Maybe you are right, but I have never heard of the Americans joining the RAF in their night raids, I have on the other hand heard of the RAF using B17's from Coastal Command during the early 1000 bomber raids and also to raid French ports. I expect somebody on here can help us with this one, I am feeling to lazy to check it myself.
Did anyone besides the USAAF use daytime bombing throughout the war?
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Maybe you are right, but I have never heard of the Americans joining the RAF in their night raids, I have on the other hand heard of the RAF using B17's from Coastal Command during the early 1000 bomber raids and also to raid French ports. I expect somebody on here can help us with this one, I am feeling to lazy to check it myself.
Turns out that you are right, it was the 422nd Bombardment Squadron they were selected to trial night bombing but for some reason later on finished up dropping leaflets by night instead.
I was hoping that somebody was going to post something on here about the 422 bomb squadron, normally this happens without having to drop any hints. I couldn't find much on the 422nd with google, I know they used B17F's and would be particularly interested to know if they were modified in any way or painted differently, I did read that the undersides "may" have been painted black but that was all. I expect that they were less well armed and so carried fewer gunners than on daytime missions, probably just the three turret gunners.
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Further evidence of this is the fact that by the end of August 1940 the Ju 87 was withdrawn from operations over the UK owing to considerable losses suffered in combat. I heard on the radio once an interview given by Keith Park in his retirement years here in New Zealand and he considered that the withdrawing of the Ju 87 squadrons from the Battle was a major psychological defeat for the Germans and a potent sign that they had met their match.
Due to heavy losses in 1943 General Eaker did consider converting six B-17 bomber groups to night bombing operations, and so, on the 20th July 1943, 422nd Bomb Squardron of 305th Group was selected as a trails squadron to co-operate in RAF night bomber attacks, with the first night operation taking place on the 8 September 1943 to Boulogne, with several more operations taking place over the next few weeks. However the high command of the 8th took the decision not to continue with night bombing trials, and night operations ceased.
The number of effective sorties for the eight raids involved was 32, with two B-17's being lost, both to night fighters.
The main modifications for the B-17's involved was the fitting of flame dampers on the engine exhausts, modified gunsights and blackout curtains for the navigators compartment
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At a conference in March 1943 the subject of search lights came up.
Hitler. "An English pilot wrote an article mentioning those damned search lights. I sent it to the Reichsmarshal and Field Marshal Milch."
Eckhardt Christian. "This is unbelievable. The British planes are still brightly painted and look like silver birds in the light of the search lights."
British aeroplanes were not brightly painted in 1943. Christian was mistaken, or lying, or British night time camouflage was not as good as they thought. Otherwise the search lights had picked up something else.
We'll never know.
Cheers
Steve
Hitler. "An English pilot wrote an article mentioning those damned search lights. I sent it to the Reichsmarshal and Field Marshal Milch."
Eckhardt Christian. "This is unbelievable. The British planes are still brightly painted and look like silver birds in the light of the search lights."
British aeroplanes were not brightly painted in 1943. Christian was mistaken, or lying, or British night time camouflage was not as good as they thought. Otherwise the search lights had picked up something else.
We'll never know.
Cheers
Steve
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Interesting.
drgondog
Major
The 422BS/305BG did pr=erform several night missions with RAF in July 1943. The 8th AF, under pressure to abandon daylight raids then formed the following plan.
482nd BG was activated in 8th AF in August 1943. It was integral to GEE experiments earlier in the year. It trained with RAF using H2S. The 92nd, 94th, 95th, 96th and 385th were subsequently modified, replacing 30 B-17's ball turrets with H2S plus other mods.
They started training ostensibly as PathFinders but the possibility of being forced into nignt bombing was real after October 14th at Schweinfurt... The 482nd served as training cadre until June, 1944.
The 94th served as PFF at Emden with poor results on September 27. The 96th and 385th flew first Red Ball night training with RAF that night. The 8ths converted to H2X in November and then H2X in March 1944.
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