“It is axiomatic,” ran the report, “that fire will always be the optimum agent for the complete destruction of buildings, factories etc.” The department recommended using high-explosive bombs to create the “essential draught conditions” in damaged buildings, followed by heavy incendiary loads, and completed with more high explosive to hamper the enemy emergency services.76 The evidence that concentrated use of incendiaries was the most effective form of air assault against large industrial centers gradually emerged as the key lesson to be learned from the experience of the Blitz.
