Second Air Division

The 2nd AD was the 8th AF's B-24 component, consisting of 14 Consolidated Liberator Bomb Groups and associated Fighter Groups. Though the Liberator was viewed by some as inferior to the Boeing B-17, the B-24 units of the 2nd AD flew their share of hard missions and endured their portion of heavy losses. The 2nd AD story is told in this marvelous volume from Turner Publishing published in 1998. SECOND AIR DIVISION tops out at 464 pages, this second edition featuring 100 pages more than the original, 1994 release. The book opens with a short history of the 2nd AD and the 2nd AD Association, which wrote and compiled the book, followed by a brief history of the Liberator. The first major section of the book is a 42-page history of the Division's Bomb and Fighter Groups, arranged by the date each was assigned to 2nd AD. Among the Division's famous B-24 units were the "Flying Eightballs" (44th BG), "Traveling Circus" (93rd BG), the "Crusaders" of the 392nd BG, the "Rackheath Aggies" (467th BG), the "Ringmasters" of the 491st BG and the hard-luck 492nd BG out of North Pickenham. Each BG history consists of a two-six page account of the Group followed by individual reminscences from Group members.