United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe 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 the Eighth Air Force , responsible in and for the Northern Europe Theater ) during World War II , where it had started as a complementary command to that of the smaller theater organized Ninth Air Force , Twelfth Air Force , and Fifteenth Air Force s . 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 . With the in - depth Allied contacts and overall responsibility directly affecting the strategic bombing of industrial regions of Germany the Eighth ' s planning and intelligence staffs were the natural best choice to assert overall coordinated control with the D - Day pre - invasion needs of the Allies , under General Dwight D . Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander . Subsequently , the strategic bombing effort ' s intelligence , targeting and planning , co - ordination , including mission designation command and control were separated — not without controversy and opposition — from actual operations commands in direct control of air forces on 23 February 1944 . The new command was organized on the large nucleus of Eighth Air Force planning staff members , thereby creating the USSTAF — at which time the USSTAF was also given mission planning control over other US Air Forces opposing Germany and Italy , and shrinking the man - power assigned to the Eighth Air Force in WWII . The USSTAF was established with the redesignation of the former VIII Bomber Command as the Eighth Air Force on 22 February 1944 . The strategic planning command staff of what had formerly been the Eight AF became a higher echelon command coordinating with the British in the target prioritization of the strategic bombing of the Axis . In this expanded role , USSTAF exercised operational control of the reorganized Eighth Air Force , the Ninth Air Force in the European Theater of Operations , and to an extent , the operations of Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Force s in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations — all of which had theretofore exercised their own strategic planning . USSTAF was the functional equivalent in Europe of U . S . Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific . Formation of USAFE . Shortly after VE - Day , the United States Army and Army Air Forces began to demobilze in Europe . In May 1945 , USSTAF consisted of about 17 , 000 aircraft and about 500 , 000 personnel . In Europe the aim was to maintain a small USAAF organization , exclusively for communication and transport purposes . On 7 August 1945 , the United States Strategic and Tactical Air Forces ( USSTAF ) was redesignated as the United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE ) and headquarters USAFE was relocated to Wiesbaden , Germany , on 28 September 1945 . USAFE was planned to be a small organization in Europe , exclusively for communication and transport purposes . By the end of 1946 , the American Air Force in Europe was reduced drastically , to around 75 , 000 personnel and less than 2 , 000 aircraft .