High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The US Eighth Air Force in World War II, later designated the United States Strategic and Tactical Air Forces (USSTAF) was the first and became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces against the European Axis members (and as Eighth Air Force, responsible in and for the Northern Europe Theater) during World War II, where it`d started as a complementary command to that of the smaller theater organized Ninth Air Force, Twelfth Air Force and Fifteenth Air Forces. As the oldest command, initially beginning the earliest American operations in Europe as VIII Bomber Command, the Eighth had provided British liaison and strategic tasking guidance over each of those younger organizations throughout the war, whereas each had different command and control areas and responsibilities including those of the Mediterranean region air force operations.