m a r k e r i c k s o n p a i n t i n g s Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson Air Corps 1942 - 1945
Click to view Lt. Ernest Anders Erickson's complete thirty five mission list and twelve B-17 Flying Fortresses flown between March 27th thru August 26th, 1944 out of Horham Airfield, England.
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A beautiful portrait of the one of the fathers of the 8th Air Forces, Brigadier General Ira Eaker with much recognition to General William 'Billy' Mitchell for his massive contributions. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and organize its bomber command. He was named commander of the Eighth Air Force on December 1st, 1942. Even with Eaker's background in single-engine fighter aircraft, Eaker became the architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty bomb groups of 60 heavy bombers each. They were supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1,500 aircraft, most of which was in place by the time he relinquished command at the start of 1944. General Eaker then took overall command of four Allied air forces based in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, and by the end of the war had been named Deputy Commander of the Army Air Forces.
After the war and after retiring from the Air Force, Ira Eaker worked in the aerospace industry,
then became a newspaper columnist. |
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