Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - The Rise of Precision Bombing

During World War II, the concept of precision bombing started to take hold among Allied forces. Up until that point, the tactic of area bombing had dominated - dropping bombs indiscriminately across a wide target area to cause maximum destruction. But this often resulted in extensive civilian casualties. Now, new technologies emerged that allowed bombers to strike specific enemy military and industrial targets with greater accuracy.

The roots of precision bombing date back to the 1920s and 1930s. Military theorists like Billy Mitchell argued that planes could destroy pinpoint targets, minimizing collateral damage. This thinking influenced airpower advocates like Haywood Hansell. As war loomed in the late 1930s, Hansell and others pressed for long-range, high-altitude bombers with sophisticated bombsights that could hit specific factories, railroads, and military installations.

When WWII erupted, the concept was put into action. The legendary Norden bombsight calculated altitude, speed, and wind drift to improve bombing precision. Four-engine heavy bombers like the B-17 Flying Fortress now had the range and payload to strike distant strategic targets deep inside enemy territory. Still, early efforts at precision daytime bombing in Europe led to costly losses. It wasn't until 1944 that new tactical innovations, better fighter escorts, and overwhelming Allied air superiority made precision bombing truly viable.

The rise of precision bombing transformed the very nature of warfare. Unlike in previous wars, entire industrial economies now became battleground targets. Strikes on key infrastructure could cripple manufacturing, transportation, oil production, and morale. Advocates argued precision bombing could win wars swiftly and decisively while minimizing civilian deaths. However, in practice, precision bombing often remained elusive. Flawed intelligence, primitive guidance systems, enemy defenses, and adverse weather hampered accuracy.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Curtis LeMay Takes Command

In 1942, the United States Army Air Forces appointed Brigadier General Curtis LeMay as commander of the 305th Bombardment Group. This B-17 Flying Fortress unit, operating out of bases in England, had struggled to achieve results. Their bombing missions over Occupied Europe suffered heavy losses while failing to deliver devastating blows. But the no-nonsense LeMay was determined to turn things around through rigorous discipline and innovative tactics.

LeMay whipped the 305th into shape with relentless training. Pilots were forced to practice tricky maneuvers like tight formations and evasive corkscrew dives until they could execute them flawlessly. LeMay scrutinized every aspect of mission planning, poring over reconnaissance photos to identify vulnerabilities in targets. His demanding nature earned him the nickname "Old Iron Pants", but it paid dividends. The revitalized 305th began hitting key German industrial sites with greater precision and acceptable casualties.

Still, LeMay found daylight bombing raids prohibitively costly. So he devised new strategies centered on nighttime strikes. Pathfinder planes guided the bombers to targets using radar and markers while enjoying the cloak of darkness. Bombers flew "on the deck" at 5,000 feet or less to evade radar detection. LeMay also introduced the combat box formation, with bombers arrayed to efficiently concentrate defensive firepower. Adopting these innovations, the 305th launched devastating night firebombing raids that crippled German industry.

In August 1944, Hap Arnold appointed LeMay commander of the new 20th Air Force operating the B-29 Superfortress. Arnold knew LeMay's tough leadership and tactical brilliance could maximize the B-29's capabilities. Now focused on Japan, LeMay continued to pioneer new techniques like radar bombing through cloud cover. His most controversial decision was launching low-level night firebombing raids on Japanese cities, resulting in massive destruction and casualties. While morally questionable, these ruthless measures hastened Japan's surrender.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - First Raid on Schweinfurt - Disaster Unfolds

In the summer of 1943, the American 8th Air Force set its sights on crippling the German industrial center of Schweinfurt. This city’s factories produced over half of Nazi Germany’s ball bearings, a crucial component used widely in planes, tanks and other armaments. Destroying Schweinfurt could potentially deal a massive blow to the Reich’s war machine.

After failed raids in August, General Ira Eaker planned another massive daylight bombing assault on Schweinfurt for October 14th. For the daring mission, he assembled a force of 291 B-17s. Each bomber groaned under the weight of extra fuel and bombs. Crews were on edge, knowing the heavily defended target meant a bloody fight ahead. But faith in the vaunted Norden bombsight and their Flying Fortresses gave them confidence they could pull it off.

Initially, things went smoothly as the bombers gained altitude over England. But as soon as they neared occupied Holland, swarms of Luftwaffe fighters pounced. Viciously accurate flak barrages exploded all around the formations. Bomber after bomber erupted in flames under the sustained enemy onslaught. “It was like flying through a meat grinder,” one surviving airman recalled. Disciplined bomber crews fought on, battling through hundreds of miles of unrelenting attacks.

Finally reaching Schweinfurt, the B-17s lined up over the factories and unleashed their payloads. But the Norden bombsight’s technology failed to live up to expectations. While the raid caused some damage, key factories escaped destruction. After making their bomb run, the beleaguered bombers now had to run the gauntlet again back to England. More B-17s succumbed to merciless fighter and AA fire. Out of 291 bombers dispatched, an appalling 77 were lost. Over 600 crewmen were killed, wounded, or captured.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Norden Bombsight - Not So Accurate After All

The legendary Norden bombsight was the targeting device used by American heavy bombers during World War II. Hailed as the defining technology that enabled precision bombing, the Norden bombsight aimed to allow bomber crews to drop payloads on specific enemy targets with uncanny accuracy. However, in actual combat conditions over Nazi-occupied Europe, the Norden bombsight failed to live up to its hype and revolutionary billing.

The Norden bombsight was invented in the 1920s by Carl Norden, a Dutch engineer who immigrated to the United States. The bombsight used an analog computer to continuously calculate the bomb's trajectory based on inputs like altitude, speed, and wind drift. This automated trajectory calculation was cutting-edge for its time and supposed to make precision bombing easy for crews under the stress of combat. After being fitted to the new B-17 Flying Fortresses, the Norden bombsight was shrouded in secrecy and hyped by the military as a war-winning technology.

During the early daylight bombing raids over Europe, however, the Norden bombsight simply could not deliver on its promise of pinpoint accuracy. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, primitive radar technology meant bomber formations often struggled to even locate the right targets. Even when they reached the target area, cloud cover or smoke from flak bursts obscured visibility, negating the bombsight's calculations. Enemy fighters and anti-aircraft fire also forces pilots into evasive maneuvers that threw off the steady bombing approach needed. Finally, simple mechanical failures sometimes rendered the bombsights useless in the minus 50 degrees Celsius temperatures at high altitude.

In practice, because of these challenges, bomber groups in Europe were delighted if they got bombs within 1000 feet of the intended target point. Which, of course, is nowhere near the surgical precision advertised. While the Norden bombsight represented nascent efforts at "smart" targeting, true precision bombing would have to wait for major technological leaps in radar, aviation, and computerized weapons systems still decades away.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Debating Daylight vs Night Bombing

The decision of whether to conduct bombing raids on Nazi Germany and Japan during daylight or under the cover of darkness was a pivotal and hotly debated issue among Allied war planners during World War II. This seemingly straightforward tactical choice carried immense implications in terms of bombing effectiveness, aircraft losses, civilian casualties, and morale. Understanding the complex factors in play provides insights into the evolution of Allied bombing strategy and doctrine.

During the early years of the air war over Europe from 1942 to 1943, the United States Army Air Forces staunchly advocated the merits of precision daylight bombing. Visionary airmen like Haywood Hansell believed strongly that the vaunted Norden bombsight allowed B-17 and B-24 bombers to strike military-industrial targets accurately and efficiently in daylight. They argued this was the most effective approach to cripple the Nazi war economy while minimizing indiscriminate civilian deaths. However, the bloody reality of early raids like Schweinfurt in 1943 challenged these notions. Daylight bombing proved far more costly in planes and crews lost than expected.

Still, some maintained fervent faith in daylight precision bombing. But the crushing losses suffered by bombers deep in enemy territory led other officers like Ira Eaker to favor night attacks. They contended darkness allowed bombers to better evade lethal enemy fighters and flak. Skeptics also increasingly questioned the actual accuracy of any high-altitude bombing. Nevertheless, advocates warned of indiscriminate “terror bombing” of civilians under the indifferent cloak of night. The passionate debate reflected the uncertain evolution of bombing doctrine.

By late 1943, improving British nighttime bombing offensive compelled the USAAF to cautiously experiment with night raids of industrial targets. Use of radar and other aids sought to enhance accuracy. While costly early missteps occurred, superior planes like the British Lancaster demonstrated nighttime bombing could be effective when properly executed. Still, American commanders resisted fully transitioning the 8th Air Force to night operations, keeping faith that technological improvements like the P-51 long-range fighter escort would reduce losses and validate daylight bombing.

In the Pacific, General Curtis LeMay had no qualms about unleashing devastating night firebombing raids that obliterated over 60 Japanese cities and killed 500,000 civilians. For LeMay, nighttime attacks maximized his B-29 bombers' effectiveness while minimizing their losses. This ruthless approach reflected the differing mindset and priorities in the Pacific air war compared to Europe.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Staggered Formations to Fend Off Fighters

As Allied bombers struggled to survive punishing Luftwaffe fighter attacks in 1943, American squadrons implemented the defensive combat box formation to minimize losses. This tight staggered array allowed bombers concentrated in the box to overlap their machine gun fire for maximum protection. While not a flawless solution, the combat box represented an innovative effort to leverage B-17 and B-24 strengths while mitigating vulnerabilities.

Initially, American bombers had favored flying in loose formations spread out across the sky. Airpower advocates assumed superior speed and armament would enable B-17 Flying Fortresses to fend off Nazi fighter attacks. However, devastating early missions like Schweinfurt revealed a lone B-17 stood little chance against determined Messerschmitt attackers sweeping in from all directions. Bomber losses mounted at an alarming, unsustainable rate.

With desperate urgency, American leaders explored tactical changes to enhance bomber defenses and survival. Tightening up bomber formations offered clear advantages. By clustering aircraft in interconnected ‘boxes’, individual B-17s and B-24s could combine their firepower into overlapping fields of suppressive defensive fire. Instead of facing attack from all angles, enemy fighters now had to brave a lethal web of machine guns as they closed in. This boosted defensive fire density while allowing gunners to support each other.

Of course, cramming dozens of bombers into a compact airspace created new issues. Careful timing and coordination were essential to avoid collisions or midair mishaps. Pilots now also had to maintain tight formation discipline through turbulent weather, flak bursts, and evasive maneuvers. Some airmen chafed at this restrictive approach. Nonetheless, operational testing in late 1943 confirmed that a well-executed combat box could slash bomber loss rates by providing mutual protection.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Bomber Losses Mount - Still No End in Sight

The staggering loss rates of Allied heavy bombers in 1943 posed a crisis threatening the entire daylight precision bombing campaign over Germany. Despite fielding increasingly elite crews flying in tight combat box formations, B-17 and B-24 groups enduring relentless Luftwaffe fighter ambushes and murderous flak found losses snowballing to unsustainable levels. With aircraft production struggling to replace bombers and crews faster than both were being annihilated, Allied leaders faced hard questions. Could daylight bombing be made viable? Or did the bloody arithmetic necessitate abandoning precision bombing or transitioning to the cover of darkness?

For the men actually flying the missions, each day brought danger, fear and grim mortality mathematics. “Losses were appalling – some days as high as 10 percent,” recalled pilot Andy Low. “We knew the odds were we wouldn't finish our tour of 25 missions before getting shot down.” Tail gunner Walter Fletcher described the empty bunks and mess seats after each mission, asking “Would I be next?” This atmosphere of doom weighed heavily even as crews maintained their focus on duty. “We couldn’t dwell on losses or it would paralyze us,” Low stressed.

As bomber loss rates exceeded replacement capacity in late 1943, even confident leaders like Ira Eaker grew increasingly perturbed. Meager results from costly raids like Schweinfurt sowed doubts. Chief statistician E.J. Williams’ cold calculations only confirmed the alarming trajectory: at present rates, the entire 8th Air Force heavy bomber force could be wiped out within months. Drastic changes were urgently needed.

Eaker and others pinned their hopes on technological improvements like drop tanks to extend P-47 fighter range for bomber escort. General James Doolittle also boosted bomber morale through leadership before taking over the 8th in early 1944. But the bloody arithmetic remained: losses had to drop dramatically for strategic daylight bombing to remain feasible.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - Birth of the P-51 Mustang Escort

The P-51 Mustang fighter plane emerged as the savior that allowed Allied bombers to survive endless Luftwaffe attacks in 1944. Without its introduction, the deadly arithmetic of bomber losses likely would have forced abandonment of daylight precision bombing over Germany.

In 1943, bomber crews felt like sitting ducks without fighter escorts that could shepherd them deep into enemy territory and back. Existing Allied fighters like the rugged P-47 simply lacked sufficient range at the time. Bombers penetrating the German heartland found themselves hideously exposed for hundreds of miles to swarms of Bf-109s and FW-190s. Losses piled up to nightmarish levels, even with tight bomber boxes and corkscrew evasive maneuvers. “We were being murdered,” recalled B-17 pilot Walter Fletcher. “Prayer was our only defense until help arrived."

That help came in the form of the North American P-51 Mustang. This sleek fighter boasted an innovative laminar flow wing design that bestowed unmatched long range. Mating it with the mighty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine optimized the P-51’s performance at high altitude. Now, the Allies finally had a fighter that could escort bombers more than 1000 miles into Germany and back. “When we saw those Mustangs join up, it was one of the best moments of my life,” said Andy Low, B-24 pilot.

The P-51s transformed the battlespace equation. Their six .50 caliber machine guns and dogfighting agility allowed them to tear into Luftwaffe attackers before they could get near the bombers. At first, German pilots underestimated the tenacious Mustangs due to their resemblance to earlier models. But they soon learned to avoid the "little friends" at all costs. "Wherever the Mustangs showed up, the Luftwaffe disappeared," noted Fletcher.

Flying Fortresses and Firebombs: Uncovering the Story of the ‘Bomber Mafia’ in World War II - B-29 Superfortress - A Game Changer

The advent of the B-29 Superfortress represented a quantum leap in Allied bombing capabilities that profoundly transformed the war against Japan. This revolutionary heavy bomber significantly outperformed all previous aircraft, combining immense range, payload, speed, and defensive firepower. These attributes allowed the B-29 to strike the Japanese homeland in a devastating bombing offensive that hastened the end of the war.

The B-29 was the most sophisticated aircraft yet designed, loaded with advanced features. Pressurized crew compartments allowed it to cruise above 30,000 feet, out of range of most AA fire. Remote-controlled defensive gun turrets provided state-of-the-art crew protection. Its advanced pressurized bomb bays enabled it to carry immense bomb loads over vast distances. With a combat radius of 1650 miles, the B-29 could reach any target in Japan from the Marianas Islands. This gave Allied commanders flexibility in choosing targets while remaining beyond the reach of enemy aircraft.

These capabilities transformed the bombing war against Japan once the B-29 entered service in mid-1944. After securing the Marianas as forward bomber bases, General Curtis LeMay unleashed massed formations of Superfortresses against the Japanese mainland. Incendiary raids immolated numerous cities and killed over 500,000 people while devastating industrial and military targets across the country. Unlike bomber operations in Europe, B-29 raids faced limited enemy opposition. Japan's overmatched air defenses had no viable means to intercept such high-flying bombers.

For bomber crews accustomed to vulnerable B-17s and B-24s, the B-29 felt like an invincible war machine. “After flying Forts, the Superfortress seemed futuristic, like it was from outer space,” recalled Gunner Tony Petrovich. The B-29’s technological superiority allowed LeMay to pioneers new tactics maximizing its potential. Pressurization issues were resolved, allowing routine operations above 30,000 feet. Sophisticated radar bombing enabled raids through cloud cover that confounded Japanese defenses. By 1945, the decimation wrought by swarms of B-29s targeting cities made the once formidable Japanese war machine grind to a halt.