Re: Percent of aircraft shot down by flack in 1943 VS.1944

Subject:

Comments:: : : Bill: I don't have exact numbers and I would imagine they will be difficult to find. Many aircraft were hit first by "FLAK," then finished off by fighters. I would imagine bombers classified as war weary that were scrapped after returning to base full of flak or machine gun holes would not be included in these numbers. : : : I would also guess flak losses in 44 would be higher than in 1943. As the Russians pushed the Germans back towards Germany and as the Allies advanced on the Western Front after D-Day, many of the 88s and 105s were withdrawn back into Germany and used as anti aircraft guns instead of tank destroyers. Albert Speer makes reference to this fact in his book Inside the Third Reich. Also, advances in German radar and radar control of the flak guns made them more effective in 44 vs. 43. : : : German aircraft production reached its all time high in December of 1944 (Records of the German Air Force, 1947), despite our best efforts in February 44 during Operation Argument- a/k/a Big Week. Just like the ball bearing industry, the German aircraft industry was under utilized until the Germans realized their desperate situation. The lack of aviation fuel caused by our bombing of refineries and synthetic fuel refineries (Ploesti, Luena, etc.) greatly dimished pilot training with some Luftwaffe pilots being sent into battle with only seven hours of flight training later in the war. : : : So it would be difficult to tell losses by flak versus fighters. I've never seen Freeman discuss it in his books, nor have I seen it in other documents like the Strategic Bombing Survey. My money would be on flak if I had to make an educated guess because the quality of trained pilots was seriously diminished after Big Week. Many will say the Luftwaffe was defeated after Big Week, but don't believe it. The Luftwaffe maintained an effective fighting force, albeit a smaller and less trained one, right up until 7 May 1945. : : : Just my opinion based on 30 years of research. : : : Kevin M. Pearson : : Kevin, Thanks for your opinion. Having been there I always thought flack was the greatest threat to bombers. I know it was psychologically. : : Bill Toombs (493rd BG) : ---------------------- : Having discussed both fightes and FLAK during interviews with many fliers,since 1991. I will say, that most told me, they never saw a German fighter after the invasion and their greatest fear was FLAK. As they felt they could at least shoot back at a fighter and all they could do with FLAK was pray 'Lady Luck' was with them and 'Lady Luck' or 'Lucky Lady' did not turn out to be a good name for a bomber. : During most of 1944, after the long range fighter escorts became available, the German fighters became less of a threat. Also, after the invasion, the German fighter bases were forced to the east and at the same time, all the German FLAK had to concentrate to the east. I think a fair statement could be made, that fewer German fighters and concentrated FLAK, at least in the second half of 1944, led to FLAK being the greatest threat. : Sam

Optional Link URL:
Link Title:
Optional Image URL: