In the fall of 1943, neither the Germans nor the Allies had gained air mastery over Northern Europe, so there was no air mastery to lose. The battle was in the balance. The Luftwaffe had shot down ruinous numbers of bombers in October—an average of twenty-eight bombers per mission—but not a single Eighth Air Force raid had been turned back, and the home-front fighter command was paying a hellish price for tactical victories, 248 fighters lost in October alone. This amounted to 17 percent of Germany’s total fighter force in the West. Luftwaffe commanders were also concerned about the enhanced
...more
