Best Bomber of WW2 (continued)

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but different stratagies for the most part...........

America still carpet bombed though...........
 
the lancaster kicks ass said:
but different stratagies for the most part...........

America still carpet bombed though...........

Yes, espeically against Japan. Against Germany it was either done as part of dumping bombs when the target point could not be seen, or at British request.

The British actually wanted the USAAF to night bomb with them, in 1943 Bomber Command believed the German people could be broken in 6 months if the USAAF would do so.

=S=

Lunatic
 
There's been a lot of talk of terror bombing mass civilian targeting etc etc I think you,ll find that London was the first target picked for long term mass civilian demoralization raids, the aim being to turn London into a pile of rubble, although it now seems that the old excuse of it was a strategic important target rears its head from ex axis sources as a reason to request an apology for Dresden etc. Sorry but this gaul's me it was total and I mean total war its really easy to sit back and analise the rights and wrongs of the raids sixty years on, hind sight is a wonderful thing but I believe if any of us had been stuck in the blitz or on convoy duties or in the Pacific, island hopping from one slaughter to another the thought of laying waste the enemies home land in revenge would seem like a great idea. (and that includes pushing the atomic button)
There I feel much better for that ;)

Carry on the discussion lads Im off for a cup of tea
 
I have no problem with having "terror bombed" the Germans or the Japanese. Both were evil empires who deserved worse than they got.

=S=

Lunatic
 
Is that why they persecuted their own Jewish,mentally ill, homosexual,ect,ect population to get back at the Evil Allies.
I agree with RG if any war can be called just WW2 was about as close as can be measured.
Oh by the way Lanc bought a double DVD called RAF at war yesterday
great footage of the Tirpitz getting the chop and the submarine pens at Brest having a dose of tallboys as well 2 right through the roof.
 
Tracked I agree that the war was total and that if you talk with those who did serve most will agree thatin the war all was fair. But after that some made up and old fows were friends. ;)

But I do not think he area or fire bombing of Germany or Britten was very effective. Japan on the otherhand was! :(
 
Yes it did, but it could not slow production. Quality was hurt, and tranportation crippled. But the plans and tanks still were built in caves and underground, they just could not get to the fight.;)
 
original poster, T. Williams

Professor Richard Overy is one of the foremost historians of WW2 and this was the full conclusion of a lecture about the Allied bombing campaign he gave recently:

"Bombing: The Balance Sheet

The effects of the bombing campaign went far beyond the mere physical destruction of factories and dwelling-houses, although these effects should not be underestimated in a complex and technically sophisticated industrial economy stretched taut by the demands of war. The bombing produced serious social dislocation and a high cost in terms of man-hours (or woman-hours in many cases). Evacuation, rehabilitation and welfare provision were carried out on the largest scale in an economy struggling with serious manpower losses and cuts in civilian production. Bombing also encouraged a strategic response from Hitler which placed a further strain on the war economy by diverting vast resources to projects of little advantage to the German war effort.

The net effect of the many ways in which bombing directly or indirectly impeded economic mobilisation cannot be calculated precisely. But in the absence of physical destruction and dislocation, vvithout expensive programmes for secret weapons and underground production and without the diversion of four-fifths of the fighter force, one-third of all guns and one-fifth of all ammunition to the anti-bombing war the German armed forces could have been supplied with at least 50% more equipment in the last two years of war, perhaps much more. In an environment entirely free of bomb attack the German authorities and German industrial managers would have had the opportunity to exploit Germany's resource-rich empire in Europe to the full. In 1942 the air force had begun to plan the production of 7000 aircraft a month, yet at the peak in 1944 a little over 3000 were produced, of which one-quarter were destroyed before even reaching the front-line.

Bombing took the strategic initiative away from German forces, and compelled Germany to divert an ever-increasing share of its manpower and resources away from production for the battlefield. As it was, German forces proved a formidable barrier to the end of the war. With more men, more heavily armed, an intact transport system and an uninterrupted flow of industrial resources Germany might well have kept the Allies at bay in 1945. Then the Allies would have faced the agonising decision about whether or not to drop atomic weapons on German cities rather than on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."
 
trackend said:
re: Bomber accuracy
I'm Quoting this not to upset anyone only because it was a common saying in the war. I just wonder what was behind it perhaps a few too many friendly fire incidents ?

" When the British bomb the Germans duck.
When the Germans Bomb the British duck.
When the Americans Bomb everybody ducks"

I can say this because I am in the US Army right now and it is still a problem today. Today even more so since we have better precision weapons that should not allow this to happen, but we the United States have a problem with killing our own and everyone else whether they be the enemy or our allies when we go to war. It happens all the time, and it happened while I was in Iraq last year. We just have a really bad problem with friendly fire. It sucks.

As for the terror bombing against the Axis. It was done more toward Japan then German. However and I am saying this as a German citizen it was justified, the Germans bombed London and other cities so the Allies bombed Dresden, Berlin, Tokyo and other cities. As was stated by other people in the thread it was total war and total war is ugly and bad things happen. I think it is a shame that it came down to all sides killing civilians (especially the way us Germans did).

As for the Germans demanding apologies for Dresden. (which was covered in another thread a while back) I dont think you realize who is actually asking for this apology. It is not the German government or the average German citizen. It is the NDP and neo nazis. I know this as I live in Germany and see what is going on here. The NDP is basically the Nazi party today, however it is not an official party in the German government and is banned from the German government. As for the neo nazis believe it or not they are just a minority in Germany, there are far many more in places like Russia and the United States. The minority of the neo nazis in Germany are in the former East Germany and I think there hatred comes from the Russian influenced East Germany. Believe the wanted apologies for Dresden are not from the average German, not to say that some are asking for it.

Okay now that that is done. I have to go and eating dinner, when I get back I am going to post some pictures of a B-17G and a B-24 that I took when it came to Hendersonville NC when I lived there a few years ago.
 
Alright that was good, here are the pics. It was pretty cool, we were able to climb inside and walk around the aircraft. It was extremely cramped inside. The B-17 was called Nine O Nine and the B-24 was called ALL American.
 

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