Chapter 31: Aug 1942 First Massive American Air Attack on Germany

“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.”

― J. Robert Oppenheimer

It seems sort of strange looking back on the unfolding events of the war in Europe to discover that it took almost a full year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in far-away Hawaii for the United States to mount their first aerial assault on Germany. Some of this delay was due to basic logistics because American aircraft had been sent to Britain ever since 1939 in an unofficial capacity and American pilots had been manning fighter planes and bombers via the Canadian route during that three year gap. It was the anti-war elements of the government and the general public that prevented FDR from jumping into the European war even though he was urged to make that move ever since the Blitz started and his personal inclinations were never secret.

My earliest memories of our American military departments tends to put the Air Force as the component that was tasked with maintaining superiority of air power over the enemy and bombing their civilian industrial base to prevent expansion of their war effort. Unfortunately, such was not the case in July, 1942. In fact, the air component was under control of the Department of the Army and it was titled the United States Army Air Force. That is the way it had been in existence since World War One and there was not much of a push to create a new military service when there was a war to be fought.

In the course of events, it was the Army Air Force (AAF) that flew into battle over the skies of Europe in July, 1942 to attack a series of Luftwaffe airfields in exposed positions near the English Channel. It would turn out that the AAF bombing campaign in Europe would be subject to significant losses but the organization and planning would result in ultimate success.

The American vision was slanted more toward a strategic bombing mission to cripple the enemy’s ability to continue a long and demanding war. The American aircraft were specifically built for long-range, high altitude bombing missions with advanced navigating and accurate bomb sights to find the target. Their ability to fly high made them a much more difficult target for enemy fighter aircraft and they would be able to avoid antiaircraft fire.

Two of the most effective American bombers were the superior design of the B-17 and the B-24. The B-17 had a range of close to 900 miles and the B-24 was able to fly and return from a distance of 1200 miles.

These innovative bombers were also equipped with the newly invented Norden M series bombsight devices that were able to hit the target from extreme altitudes.

Military attaches in Britain familiar with the need for long range bombing observed the Battle of Britain and they recommended adding machine gun turrets to the bombers as a defensive tool.

Without much fanfare, the training of pilots in the United States expanded from only 300 a year in 1939 to over 30,000 a year in 1940. It was obvious that America was already planning to fight a long war and a war that would depend heavily of air superiority to win most battles and campaigns to recover lost territory already taken by Hitler and his Nazi cronies.

The American Army Air Force observers in London discovered that the British Night bombing operations were not large enough to do serious damage to the fatherland whilst their concept and desired outcome was similar to the thinking of the Pentagon war planners back home. On the other hand the Luftwaffe operations were much larger and did serious damage to the British infrastructure. Despite that fact, the German bombing was unable to gain strategic success because their daytime bombing was uncoordinated and they lacked the fighter support that would give them the freedom of movement over British territory. This shortfall convinced them that the American bombers would need adequate fighter support to protect them over the target and on the long journey back to their home base.

There were some difficulties in long-range bombing missions because the bombers were able to go much further distances than the fighter aircraft and often they would have to return before they hit the point of no return in regard to fuel consumption. In those days there was no such thing as re-fueling in the air although the concept had been studied by contracted think tanks that saw it as a remedy for the disparity in range between the bombers and the fighter aircraft.

To a large extent, the American Army Air Force utilized the munitions produced right there in Britain. In addition, the danger laden ammunition ships docked daily in British ports and the bombs were stockpiled in underground bunkers because of the Blitz that continued to plague the civilian populace. The sailors on those ships lived the entire journey at irritatingly slow speeds knowing that the German U-boats valued sinking one off the ammunition ships above all else. A few of them went up like Roman candles almost in sight of the lone remaining obstacle to the domination of the Third Reich in Europe.

THE BOEING B – 17 FLYING FORTRESS

This four-engine heavy bomber was developed for the United States Army Air Corps in the late 1930s.

It was the workhorse of the American bombing campaign over Germany and all occupied Nazi territory. It was one of the most produced bombers of all time just behind the famous four-engine B – 24.

It was used by the USAAF in a daylight mode during the Second World War in Europe mostly against railheads, military targets and the German industrial base. It was primarily used by the American Army Eighth Air Force based in rural areas across Britain to supplement the Royal Air Force’s efforts at nighttime bombing on a continuous basis for the entire span of the Second World War.

The B – 17 helped to maintain air superiority over Germany for the duration of the war.

It is estimated that roughly one half of the total bombs dropped on Germany came from the B – 17 and it was easily the most dependable bomber of the war.

During the period of 1939 – 1945, Boeing Aircraft produced over twelve thousands of these bombers for the USAAF and they were described as the toughest and most dependable of the American bomber arsenal.