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To: blueunicorn6

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.


8 posted on 10/05/2023 5:03:20 PM PDT by T. Rustin Noone (Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum)
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To: T. Rustin Noone

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.


13 posted on 10/05/2023 5:14:30 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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