Posted on 10/05/2023 4:04:04 PM PDT by re_tail20
If it is half as good as, RAF story “Piece of Cake, I would be happy.
Just started watching Band of Brothers with my son, good so far.
Victor Davis Hanson had a brilliant insight on the American daylight bombing campaign of Germany in WWII.
The numbers really don’t do Justice to the campaign.
The big thing that the American daylight bombing campaign of Germany did was TO PULL THE 88 FLAK GUNS OFF THE RUSSIAN FRONT.
The Germans pulled them off the Russian front to shoot at our bombers.
The 88 Flak Gun was the greatest killer of Russian tanks.
The Russians were a very tank-oriented army.
Those German 88 Flak Guns weren’t there to kill Russian tanks.
Our bombers allowed the Russian tanks to drive to Berlin.
An absolutely brilliant observation by Hanson.
But will watch this - with difficulty - my oldest uncle was shot down in WW II and killed, piloting a B-26 Marauder.
I don't think my late Dad could watch it.
B-26 Marauder:
“The first two episodes of the nine-episode limited series will premiere on Apple TV+...”
Too bad it’s not more widely available.
I’ve been watching The Pacific and wonder at some of the horrors my uncle must have went through on Okinawa. He never talked about any of it.
I worked with 2 POWs from WWII at Wright Patterson in the early 90s. One an American in a bomber shot down over Germany and a German recon Pilot. The German became my all time favorite engineer. We were all Naspeteers in our successful quest on enabling technologies for hypersonic flight.
https://www.thewisdompost.com/essay/essay-on-success/3247
That is an interesting insight my VDH, and it may very well have been a happy result for the Russians, but I have a hard time believing that the pilots and crews of the 8th Air Force went over Germany in broad daylight as sacrifices for the Soviets.
What I am reminded of from the photos is that for America, WWII was largely fought by high school kids, led by college kids, whose senior officers were in their 30’s and 40’s. Patton was the ‘Old Man’ and was 60 in 1945. Eisenhower was still in his mid-50’s when the war ended.
12 O’Clock High already covered this.
Actually the deadliest Flak guns wrre the 120s. They had no problem resching the 8th’s formations. The bombing campaign caused Germany to concentrate aircraft production on 109s and 190s to the exclusion of aircraft that could be used in ground support in the East. My dad’s best friend was a group lead bombardier and questioned the cost till the day he died.
It’s very good. Watched it several times. I was little disappointed with the second offering, “Pacific,” however.
bkmk
I don’t think daylight bombing was intended to shift German resources. It was due to the philosophy of precision bombing promoted by “The Bomber Mafia” and it’s preoccupation with the Norden bombsight (which after the B-29 and Manhattan Project) was the single most expensive material expenditure of the war effort. The problem was that it didn’t work as advertised in combat, especially in the Pacific once the jet stream was encountered. That led to the shift by LeMay to come in under the clouds and use firebombing.
The Bomber Mafia is a book published recently and is very interesting. I also recommend the Youtube channel WWII US Bombers that goes into great depth using actual reports and documentation of the period.
Helping the Soviets in WW2 was a horrible mistake that cost half of Europe their freedom. American men died to free Europe from the Nazis only to hand half of it over to the troglodytic, toilet-stealing Russians.
Band of Brothers is awesome. I can’t wait to see this.
I am sure it will be wokefied. All the pilots will be black lesbians and trannies. All the whites will be stupid fools saved by a black. Bomber Harris will be a skinny Latinx girl who can beat up anyone who stands in her way. Goering and Hitler will have Trump haircuts and wear red trucker’s caps with “Make Nazis Great Again.”
That's how BoB and The Pacific premiered. The first two episodes at once and then each other individual episode following weekly.
Read the book if you are so inclined. The series follows the book almost exactly. I think I have watched the series at least 5 times. “The Pacific” is excellent as well. I read both of the books that that series was based on and that one took a few dramatic licenses compared to the books but it is still great.
With the Old Breed: At Pelilu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet For My Pillow by Robert Leckie are the two books that “The Pacific is based on and the book “Band of Brothers” was written by David Ambrose.
The US Eighth Air Force lost 58,000 airman, the same amount as the Vietnam War. Unbelievable Courage on those airman.
Sux for me,,,I don’t do Apple anything.
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