Strategic Bombing during World War 2
Uploaded by clevedon50 on Apr 03, 2000
"World War 2 was a war fought in two distinct phases. The first was the last war of a new generation. The second was emphatically the first of a new era" .
"The British strategic bomber campaign was of doubtful cost effectiveness" . Bomber Command was by far the largest claimant on labour and factory space within the armed forces. Relative to their size they suffered more casualties than any other sector.
The Anglo-American bomber force was divided in terms of strategy. Bomber Command believed it was too risky to bomb by day, while the Americans believed it was too difficult to bomb by night. Initially both forces lacked accurate navigational equipment, which deterred them from precision bombing.
Germany developed a ‘night fighter’ force to counteract the bomber fleet. They were equipped with an on board radar, which enabled them to locate the bombers in the darkness. The German industry was sub-divided in an attempt to minimise the effectiveness of bombing raids.
Both the Britain and Germany made substantial scientific developments throughout the course of the war. Prior to the development of the Lancaster, the British Air Force lacked a long-range bomber, capable of carrying substantial bomb loads. Wattson Watt foresaw the need for an early detection system; he developed the ‘Radiolocation’ system, which alerted Britain to invading forces. The German Air Force developed an on board radar, called the ‘Metric system’, which was equipped to German night fighters.
Bomber Harris believed in the theory of ‘carpet bombing’. Nick named ‘butcher Harris’; he was known as the man who supported such campaigns as Dresden. He believed in breaking the morale of the German people.
The strategic bombing campaign significantly shortened the length of the war. It disabled the production industry and weakened the German morale.
Between Jan. 12-23 of 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill meet at Casablanca, to plan the ‘future global military strategy for the Western Allies’. The work of the conference was primarily military; deciding on the invasion of Silicy, apportioning forces to the Pacific theatre and outlining major lines of attack in the Far East. Most important of all was Roosevelt’s claims for the "unconditional surrender" from Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Hamburg was largely responsible for the production of German U-boats. Subsequently it was the target of numerous air raids. In an attempt to protect the fragile industry, three huge anti-aircraft artilleries were built.
Few...