This is the B-17 flying fortress. It was supposed to be a war winning weapon. But
by the end of 1943 the American 8th Air Force flying them was at breaking
point. German flak and fighters shot down B-17s in their hundreds, as US Strategic
bombing doctrine came face to face with the realities of aerial warfare. Something had
to change and change they did. Just one year later, the 8th Air Force were masters of the
air over Europe having dealt a killing blow the German Luftwaffe. So how did they do it?
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The popular belief in the US was that the war would be won by long-range heavy bomber
aircraft fighting a strategic bombing war. This doctrine was advocated by a group of
US Army officers known as the Bomber Mafia. They developed a strategy of high altitude,
daylight, precision bombing to target industrial and military targets deep within enemy territory.
The Eighth Air Force was activated in Savannah, Georgia, on 28 January 1942
with a dual purpose. The first aim was to destroy the German Luftwaffe to gain
air superiority over Europe. The second aim was to destroy Germany’s ability to
wage war by bombing key strategic targets. Achieving both would make a cross-Channel
invasion of Northern France possible. In overall command of the Eighth was General Carl Spaatz,
while Brigadier General Ira Eaker was given control of the VIII Bomber Command.
But even as the Eighth carried out its first combat raids in July 1942 the Allies were yet
to agree on a unified strategy. That was until the Casablanca Conference of January
1943. There the British and Americans decided on a Combined Bombing Offensive. Eighth Air
Force bombers would use precision bombing by day and the RAF would attack the same targets with
area bombing at night, in what was described as a ‘round the clock’ bombing offensive.
While the Eighth flew its first missions, the east of England was being transformed
into one gigantic aircraft carrier with the construction of 8th AF bomber and fighter
airfields. By the end of the war there would be approximately 100 8th AF bases in operation,
each one housing an average of 3,000 Americans. Much of this construction
work was undertaken by Aviation Engineering units made up of African American personnel,
using heavy machinery, like this US-bult Clarkair CA1 bulldozer. For the towns and
villages surrounding these new airfields, the sudden influx of Americans brought about huge
social and cultural changes. It was a period that would become known as ‘the Friendly Invasion’.
American leaders were excited to put their theory to the test. But their first year of bombing was
not a success. The attempt at precision not only had little effect of German industry,
but also made the B-17s easy targets for Luftwaffe fighters taking off from
nearby airfields. Allied fighter escorts, mainly P-47 Thunderbolts and Spitfires,
had limited range and could rarely accompany the bombers all the way to the target, leaving the
B-17s and B-24s to the mercy of the Luftwaffe who attacked them head on. The losses were horrendous.
The Eighth’s darkest days came in October 1943,
in what would come to be known as ‘Black Week’. Missions to Bremen, Anklam,
Munster and Schweinfurt decimated the three air divisions of the Eighth Air Force over the course
of a week. The 100th BG lost 12 out of 13 planes sent out to Munster on 10th October, while the
305th BG lost 13 B-17s on the Schweinfurt Raid on the 14th. Something had to change.
This would arguably be the turning point in the air war over Europe, but it came at a heavy cost
to the men and machines of the Eighth. During the course of the week, the Eighth Air Force had lost
148 bombers, nearly 13 percent of its attacking aircraft, and approximately 1,500 aircrew.
US airmen were required to fly 25 combat missions before they could return home. Most did not make
it that far. This jacket belonged to Robert Neil Roberts, he served with the 91st Bomb Group famous
for suffering the highest losses of any Eighth Air Force bomb group. Incredibly Roberts managed
to fly two full combat tours over Nazi occupied Europe. This jacket would have sufficed in summer,
but during the winter more protection was required against the elements as well as the
threat of enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire. Airmen contested with temperatures as low as -50°
Celsius. Frostbite was one of the most common injuries suffered by Eighth Air Force aircrew.
The 8th Air Force had to change strategy. Long range missions were suspended from
late Oct 1943 until February 1944, partly due to poor winter weather. There were some
things the US air forces could not change. They could not call off their campaign,
as air superiority had to be won to facilitate the ground invasion of Western Europe. Neither
could they join the RAF in nighttime bombing, as their aircraft had been designed and their
crews had been trained for the daytime flying. But in the hiatus, American leadership took stock
and began to adopt new tactics and technologies that would change the air war in Europe. First,
a new aircraft arrived which would help to change the fortunes of the 8th Air Force.
Above me is a North American P-51 Mustang – a game changer for the 8th Air Force. Mustang
ace Brig. Gen. Thomas “Tommy” Hayes said that the Merlin-powered P-51 “had the three qualities
you need most if you were going to escort bombers to Berlin – range, range and range.”
The first units of Mustangs began arriving in November 1943. Under their sleek exterior,
these Mustangs had a powerful Merlin engine, while under the wings they could carry huge drop tanks,
giving them the range to fly to Berlin and back on their own fuel. Thanks to the Mustang, the
bombers of the 8th air force could now fly deep into Germany with a fighter escort all the way.
The arrival of the Mustang coincided with a change in leadership. 8th Air Force commander
Ira Eaker was replaced by Jimmy Doolittle, the man famous for his raid on Tokyo. Eaker
had shackled what little escort fighters he had to the American bombers, providing close
support in formation. But Doolittle soon changed tactics. The Mustangs would now fly
far ahead of the bomber streams, given free rein to attack Luftwaffe aircraft and strafe
enemy positions on their way home. This change compounded already existing German problems.
German aircraft production had largely survived Allied bombing attempts thus far and, in fact,
was steadily increasing. But replacement pilots were harder to come by. Training
time was slashed for Luftwaffe pilots in an attempt to keep up with losses,
and a severe lack of fuel. In contrast, American pilots were being trained in greater numbers,
29,000 in 1944. They received around 3x the number of hours
of flight training compared to German pilots. Technologies like this Link Trainer allowed
trainee pilots to log extra hours while on the ground in a safe environment. This
is a British version, built under licence. Thanks to American improvements and German deficiencies,
new American pilots were of far higher quality than their German counterparts
Alongside a steady supply of pilots, American industry was producing aircraft
at a staggering rate. In Ford Motor Company’s giant Willow Run Factory,
B-24 Liberators like this one rolled off the production line every hour. By February
1944 these changes in leadership, tactics and technology were ready to be put to the test.
On the night of February 19th, the RAF began the Allies new bomber offensive - Operation
Argument or ‘Big Week’. The following day the 8th Air Force join the fight,
with the 15th Air Force based in Italy to raid 12 different targets with 1,000 bombers
and 700 escort fighters on the first day alone. In complete contrast to ‘black week’ the year before,
the Americans only lost 21 bombers and 4 fighters on that first day.
For the remaining 5 days, British and American bombers hammered aircraft,
engine, and ball-bearing plants. The impact of the bombing on German production was mixed and
the Eighth didn’t come out unscathed – 200 USAAF heavy bombers were lost,
with about 2,600 casualties. But in a span of a week, the Luftwaffe lost a third of its available
fighting aircraft. By April, the Luftwaffe had lost more than 1,000 fighter pilots,
many of them experienced aces. The Allies were becoming masters of the air and would
soon have the air superiority they needed to launch Operation Overlord.
Big week was just the beginning. Over the following months, Allied raids continued to
force the Luftwaffe into combat. Heavily armed German fighters like BF110s and FW
190As were cut down by more manoeuvrable American fighters before they ever reached
the bombers. Those Mustangs would then strafe enemy airfields and transport on their way home.
The losses were high on both sides, but the Allies could replace them. The Germans could
not. As the raids wore on and with air superiority almost achieved the Allies
could focus on tactical missions to support the upcoming Normandy landings which were
achieved in June 1944. The turnaround from the previous year was staggering.
The bold claims made by the bomber mafia before the Second World War never came to pass. Germany
was not defeated by air power alone. But although the impact on Germany’s economy is still debated,
the 8th Air Force undoubtably helped deal a killing blow to the Luftwaffe
from which it could never recover. That came at a cost. The Eighth suffered about half of
the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties, including 26,000 dead – more fatal
casualties than the entire US Marine Corps during the Second World war.
While the Eighth Air Force’s doctrine of strategic precision bombing was aimed at avoiding civilian
casualties, accuracy was low and collateral damage was inevitable. On many occasions,
the Eighth joined the RAF in area-bombing city targets, with devastating results.
This statue was pulled from the ruins of Dresden, where British and American
bombers dropped nearly 4,000 tons of bombs and incendiaries in 1945. The attack created
a firestorm that destroyed the city and killed up to 25,000 people. Over half a
million German civilians were killed as a result of Allied bombing during the Second World War.
The 8th Air Force campaign is still considered controversial. Some argue that the myth that
the war in Europe could be won by airpower alone led to needless military and civilian
losses. But while the Eighth Air Force was unable to deal a decisive blow to Germany,
its relentless bombing campaign allowed the US to take the fight to Hitler long before
American boots landed on continental Europe. The ‘Mighty Eighth’, as it became known, has
gone down in history as the largest bomber armada ever to take to the skies. But it is the stories
of the thousands of men and women involved in its operation that has left the most enduring legacy.