[3] Formed in England in early 1944, the command was designed to provide air support to Army ground forces, primarily with Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and North American P-51 Mustang aircraft.

The Third Army's tank crews and their accompanying air liaison officers pointed out enemy concentrations, and divisional artillery at times gave further assistance by marking targets with smoke.

A typical close air support tactic involved one-hour shifts of four aircraft per flight, and four more on ground alert could be called in if necessary.

It resembled deep interdiction, for both types of missions made use of various aerial bombing techniques and normally attacked similar, prearranged targets.

Eighth Air Force responded between 11 August and 5 September with four missions in which 983 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortressess dropped 2520 tons of bombs.

Only in critical situations or when they had a numerical advantage did Jagdkorps II's Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s venture out and pose a threat.

During the early August Mortain counteroffensive, German fighters and some bombers did support the attack, but they were overwhelmed by the Allies' superior numbers, better aircraft, and experienced pilots.

During August and September, it was involved in seven different missions––close air support, battlefield and deep interdiction, dive bombing, counterair, aerial reconnaissance, and special operations.