Welcome to EADS – the Eighth Air Force Data Spreadsheet. This site aims to provide high quality, reliable and accurate information on the USAAF’s Eighth Air Force heavy bomber operations over Europe in WWII. It is based on research from primary sources, supplemented with additional information from secondary sources. With an accurate go-to source in a format that provides simple analytical capability, it becomes easy to provide data-driven answers to questions about the Eighth’s operations.
I also wanted to give a comprehensive and accessible document that rectifies some of the errors and omissions prevalent in other sources. One key component was identifying where each Bomb Group was sent (i.e. the intended target). This is missing in many records that only state the actual target bombed, which creates a false narrative. Other sources only have one aspect of the Eighth’s operations (for example, losses, or tons dropped on the target); the EADS data set draws these together in a multi-parameter format that allows a full picture to be seen.
At the outset, I was curious about some issues. What were the relative reliabilities of the B-17 and B-24, and how did unit reliability change with time? As bombing of V-Weapon sites was countered with increased Flak, did this result in more losses and/or decreased bombing accuracy? If a primary target was not attacked on a particular mission, how soon was it rescheduled for another attack, and was it by the same Bomb Groups? I am sure you have plenty more! When I looked for source to answer these queries none existed. So I created it. Little did I know that it would take 10 years to get to this point!
I hope you find it informative. Please look at the current status information for the latest improvement work in hand. If you have any comments and data to help improve it, please contact me. I know we will do lots of tweaks, but if this was never started then we would never finish.