The Bombers and the Bombed: Allied Air War Over Europe 1940-1945

by Richard Overy

American bombing, though intended to be directed at oil and transport targets, was often little distinguishable from area raiding. Much of the air policing of the German Air Force and attacks on targets of opportunity on the German transport network were carried out by fighters and fighter-bombers, which swarmed over Germany. The heavy bombers focused on major industrial and rail targets, but poor visibility for much of the winter meant that most bombs again fell widely scattered. Of every hundred bombs dropped on an oil plant, eighty-seven missed the target entirely and only two hit the buildings and equipment.104 A conference on bombing accuracy called in March 1945 confirmed that most bombing since September 1944 had been blind bombing, much through complete cloud cover. From September to December 1944 only 14 percent of bombing was done with good to fair visibility, a further 10 percent visually aimed with poor visibility; 76 percent was carried out nonvisually, using a variety of electronic aids. In good visibility, at least four-fifths of bombs were found to fall within one mile of the aiming point, but through 10/10 cloud cover only 5.6 percent.105 The instructions given to the Eighth Air Force in October 1944 on bombing procedure encouraged attacks in poor weather on any towns visible with the aid of H2X, for the reason that they were certain to contain some vital military targets. The effect, like the directives to Bomber Command three years before, was to encoura...