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I thought 617 squadron was the only user of the SABS during wartime and 9 sqn used the standard Mk XIV
From Wiki, food for thought...
In the summer of 1944, forty-seven B-29's raided Japan's Yawata Steel Works from bases in China; only one plane actually hit the target area, and only with one of its bombs. This single 500 lb (230 kg) general purpose bomb represented one quarter of one percent of the 376 bombs dropped over Yawata on that mission.I think this sums up what defined "Precision Daylight Bombing" when you see what defined the target area and what the actual results were. Again consider the technology of that day and don't compare it with what is achievable today!
That's a well known fact but was unknown prior to WW2 and even during the B-29 development. In a perfect world the B-29 should have theoretically been able to bomb accuracy at altitude.The B-29 over Japan has serious problems with accurate bombing. Japan has a persistent, strong and unfamiliar jet stream and the B-29 got into the stratosphere. The firebombing of Tokyo at low altitude was specifically to avoid this.
It is frustrating that even today I pick up books and watch documentaries in which experts claim that unlike the RAF the Americans didn't area bomb,
It is a myth that has arisen, like the RAF refusing to take part in the late war bombing of oil targets.
In this period the RAF devoted 15% of it's total sorties to attacks on oil targets and dropped 99,500 tons of bombs on them. Both these figures are larger than the 8th Air Forces efforts (13% and 73,000 tons respectively).
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With the formation almost 1/2 mile across, hard to say it is not area bombing.
The idea of linking the bombsight through the autopilot was to allow the bombardier to "fly" the aircraft over the target.
Do you have any data on the types of bombs the RAF used on oil targets?
My understanding is that the USAAF used 500lb and smaller bombs - more bombs meant a better chance of hitting something.
Thanks mhuxt.
I will check that out later.
From those numbers, I take it that there were 18 aircraft in that squadron, each carrying 1 x 4000lb HC "Cookie" and 16 x 500lb MC/GP bombs. A total load of 12,000lb each.
Enjoy some bacon, MarkI'll have plenty to read from October on.