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Osprey Air Campaign #14
Schweinfurt–Regensburg 1943: Eighth Air Force’s costly early daylight battles
In 1943, the USAAF and RAF launched the Combined Bomber Offensive, designed to systematically destroy the industries that the German war machine relied on. At the top of the hit list were aircraft factories and plants making ball-bearings – a component thought to be a critical vulnerability. Schweinfurt in southern Germany was home to much of the ball-bearing industry and, together with the Messerschmitt factory in Regensburg, which built Bf 109 fighters, it was targeted in a huge and innovative strike.
Precision required that the targets were hit in daylight, but the raid was beyond the range of any existing escort fighter, so the B-17s would go in unprotected. The solution was to hit the two targets in a coordinated 'double-strike', with the Regensburg strike hitting first, drawing off the defending Luftwaffe fighters, and leaving the way clear for the Schweinfurt bombers. The Regensburg force would carry on over the Alps to North Africa, the first example of US 'shuttle bombing'.
Although the attack on Regensburg was successful, the damage to Schweinfurt only temporarily stalled production, and the Eighth Air Force had suffered heavy losses. It would take a sustained campaign, not just a single raid, to cripple the Schweinfurt works. However, when a follow-up raid was finally launched two months later, the losses sustained were even greater. This title explains how the USAAF launched its daylight bombing campaign in 1943, the technology and tactics available for the Schweinfurt-Regensburg missions, and how these costly failures forced a change of tack.
Precision required that the targets were hit in daylight, but the raid was beyond the range of any existing escort fighter, so the B-17s would go in unprotected. The solution was to hit the two targets in a coordinated 'double-strike', with the Regensburg strike hitting first, drawing off the defending Luftwaffe fighters, and leaving the way clear for the Schweinfurt bombers. The Regensburg force would carry on over the Alps to North Africa, the first example of US 'shuttle bombing'.
Although the attack on Regensburg was successful, the damage to Schweinfurt only temporarily stalled production, and the Eighth Air Force had suffered heavy losses. It would take a sustained campaign, not just a single raid, to cripple the Schweinfurt works. However, when a follow-up raid was finally launched two months later, the losses sustained were even greater. This title explains how the USAAF launched its daylight bombing campaign in 1943, the technology and tactics available for the Schweinfurt-Regensburg missions, and how these costly failures forced a change of tack.
- GenresWorld War II
155 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 23, 2020
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21 people want to read
About the author
Marshall L. Michel III
5 books2 followersMarshall L. Michel III, USAF (Ret.) served as a combat pilot during the Vietnam War, flying 321 missions in F4 Phantoms and RF-4s.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 9, 2022
SCHWEINFURT–REGENSBURG 1943: Eighth Air Force’s costly early daylight battles is a book that chronicles one of the fiercest and most pivotal air campaigns of World War II.
Since August 1942, when the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) mounted its first bombing raid over German-occupied France, it had been gradually growing in numbers and perfecting tactics for carrying out strategic bombing missions against key industries in Germany deemed vital to its war effort.
The goals of the Eighth Air Force during 1943 were twofold: (1) to prove that B-17 bombers (and some B-24 units as well) could successfully carry out deep penetration raids into Germany without fighter escort and (2) defeat the Luftwaffe's day fighter force, whose aim was to make the USAAF strategic bombing campaign so prohibitively costly that the USAAF would be faced with little choice but to suspend its daylight bombing campaign. Were that to happen that would leave the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command (which flew night bombing raids over Germany) as the sole offensive arm taking the war into the heart of Germany.
The book reads almost like a daily diary, explaining in considerable detail how the USAAF daylight bombing campaign grew during 1943, along with the number of USAAF fighter units tasked with escorting the bombers as far as their limited range would permit. The various countermeasures employed by the Luftwaffe day fighter forces are also laid out. Photos of the various aircraft involved in the bombing campaign are aplenty for the reader to examine, in addition to illustrations and diagrams that show how the campaign played itself out.
The climax of the daylight campaign came with the raids by the Eighth Air Force on Schweinfurt (where most of the ball bearings crucial to the overall German war effort were produced) and Regensburg (where a large number of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, one of the mainstays in the Luftwaffe day fighter force, were manufactured). Both places were situated deep inside Germany and were subject to attack from the Eighth Air Force in August and October 1943. Unfortunately, VIII Bomber Command suffered heavily, losing 60 B-17 bombers (amounting to 600 airmen) on the August 17, 1943 dual mission to Schweinfurt and Regensburg. And on the second raid to Schweinfurt in October 1943, 77 B-17 bombers were lost.
Furthermore, as the book points out, "[m]orale at bomber bases was a major problem. The crews had been told time and again that the Luftwaffe fighter force was almost finished, but {B-17] Fortress crews were currently incurring a casualty rate higher than any other branch of the US forces: during 1943, only about 25 percent of Eighth Air Force bomber crewmen completed their 25-mission tours --- the other 75 percent were killed, severely wounded, or captured. It was difficult to persuade the men who survived Schweinfurt that the opposition encountered was the last effort of a beaten force."
SCHWEINFURT - REGENSBURG 1943 ends with an indication of what the future would bring with the introduction of the P-51 Mustang fighter to the Eighth Air Force. It would develop into a formidable long-range, high altitude fighter plane that in the year to come would be instrumental in breaking the back of the Luftwaffe fighter arm and ensuring the continuance and eventual success of the USAAF daylight bombing campaign.
Since August 1942, when the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) mounted its first bombing raid over German-occupied France, it had been gradually growing in numbers and perfecting tactics for carrying out strategic bombing missions against key industries in Germany deemed vital to its war effort.
The goals of the Eighth Air Force during 1943 were twofold: (1) to prove that B-17 bombers (and some B-24 units as well) could successfully carry out deep penetration raids into Germany without fighter escort and (2) defeat the Luftwaffe's day fighter force, whose aim was to make the USAAF strategic bombing campaign so prohibitively costly that the USAAF would be faced with little choice but to suspend its daylight bombing campaign. Were that to happen that would leave the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command (which flew night bombing raids over Germany) as the sole offensive arm taking the war into the heart of Germany.
The book reads almost like a daily diary, explaining in considerable detail how the USAAF daylight bombing campaign grew during 1943, along with the number of USAAF fighter units tasked with escorting the bombers as far as their limited range would permit. The various countermeasures employed by the Luftwaffe day fighter forces are also laid out. Photos of the various aircraft involved in the bombing campaign are aplenty for the reader to examine, in addition to illustrations and diagrams that show how the campaign played itself out.
The climax of the daylight campaign came with the raids by the Eighth Air Force on Schweinfurt (where most of the ball bearings crucial to the overall German war effort were produced) and Regensburg (where a large number of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, one of the mainstays in the Luftwaffe day fighter force, were manufactured). Both places were situated deep inside Germany and were subject to attack from the Eighth Air Force in August and October 1943. Unfortunately, VIII Bomber Command suffered heavily, losing 60 B-17 bombers (amounting to 600 airmen) on the August 17, 1943 dual mission to Schweinfurt and Regensburg. And on the second raid to Schweinfurt in October 1943, 77 B-17 bombers were lost.
Furthermore, as the book points out, "[m]orale at bomber bases was a major problem. The crews had been told time and again that the Luftwaffe fighter force was almost finished, but {B-17] Fortress crews were currently incurring a casualty rate higher than any other branch of the US forces: during 1943, only about 25 percent of Eighth Air Force bomber crewmen completed their 25-mission tours --- the other 75 percent were killed, severely wounded, or captured. It was difficult to persuade the men who survived Schweinfurt that the opposition encountered was the last effort of a beaten force."
SCHWEINFURT - REGENSBURG 1943 ends with an indication of what the future would bring with the introduction of the P-51 Mustang fighter to the Eighth Air Force. It would develop into a formidable long-range, high altitude fighter plane that in the year to come would be instrumental in breaking the back of the Luftwaffe fighter arm and ensuring the continuance and eventual success of the USAAF daylight bombing campaign.
August 1, 2022
I was disappointed by this one. I've read several of the books in this series and this is the first one I can say that about. The title is definitely misleading because the actual discussion of both of the Schweinfurt-Regensburg raids covers a total of six pages, not counting a few more for artwork. The book is more about the 8th Air Force's 1943 bombing campaign against Germany, of which the two raids were a pivotal part. Also, the author definitely seems to have made it very clear what his feelings were on two points: that the B-24 was an inferior plane and that the use of large rockets by twin-engined Luftwaffe fighters was the key element of German tactics in their battle against the American bombers. I can understand his points, but he really needed to pull back on repeating them so much.
Also, there is quite a bit of repetition between the text and the captions for photographs/artwork, and sometimes it doesn't match! Definitely needed a bit of editing help.
The artwork is top notch as always with the Osprey books, but the text leaves a lot to be desired.
Also, there is quite a bit of repetition between the text and the captions for photographs/artwork, and sometimes it doesn't match! Definitely needed a bit of editing help.
The artwork is top notch as always with the Osprey books, but the text leaves a lot to be desired.
July 3, 2022
The attention to detail is impressive, but makes for a tedious read. The Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission(s) are not necessarily the focal point of the book, but they definitely summarize the issues the USAAF faced in its daylight bombing campaign in 1943, as well as the Luftwaffe’s response.
The book also does a good job “setting the table” for both sides by detailing aircraft, weaponry and tactics. A direct, concise and neutral approach to the subject matter. Well illustrated with photos and beautiful combat artwork.
The book also does a good job “setting the table” for both sides by detailing aircraft, weaponry and tactics. A direct, concise and neutral approach to the subject matter. Well illustrated with photos and beautiful combat artwork.
August 7, 2020
Excellent book!
Very well written, good information, both sides' perspective, and, NO fowl language! Totally 100% enjoyed this most EXCELLENT and interesting book!
Very well written, good information, both sides' perspective, and, NO fowl language! Totally 100% enjoyed this most EXCELLENT and interesting book!
February 21, 2020
Interesting account of the US precision daylight bombing campaign of 1943. I grew up in the '50s and '60s reading WWII books based largely on official histories full of exaggerated claims and glorification of sketchy operations. This short volume puts a lot of that in more accurate perspective. For example, bomber aircrew claims of German fighters shot down were never challenged but taken at face value to boost crew morale as well as for propaganda and PR purposes. Actual German losses to bomber defensive fire was minimal at best. The 1930's belief that heavily armed bombers would not need fighter escort persisted in US command until 1944 and development of long-range drop tanks for fighters and use of longer-ranged fighters lagged for the same reason. They were not holding their breath, waiting for the P-51 Mustang. In fact, the US assigned the first P-51s were to ground attack units. German defenses were far more complex and sophisticated and their use of air-to-air rockets to break up bomber formations far more successful, wielded by 'heavy' twin-engined fighters like the Bf-110 and Me-410. Good maps and illustrations of optimal bomber formation tactics and some rare action photos.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews