National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

Pooler, GA

Museum

They Saved the World, We Save Their Stories

Located a short distance from Downtown Savannah, where the Eighth Air Force was activated in January 1942, the museum features over 90,000 square feet of exhibits, interactive experiences, artifacts and a collection of aviation art to engage you in the history of our nation’s most storied air force, the Mighty Eighth. Fly a mission, stroll the beautiful memorial garden, and walk beneath the wings of the museum’s restored B-17 Flying Fortress, City of Savannah.

Admission

$6 to $13, kids under 6 free

Grades

2nd–12th

Visit length

two hours

Weekly hours

Closed Monday

Groups

Field trip programs available

What to expect

As Europe faced the threat of Hitler and the Nazis—when much of the civilized world was at war—more than 350,000 Americans gathered on air bases across East Anglia, England. These heroic fighters—just teenagers and young adults—belonged to the Mighty Eighth Air Force. They came to join their English allies and take the fight to the skies.

Their story began in January 1942 on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in Savannah, Georgia. There, the United States Army Air Corps assigned seven men, without a single aircraft, to a newly formed Eighth Air Force.

Over the course of the war, the Eighth Air Force became the largest air armada in the world, capable of sending more than 2,000 heavy bombers and over 1,000 fighter planes on a single mission. In less than three years, the Eighth accomplished its two-fold mission: 1) destroy the German Luftwaffe; and 2) cripple Nazi Germany’s war making capabilities. By doing so, the Mighty Eighth gave the allies air supremacy, paved the way for the D-Day invasion, and contributed significantly to the liberation of occupied Europe. By May 1945, the Eighth had flown more than 600,000 sorties and dropped over 670,000 tons of bombs.