2d_Scouting_Force
Eighth Air Force Scouting Forces
Military unit
The Scouting Forces were several fighter flights formed by Eighth Air Force during World War II with a mission to check for Anti-Aircraft (flak) sites; weather conditions, and for Luftwaffe interceptor airfields and units in advance of heavy bomber missions over Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany.
These flights were created by Colonel Bud J. Peaslee, commander of the 384th Bombardment Group. 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.