More Regensburg brand new raiders discovered cloud-free heavens and you may visibility in excess of twenty-four kilometers, finest climate to own a hit

“I spotted a few competitors explode not far underneath, vanishing in the sheets out of orange flames, B-17s dropping call at all the county from distress, regarding engines burning to deal with counters try away, friendly and you can opponent parachutes drifting down and, to your environmentally friendly carpeting far below united states, numerous funeral pyres out-of cigarette smoking from fell aircraft, establishing all of our trail.”

The three electric batteries out of 88-mm guns arranged within the address did their best to disturb the new bomb operates, but the top bomb groups laid its habits away from bombs precisely. Up coming, as always occurred throughout the a giant attack on one address, dirt and you may cigarette smoking regarding explosions and fireplaces obscured the setting-out situations, and you will subsequent bombing are less appropriate.

Once bombing the goal, brand new B-17s proceeded southern. A couple busted bombers remaining new formation and you may lead for basic Switzerland. Eight even more broken airplanes took place on the way to Algeria.

Of your own 146 big bombers that had establish to possess Regensburg, seven turned back, and you will 139 entered the fresh new Dutch coast. Twenty-four ones have been destroyed.

The fresh Schweinfurt raiding push, spanning 230 B-17s, revealed its attack in the evening. They escort girls in Tyrol also sustained greatly regarding Italian language competitors and you can flak, losing 30-half dozen bombers.

The second “new” gun is the fresh new 21-cm rocket, an excellent Italian language Army infantry gun adapted for sky-to-air have fun with

For this reason, of 376 B-17 Traveling Fortresses one to set out from The united kingdomt to help you bomb the latest a couple of very important targets, sixty was in fact lost. That was not the past pricing. If the Regensburg push returned to The united kingdomt seven days later, fighting an airfield close Bordeaux on route, it absolutely was rather than other fifty-four routes, which had been broken beyond immediate fix, and three even more have been missing inside get back airline. For a while, the latest dual periods and that on the French airfield deprived Eighth Heavens Force away from 118 bombers-almost that-3rd of force the full time towards August 17.

Even after bomber staff profile on the other hand, the return fire failed to inflict big losses to your German fighters. The fresh new Luftwaffe destroyed only twenty-eight fighters when you look at the two higher sky matches.

Throughout the months that observed, the enormous-level advent of several weapons caused an overwhelming boost in the brand new firepower of German home defense fighters. The first is actually the fresh new Mk. 108 cannon, a thirty-mm gun you to fired eleven-oz, high-explosive incendiary rounds at a rate of greater than 600 for every single minute; an average of, around three including strikes have been adequate to off much bomber.

The newest Bf-109s was in fact suitable with a 30-mm cannon capturing from the propeller middle

Mounted in the a tube which also offered due to the fact launcher, the newest 248-lb, spin-normalized weapon sent a great ninety-lb warhead effective sufficient to damage one bomber in this 30 meters of area off detonation. This new missile is actually go out-fuzed to help you burst in the a preset journey point, yet not, so that the target’s diversity had to be judged within great restrictions ahead of release.

These in addition to FW-190s have been changed to bring you to rocket launcher under for every wing. An additional move to buttress new combatant defenses, Destroyer Squadron twenty six is reformed as the a property coverage equipment with a moderate strength away from eighty “bomber-destroyers.” The fresh unit’s solid twin-motor Bf-110s and you may Me-410s transmitted an onward-firing armament out of four 20-mm cannon, several 29-mm cannon, and you will four 21-cm skyrocket launchers.

For action, this new 21-cm rocket proved apparently wrong. It downed pair bombers, nevertheless usually damaged airplanes good enough to force them out-of creation so almost every other competitors you can expect to wind up them off.

8th Air Force’s heavy bombers started again attacks with the Germany to your September 6, 1943, when 338 Flying Fortresses set-out to have Stuttgart. German fighter forces once again reacted intensely and effortlessly, as well as on it affair the brand new raiders must take on terrible environment. The main goals had been blanketed of the clouds, therefore the routes bombed “purpose from opportunity” on the way household. The new September 6 attack prices 40-four bombers.