“I spotted one or two fighters burst not much below, disappearing during the sheets out of orange flame, B-17s losing call at all of the state away from worry, out-of motors on fire to deal with surfaces shot away, friendly and enemy parachutes floating down and, toward green carpet far below all of us, numerous funeral pyres out of smoking out-of fallen flights, establishing our very own trail.”
The three battery packs off 88-mm firearms arranged around the target performed their finest in order to interrupt brand new bomb works, but the best bomb organizations placed its designs of bombs truthfully. Next, as usual occurred through the a massive attack using one address, soil and you may tobacco regarding the explosions and you may fires blurred the fresh setting-out affairs, and you can then bombing are shorter direct.
Once bombing the goal, the brand new B-17s went on south. A couple of damaged bombers kept this new formation and you can went to possess natural Switzerland. 7 even more damaged airplanes transpired on the road to Algeria.
Of 146 big bombers that had put down to own Regensburg, 7 turned back, and you will 139 entered the new Dutch coast. Twenty-five of those were shed.
The latest Schweinfurt raiding force, comprising 230 B-17s, revealed the attack later in the day. They too sustained heavily on Italian language fighters and you will flak, dropping thirty-half a dozen bombers.
The next “new” gun is the fresh new 21-cm skyrocket, a Italian language Armed forces infantry weapon modified to own sky-to-sky fool around with
Hence, of one’s 376 B-17 Traveling Fortresses that set out out of The united kingdomt to help you bomb the brand new a few crucial needs, sixty was indeed shed. Which had been not the final cost. If the Regensburg push returned to The united kingdomt a week later, fighting a keen airfield close Bordeaux on the way, it actually was instead another 50-five routes, that has been damaged beyond instantaneous repair, and you may around three a whole lot more had been destroyed within the return journey. For a while, this new dual episodes hence toward French airfield deprived 8th Heavens Force of 118 bombers-almost one to-third of push the amount of time into August 17.
Even after bomber team reports quite the opposite, its return flame don’t cause big losings for the German fighters. Brand new Luftwaffe forgotten merely twenty-eight fighters inside the two higher sky fights.
On the months you to definitely observed, the enormous-size introduction of one or two guns triggered a formidable escalation in this new firepower out-of Italian language house defense fighters. The initial was the Stockerau escorts fresh Mk. 108 cannon, a thirty-mm weapon that fired eleven-ounce, high-explosive incendiary cycles for a price greater than 600 for every minute; normally, three such as for example moves was basically adequate to down a heavy bomber.
Brand new Bf-109s was indeed installing which have a thirty-mm canon capturing through the propeller hub
Mounted when you look at the a pipeline that also supported due to the fact launcher, the brand new 248-lb, spin-stabilized firearm sent good ninety-pound warhead powerful enough to ruin any bomber contained in this 30 yards of your own part out-of detonation. The missile try go out-fuzed in order to explode at a predetermined airline point, although not, so that the target’s variety must be judged within this good constraints in advance of launch.
This type of plus the FW-190s have been changed to take one to rocket launcher around for each and every side. In another move to buttress the new fighter defenses, Destroyer Squadron twenty six try reformed once the a house coverage equipment with an affordable fuel from eighty “bomber-destroyers.” This new unit’s solid twin-engine Bf-110s and Me personally-410s sent an onward-firing armament off four 20-mm cannon, several 31-mm cannon, and you may four 21-cm skyrocket launchers.
In action, this new 21-cm rocket ended up seemingly inaccurate. They downed couples bombers, however it often broken airplanes well enough to make her or him away from formation to make certain that most other fighters you may end her or him out of.
8th Air Force’s big bombers started again attacks on the Germany for the September 6, 1943, whenever 338 Traveling Fortresses put down getting Stuttgart. Italian language combatant pushes once again responded vigorously and you will effortlessly, and on it occasion new raiders was required to contend with worst environment. The primary purpose had been blanketed by the clouds, as well as the flights bombed “targets off options” along the way household. The brand new September 6 attack rates 40-five bombers.
