and Night Missions

In November 1943 after our first seven missions with the 95th Bomb Group, which included four raids during the notorius "Black Week" of mid-October 1943, my crew and I were sent to the 482nd Bomb Group at Alconbury to train on the Pathfinder blind-bombing technique being developed at that time, using the British "Oboe" and "Stinky" radar equipment.   Read More...

An Interview with Joseph O’Neil - by Stephen J. O’Neil (11/29/89)

John O’Neil dutifully served his country. At the age of eighteen, on July 3, 1941, Joe (as he was referred to in his family) established in the United States Army. At that time, all able-bodied young men owed a year of service in the armed forces; Joe enlisted to complete his duty ahead of schedule. During his first six months, however, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and the United States officially entered the war. His assignment was no longer for one year; Joe was now a valued soldier in the war for the duration.   Read More...

How "Mickey Mouse" Helped the Mighty Eighth Reach and Hit its Targets

This is the story of the man who brought "Mickey Mouse" to the Air War in Europe for the U.S. Army Eight Air Force. This wasn't the Mickey Mouse of Walt Disney Studios. This was the "Mickey Mouse" developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radiation Laboratory. This was the "TOP SECRET" U.S. project that involved American's first deployment of aircraft equipped with Air to Ground Radar. One of the greatest claims of the Eight Air Force is that neither enemy fighters nor enemy flak ever turned back a single mission. The same couldn't be said of European weather. Many missions were scrubbed, aborted or recalled because of the poor weather conditions to or over to target area. "Mickey Mouse" was about to change that.   Read More...

8th Army Air Force News & Resources