The Scouting Forces were several fighter flights formed by

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

with a mission to check for Anti-Aircraft (flak) sites; weather conditions, and for

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

interceptor airfields and units in advance of heavy bomber missions over Occupied Europe and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. These flights were created by Colonel Bud J. Peaslee, commander of the

384th Bombardment Group 384th may refer to: *384th Air Expeditionary Group, provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command *384th Air Expeditionary Wing, inactive unit of the United States Air Force * 384th Air Refueling Squadron (384 ARS) is ...

. Colonel Peaslee suggested this to General James Doolittle in 1944 as a way to gather real-time intelligence prior to bombing missions by Eighth Air Force. During their 6 months of existence, the Eighth Air Force Scouting Forces lost 24 pilots: 9 in training and 15 in combat.

1st Scouting Force

The 1st Scouting Force (experimental) (

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive tw ...

;

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

) was organized at RAF Honington, and activated on 19 September 1944. It was assigned as a flight, attached to the 67th Fighter Wing,

364th Fighter Group 364th may refer to: *364th Bombardment Squadron, inactive United States Air Force unit * 364th Fighter Group or 131st Bomb Wing, unit of the Missouri Air National Guard, stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base, Knob Noster, Missouri * 364th Fighter Sq ...

. The group maintained its logistics, and detached pilots on a 15-day rotational basis. The unit flew 107 missions before being attached to the

857th Bombardment Squadron The 857th Bombardment Squadron is one of the two predecessors of the 557th Tactical Air Support Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit, formed in 1985 by the consolidation of the 857th with another inactive bombardment squadron. It ...

at RAF Bassingbourn, and logged another 24 missions.

2d Scouting Force

The 2nd Scouting Force (

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

;

) was formed at RAF Steeple Morden, and activated on 26 September 1944. It was assigned as a flight, attached to the 65th Fighter Wing,

355th Fighter Group 355th may refer to: Aviation * 355th Fighter Squadron, an inactive United States Air Force unit * 355th Fighter Wing, a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command's Twelfth Air Force * 355th Tactical Airlift Squadron, a U.S. Ai ...

. The unit's pilots were assigned from several different fighter units, and successfully finished 136 missions, with the last mission being flown on 21 April 1945.

3d Scouting Force

The 3d Scouting Force (

;

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

) was formed at

RAF Wormingford Royal Air Force Station Wormingford (or RAF Wormingford) is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located northwest of Colchester, Essex, England. During World War I Wormingford was a landing ground designated for use by ...

, with the support of the 55th Fighter Group. Although originated as a flight of the 55th FG, the 3rd Scouting Force established itself as an independent entity. At the beginning, the pilots of the 55th FG were detached to fly the P-51D's as scouts, but quickly they were replaced by assigned personnel. The 3rd Scouting Force conducted the first of its 140 missions on 15 October 1944, and the last mission on 21 April 1945. The 3rd SF had the uniqueness of having some older B-17F's assigned for doing weather reconnaissance. Although the 3rd Scouting Force was not meant for combat, the unit downed 22 German fighters while defending bombers.

References

The Scouting Force @ littlefriends.co.uk
{{USAAF 8th Air Force UK Military units and formations established in 1944