The Mighty Eighth at War: USAAF 8th Air Force Bombers Versus the Luftwaffe 1943-1945

Overview: From the beginning of World War Two the RAF’s Bomber Command had been the only means of striking Hitler’s Reich and its war machine. The entry into the war of the United States and the subsequent arrival in the UK of the Eighth Air Force was to more than double the Allied capability. The Flying Fortress and Liberator heavy bombers were mostly flown across the Atlantic by their young unblooded aircrew and many succumbed en route and never arrived. Flying in north Europe was a different ball game from American skies and it took a considerable time before the crews familiarized themselves with the vagaries of fog, low cloud, rain and snow. The American bombers bristled with defensive armament and elected to fly in close defensive formation during the day leaving the RAF to carry out nighttime raids. With the arrival of long-range protective escort fighters the task became a little easier.