October 15, 1943
From the Texas State Historical Association
Texas native given command of both American air forces in England
On this day in 1943, Texas native Ira Eaker was promoted from commander of
the Eighth Air Force to assume command of both American air forces in
England, the Eighth and the Ninth. Eaker, an aviation pioneer, joined the
army in 1917 and transferred to the Army Air Corps in 1918. He was one of
ten pilots chosen to make the Pan American Goodwill Flight in 1926, and
pioneered in flight refueling in the inter-war years. During his World War
II service in England between 1942 and 1944, Eaker was instrumental in the
development and application of daylight precision bombing in the European
Theater. He went on to command the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces in
1944-45. He died in 1987.
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