[LS]

Careful on your admiration. Yes, German production increased slightly from 1942-44. The best source on this is Tooze, "Wages of Destruction." But one of the reasons was that German imported millions of slave workers, so even as they put more men as a % of their population into the field, they nevertheless increased their workforce by slave labor.

British bombing was next to useless.

One important reason we outproduced not just the Germans, but EVERY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD put together, save Russia, and if you include Russia, we very nearly outproduced all others plus them too---is that we capped our infantry divisions at 89, where as the Soviets threw more than 100 divisions into a single battle and the Germans put in a very high % of their manpower into combat.

[NFHale]

“...Careful on your admiration. Yes, German production increased slightly from 1942-44. ...”

RE Admiration:
Wasn’t admiration as much as amazement that they continued to be ABLE to produce in spite of the pounding they took. They were having the front door, the back door, and the cellar door kicked in and still cranking out weapons.

RE British Bombing “useless”:
They still put planes in the air, crews in harm’s way, and explosives on the ground. It contributed in its own way towards demoralizing and destabilizing the will to continue fighting. Those British boys that flew those missions - through searchlights, flak, and radar-equipped night fighters, didn’t think they were useless. They did it because it would help end the war, and help get them home.