Eight Bomber Command Essay

First of all, it was a common sight to see hefty bombers from both sides being flanked by their swift fighters for protection. However, at the beginning of the war, surprisingly, Great Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command believed that bombers would be well-armed enough to protect themselves without an escort through enemy skies. As the war dragged on, it eventually became clear that fighters were needed to assist the bombing runs. Secondly, unlike popular belief, aviation was most often used as aerial reconnaissance during the onset of the war. It was evident that the Germans saw aerial reconnaissance as an essential tactic for winning the war. By 1939, Germany’s Luftwaffe had created 23 reconnaissance squadrons, each with a photograph developing laboratory. (32) In addition, Germans “carried out at least 500 reconnaissance overflights in the 8 months before Hitler’s armies finally struck in the West in May 1940.” (Harwood, 38) Lastly, the German air force was backed with 860 Me 109's and 350 Me 110's for combat, whereas France’s I'Armée de I'Air had only 552 relatively modern fighters, and Great Britain’s Royal Air Force originally had roughly 48 outdated Gladiator biplanes and 168 Hurricane fighters. Despite having such a large number of aircraft, the Luftwaffe's planes were limited. The Me 109 had little endurance and would have to be fitted with an

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps. They were the first to shoot down a German ME-262 (the first jet fighter plane). They earned three Distinguished Unit Citations, 96 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Bronze Stars, 744 Air Medals, 8 Purple Hearts, and at least one Silver Star. They flew over 1500 combat missions and destroyed over 100 enemy aircraft in the air, and 150 enemy aircraft on the ground. They also destroyed 40 barges and boats, and incapacitated a German destroyer.

Britain’s air force was a vital part of their military and defence when Hitler attempted to gain air superiority over England through the German Luftwaffe which was led by Hermann Göering. The radar system used to detect aerial attack in Britain was flawed in the beginning of the war and there was a shortage of anti-air craft guns. Radar could not predict the size and height of incoming enemy bombers and lacked detail that was necessary and vital for effective defence preparations. At the start of the Blitz, there were only 92 anti-air craft guns to defend London and the guns were outdated with a terrible fire control system.

Many Airmen Served in battle but the most notable one was World War ll . They served from 1941-1952. The 332nd Fighter group and the 477th Bombardment Group served in the United States Army Air Forces. They flew over 1,500 missions, They had a good attitude of “We Fight”

During early parts of American entry into World War 2 various newspapers and civil rights were pushing for an all-African American squadron. Due to the pressure in 1941 the air force opened a new squadron in the Tuskegee Air Fields in Alabama which is how they got their name. After their training in Tuskegee they moved to Michigan to prepare more for the missions coming ahead. In 1943 the Tuskegee air squad was deployed in to Italy to run simple missions for the US. Most of

Davis, who was the commander of the 99th fighter group, would become the commander of the 332nd group (Haulman, Dale L. 2010). In 1944, the group went to Italy where the 99th squadron was, and they served under the fifteenth Air Force. According to Haulman, “[they were] given the primary mission of escorting heavy bombers such as Boeing B-17s and Consolidated B-24s to their targets in southern, central, and eastern Europe” (Haulman). Soon after spotting a warship on the Gulf of Venezia and Gulf of Trieste and shooting it down till it sunk, the next day the entire group received the p-51 Mustangs that were faster and had a longer range in combat (Haulman). With this new equipment, the Tuskegee Airmen was one of seven fighter groups selected to escort the heavy bombers of the Fifteenth Air Force (Haulman). The Tuskegee Airmen would rotate on escorting each bomber wing, their fighter planes had a distinctive red tail on it, to identify that they were American and what their main mission was (Haulman). During their time in the Fifteenth Air Force, Haulman reported they had encountered enemies 35 out of 311 missions that they completed for the Fifteenth Air Force, and seven out of 172 heavy bomber missions, had been shot down my enemy aircraft (Haulman). Even during World War II, Tuskegee Airmen shot down 112 enemy airplanes (Haulman), this is how well trained they fought together. According to Haulman “The 332d earned another Distinguished Unit Citation [on top of what the 99th group received beforehand] for the only Fifteenth Air Force mission to Berlin, the German capital. The raid took place on March 24, 1945. Three Tuskegee Airmen pilots each shot down a German Me-262 jet that day” (Haulman). Not only is this a big feat for them because the

The 99th was originally formed as the Army Air Force's first African American fighter squadron, then known the 99th Pursuit Squadron. The personnel received their initial flight training at Tuskegee, Alabama earning them the nickname Tuskegee Airmen. The squadron was originally tentatively scheduled to fly air defense over Liberia but was diverted to the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.

Watson Jr. author of many Air Force related literature General Doolittle changed the role of the fighter from escort to that of killer, although Allied losses at the beginning of this change in policy were high, they eventually lowered and the German Air Force was prevented from growing due to the relentless air attacks of the Air Force. According to Major James Carroll “Jimmy Doolittle increased the minimum tour from 25 combat missions to 30.”(Carroll 42). The Luftwaffe were not safe even on their fields due to the aggressive mentality of seeking out the enemy implemented by General Doolittle this led to the Allied powers having air superiority by D-Day. (Watson Jr. 15). General Doolittle’s innovated thinking led to the control of the air over the Germans. According to Lt. Col Benjamin W. Bishop another tactic that was implemented by General Doolittle was changing how the bombers flew their formations by having his pilots learn how to fly tighter formations. General Doolittle’s reasoning was backed up by data that was gathered he explained that most Luftwaffe kills against allied bombers occurred when the bombers straggled away from formation. (Bishop 62). General Doolittle was an innovated thinker that was always looking for a way to improve anything he was put in charge of and also tried to make his Air Force the most effective that he possibly

"World War 2 was a war fought in two distinct phases. The first was the last war of a new generation. The second was emphatically the first of a new era" . <br><br>"The British strategic bomber campaign was of doubtful cost effectiveness" . Bomber Command was by far the largest claimant on labour and factory space within the armed forces. Relative to their size they suffered more casualties than any other sector. <br><br>The Anglo-American bomber force was divided in terms of strategy. Bomber Command believed it was too risky to bomb by day, while the Americans believed it was too difficult to bomb by night. Initially both forces lacked accurate navigational equipment, which deterred them from precision bombing. <br><br>Germany developed a

The British pilots were blessed to have the Hurricane and Spitfire fighter aircraft. These were fast, highly maneuverable, small fighter planes that had a great deal of speed. They could fly faster than bombers, and were

On December 13, 1943 the 8th Air Force sent over 600 aircraft from bases in England to bomb the strategic targets in the German cities of Bremen and Kiel. Due to bad weather, poor visibility, and an error in navigation, a group of 78 bombers including the “Texas Longhorn” approached the city of Hamburg mistaking it for their assigned target of Kiel. The mistake was recognized and the group continued on to Hamburg to bomb targets of opportunity.

On July 7, 1944 the U.S. 8th Air Force conducted one of its largest bombing mission of the war. The 8th Air Force sent over 1100 bombers and 750 fighter escorts from bases in England to strike synthetic oil plants, aircraft factories, marshalling yards and other targets in Germany.

August 6 and 9 came around, and the bombs were dropped. Japan issued their surrender several days later. The bombings could be seen as an event that directly resulted in the end of the war, or merely accelerated it by as little as a few days. Numerous analyses by top United States Army officials say that Japan would have surrendered well before the end of the year even had the bomb not been used. One of these army officals, Major General Curtis Lemay of the air force, said that “the atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war.” He also said that the bombing was justified simply because it speeded up the Japanese surrender, and “probably saved a few lives.” While Lemay may be correct that the dropping of the bomb accelerated the Japanese surrender, it does not justify the killing of innocent civilians, especially if surrender was inevitable. Lemay believed that invasion was not necessary and that conventional bombing also could have ended the war. With that logic, the bombings didn’t save any lives only spent lives.

All of the airfields wee used by the UK royal air force and USA air forces. At Ibsley it was home to typhoons and spitfires, Beaulieu mainly hosted bomber and fighter planes and Stoney Cross dealt with aircraft carries and squadrons.

During the Battle of Britain, Germany wanted to achieve air superiority but ultimately failed to defeat the Royal Air Force (RAF). Hitler ordered the Lufwaffe to destroy the RAF in preparation for Operation Sealion which was Germany’s invasion plan for Britain. Although numerous factors contributed to Hitler’s decision to attack Britain, in keeping with his “one front at a time” war methodology, Hitler wanted to secure the Western Front prior to invading the Soviet Union. Initially, directed by Hermann Goering (commander-in-chief of the Lufwaffe) Germany targeted Britain’s coastal areas and convoys, airports, and vital British air warning and radar