They include a parade of Afro-American servicemen in Stowmarket, Suffolk.
Eighth in the East has been given Â£500,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund to document the history of 70 sites.
David Cain, project manager, said: "The images are important as they show what we have lost and what replaced these people and buildings in our landscape."
Some of the airfields have become airports such as Norwich, some have new commercial uses, while others have become fields again.
The public is being asked to contribute any historic photographs they have and to go out and take photos of the sites as they are now.
Eighth in the East said the images will contribute to its ongoing educational programme and a touring exhibition due to get begin later this year and into 2016.
The Now and Then project organisers said they were particularly keen to receive old and current photos of airfields in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
Previously unseen photographs of East Anglian airfields when they were used by US forces in World War Two have been unearthed.