More than Regensburg the raiders located affect-free heavens and you can profile of greater than twenty-five miles, perfect environment to own a hit

“We saw a few competitors explode perhaps not far below, vanishing for the sheet sets of tangerine flames, B-17s dropping in every condition out of distress, out-of engines ablaze to handle counters take to aside, amicable and you may challenger parachutes floating off and you may, on the green carpeting far below all of us, numerous funeral pyres out-of smoking away from fallen flights, marking the trail.”

The 3 electric batteries regarding 88-mm weapons organized within address performed their utmost so you’re able to disrupt the latest bomb works, but the best bomb groups applied the models off bombs accurately. Upcoming, as ever happened throughout the a massive assault using one address, dust and tobacco regarding the explosions and you can fires blurred the latest setting-out issues, and you can after that bombing was quicker real.

After bombing the target, the fresh B-17s proceeded south. A couple broken bombers left the creation and you can lead for basic Switzerland. Seven way more damaged airplanes transpired on the road to Algeria.

Of your 146 heavier bombers that had set-out to have Regensburg, seven turned-back, and you may 139 entered the newest Dutch shore. Twenty-five of them have been shed.

The new Schweinfurt raiding force, spanning 230 B-17s, introduced the assault later in the day. They as well suffered heavily about German competitors and you may flak, losing 30-half a dozen bombers.

Next “new” weapon is actually the new 21-cm rocket, good Italian language Armed forces infantry weapon adapted to own air-to-sky explore

For this reason, of your own 376 B-17 Flying Fortresses you to establish out-of The united kingdomt to help you bomb the fresh a couple extremely important objectives, sixty was shed. Which had been not the very last rates. In the event that Regensburg push gone back to The united kingdomt seven days later, attacking an enthusiastic airfield near Bordeaux on route, it actually was instead another 50-four routes, which was broken past instantaneous resolve, and you can around three more were forgotten in return journey. For a while, the latest dual episodes and this to the French airfield deprived 8th Sky Push out of 118 bombers-nearly you to-third of the force the amount of time towards the August 17.

Even with bomber team reports on the contrary, its get back fire don’t inflict really serious losses on the German fighters. The fresh Luftwaffe shed only twenty-eight fighters within the a few great air fights.

Regarding the weeks you to used, the large-size introduction of a couple of weapons caused a formidable increase in this new firepower off Italian language house defense fighters. The original try the brand new Mk. 108 canon, a thirty-mm firearm that fired eleven-oz, high-explosive incendiary series at a level of more than 600 for every single minute; normally, three such as moves was in fact sufficient to down much bomber.

This new Bf-109s was basically installing having a thirty-mm cannon shooting through the propeller center

Mounted within the a tube that also served since launcher, brand new 248-pound, spin-stabilized firearm sent a great ninety-pound warhead effective sufficient to ruin any bomber contained in this 30 yards of the part off detonation. New missile try day-fuzed so you’re able to burst during the a predetermined flight distance, however, therefore, the target’s variety needed to be judged in this good restrictions just before release.

These types of and also the FW-190s was basically altered to create one rocket launcher significantly less than for every single wing. In another proceed to buttress the brand new combatant defenses, Destroyer Squadron 26 are reformed because the a home defense device having a moderate energy regarding eighty “bomber-destroyers.” The fresh unit’s formidable twin-system Bf-110s and you will Me personally-410s sent a forward-capturing armament out-of five 20-mm cannon, a few 31-mm cannon, and you may four 21-cm rocket launchers.

Actually in operation, the new 21-cm rocket proved relatively wrong. They downed few bombers, but it will damaged planes sufficiently to make her or him from formation so most other competitors you are going to find yourself them out-of.

Eighth Air Force’s big bombers resumed episodes to your Germany toward Sep 6, 1943, when 338 Flying Fortresses set out to own Stuttgart. German fighter pushes once more answered intensely and you will effectively, and on that it event the fresh new raiders had to take on terrible climate. The key needs were blanketed because of the clouds, and aircraft bombed “objectives away from possibility” in route domestic. The brand new September six assault costs forty-four bombers.