This buildup of the 8th Air Force proved to be the instrument that supplied a major portion of the initial aircraft committed to Operation TORCH, the invasion of North Africa, thereby contributing heavily to the initial military operations of the Twelfth Air Force in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Through night and day bombing by the Royal Air Force and the 8th Air Force, Germany's ability to produce weapons of war, the fuels to run them and the training of men to operate them was ultimately destroyed. Rare color photos depict the rise of that thunderous force from a small cadre of talented men in the U.S.A. to a veritable avalanche of machines and fighting airmen operating from British bases. It is anticipated that the presentation of up to seventy-five original Kodachrome photographs, the major portion of which have not previously been seen in print anywhere, will be included. Bodie is the author of WWII War Eagles ISBN 0-9629359-2-1 and Pacific War Eagles ISBN 0-9629359-3-X