In Western Europe, cloud or industrial haze was present two days out of every three, and when a bombardier was able to see clearly, the enemy could easily spot him. With hot slugs and pieces of jagged shrapnel smashing into his glass-enclosed work station, he had to remain calm and focused as he entered data into the instrument on ground speed, rate of closure, wind drift, and the estimated air resistance and time of fall of the bombs. Pilots were supposed to keep the plane as level and steady as possible on the bomb run, but as a classified Air Force report noted, excitable pilots often took
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