Big Week

Operation Argument
Part of World War II
Date 20–25 February 1944 Location Nazi Germany Result Allied victory
Belligerents
United States  United Kingdom	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Jimmy Doolittle Carl Spaatz Arthur Harris	Hermann Göring Adolf Galland
Strength
US Eighth Air Force US Fifteenth Air Force RAF Bomber Command RAF Fighter Command[1]	Luftwaffe
Casualties and losses
RAF: 131 bombers[2] USAAF: 226 heavy bombers[3] 28 fighters[3] Over 2,000 aircrew killed or captured[3]	262 fighters[3] 250 aircrew killed or injured,[3] including nearly 100 pilots KIA[4]

From February 20–25, 1944, as part of the European strategic bombing campaign, the United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) launched Operation Argument, a series of missions against the Nazi Germany that became known as Big Week. The planners intended to lure the Luftwaffe into a decisive battle by launching massive attacks on the German aircraft industry. By defeating the Luftwaffe, the Allies would achieve air superiority and the invasion of continental Europe could proceed. The daylight bombing campaign was also supported by RAF Bomber Command, operating against the same targets at night.^[5]:73 Arthur Harris resisted contributing RAF forces as it diverted them from the British area bombing offensive. It took a direct order from Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff, to force Harris to comply.^[1] RAF Fighter Command also provided escort for USAAF bomber formations, just at the time that the Eighth Air Force had started introducing the P-51 long-range fighter to take over the role. This major offensive overlapped the German Operation Steinbock, the "baby blitz" against the United Kingdom, which itself lasted from January through May 1944.

Background

Prior to the Big Week, throughout 1943, the U.S. 8th Air Force had been growing in size and experience and started pressing attacks deeper into Germany. It was believed that the defensive firepower of the B-17 and B-24 bombers, typically ten .50 caliber machine guns or more per aircraft, would allow them to defend themselves as long as they remained arranged into tight formations, allowing for overlapping fire. In practice this proved less successful; although the bombers did claim a fair number of German fighters, losses among the bombers were unsustainable.

The Schweinfurt-Regensburg missions are a famous example. On August 17, 1943, some months after the Luftwaffe's JG 1 and JG 11 fighter wings began using the BR 21 heavy-calibre long-range unguided rockets (one pair per Bf 109G or Fw 190A) to break up massed bomber formations from beyond the range of the defensive machine guns of the bombers, 230 USAAF bombers launched a mission against the ball bearing factories in Schweinfurt and another 146 against the aircraft factories in Regensburg. Of this force, 60 aircraft were lost before returning to base and another 87 had to be scrapped due to irreparable damage. The Germans claimed 27 fighters lost, serious enough but paling in comparison to the losses on the part of the US forces. The Second Raid on Schweinfurt on October 14, 1943, remembered as "Black Thursday", was even more bloody; of the 291 aircraft on the mission, 60 were lost outright, with a further 17 damaged beyond repair. Daylight missions into Germany were called off in order to rebuild the forces.

The raids were extensively studied by both forces. The Germans concluded that their tactic of deploying twin-engine heavy fighter designs, with heavy armament to make them usable as bomber destroyers and serving primarily with the Zerstörergeschwader combat wings, was working well. Over the winter of 1943–44 they continued this program, adding to their heavy fighter ranks and developing heavier armaments for all of their aircraft. They also pulled almost all of their fighter forces back into Germany, as the majority of their losses were due to fighter actions over forward areas. There seemed to be no point in trying to attack the bombers with enemy fighters in the area. The Allied forces came to other conclusions. Schweinfurt demonstrated that the bombers were not able to protect themselves, contrary to earlier thinking, and fighter cover had to be extended over the entire mission. Luckily for the U.S., the P-51 Mustang, an aircraft that had the range to escort the bombers to targets deep within Germany, was starting to arrive in quantity. Over the winter they re-equipped their fighter squadrons as Mustangs arrived and longer-range versions of existing fighters were developed.

By the early spring of 1944, both forces had laid their plans and were waiting to put them into action. The U.S., expecting a fighter advantage, planned missions that would demand a German response. They decided to make massive raids on the German fighter factories; if the Germans chose not to respond they would be at risk of losing the air war without firing a shot, if they did respond, they would meet fighters in the process. The Germans needed no provocation, they were ready to meet a raid with their new forces. By up-gunning their fighters they reduced their performance, making them easy targets for the new and unexpected Mustangs.

Operations

The Americans flew continuously escorted missions against airframe manufacturing and assembly plants and other targets in numerous German cities including: Leipzig, Brunswick, Gotha, Regensburg, Schweinfurt, Augsburg, Stuttgart and Steyr. In six days, the Eighth Air Force bombers based in England flew more than 3,000 sorties and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy more than 500. Together they dropped roughly 10,000 tons of bombs.

During Big Week, the Eighth Air Force lost 97 B-17s, 40 B-24s and another 20 scrapped due to damage. The operational strength of the Eighth Air Force bomber units had dropped from 75 percent at the start of the week to 54 percent, and its fighter units strength had dropped from 72 percent of establishment strength to 65 percent. The Fifteenth Air Force lost 14,6 percent (90 bombers) of establishment strength, and the RAF command lost 131 bombers (5.7 percent) during Big week.^[6] Although these numbers are high in absolute terms, the numbers of bombers involved in the missions were much higher than previously, and the losses represented a much smaller percentage of the attacking force. The earlier Schweinfurt missions had cost the force nearly 30 percent of their aircraft per mission.

U.S. aircrews claimed more than 500 German fighters destroyed, though the numbers were massively exaggerated.^[5]:78 The Luftwaffe losses were high amongst their twin-engined Zerstörer units, and the Bf 110 and Me 410 groups were severely depleted.^[5]:77–8 More worrying for the Jagdwaffe was the loss of 355 aircraft, nearly 100 pilots (14 percent) have been killed.^[7] In contrast to the raids of the previous year, the US losses were replaceable, while the Germans were already hard pressed due to the war in the East. Although not fatal, Big Week was an extremely worrying development for the Germans.

The actual damage to the German aircraft industry was fairly limited; during 1944 German aircraft industry was to reach its fighter production peak by reducing the production of other aircraft types and ruthlessly exploiting the workforce. The lack of skilled pilots due to an attrition in the three-front war was the factor eroding the capability of the Jagdwaffe.^[6] The Luftwaffe had to abandon its tactic of "maximum defensive effort" to daylight bombing missions in favor of hit-and-run intercepts. While the Jagdwaffe remained formidable, air superiority had passed irrevocably to the Allies.

Aftermath

Big Week bolstered the confidence of U.S. strategic bombing crews. Until that time, Allied bombers avoided contact with the Luftwaffe; now, the Americans used any method that would force the Luftwaffe into combat. Implementing this policy, the United States looked toward Berlin. Raiding the German capital, Allied leaders reasoned, would force the Luftwaffe to battle. On March 4, the USSTAF launched the first of several attacks against Berlin. A force of 730 bombers set off from England with an escort of 800 fighters. Fierce battles raged and resulted in heavy losses for both sides; 69 B-17s were lost but it cost the Luftwaffe 160 aircraft. The Allies replaced their losses; the Luftwaffe could not.^[8]

The new German tactic of using Sturmböcke (heavily armed Fw 190s) as bomber destroyers, and Bf 109Gs to escort them in Gefechtsverband formations, were proving somewhat effective. The U.S. fighters, kept in close contact with the bombers they were protecting, could not chase the attacking fighters before they were forced to turn around and return to the bombers. Lt. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, commander of the 8th Air Force from the end of 1943, responded by initiating a breakthrough in fighter tactics by "freeing" the fighters, allowing them to fly far ahead of the heavy bomber formations in an air supremacy "fighter sweep" mode on the outward legs; then following the USAAF heavies' bomb runs, the fighters roamed far from the bomber streams and hunt down the German fighters — especially the Sturmböcke, that had limited manoeuvrability with their heavy underwing conformal gun pod-mount autocannons — before they could ever approach the USAAF bombers. Though the change was unpopular with the bomber crews, its effects were immediate and extremely effective.

The Combined Bomber Offensive attacks against fighter production officially ended on April 1, 1944 and control of the air forces passed to U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower in preparation for the invasion of France. Allied airmen were well on the way to achieving air superiority over all of Europe. "While they continued strategic bombing, the USAAF turned its attention to the tactical air battle in support of the Normandy invasion".^[8]

Timeline

RAF bomber sorties during Big Week

Bomber Command directly contributed to the attacks on the aircraft industry in Schweinfurt. Some 734 bombers were dispatched on the night of 24/25 February, and 695 struck the target.^[1] Of the bombs dropped, 298 hit within three miles and 22 hit inside the target area. Little damage was done. On 25/26 February 1944, Bomber Command sent 600 bombers to the aircraft assembly plant at Augsburg. The attack was accurate and they destroyed some 60 percent of the industrial city.^[12]

See also

• Operation Steinbock, the German "baby blitz" against the UK, that was ongoing simultaneously with the "Big Week" campaign and afterwards.

Notes

References

• Caldwell, Donald & Muller, Richard (2007). The Luftwaffe over Germany - Defense of the Reich; Greenhill books, MBI Publishing; ISBN 978-1-85367-712-0
• Hess, William. N. B-17Flying Fortress - Combat and Development History;Motor books;1994; ISBN 0-87938-881-1
• Hall, R. Cargill. Case Studies In Strategic Bombardment. Air Force History and Museums Program 1998. ISBN 0-16-049781-7
• Harvey, Arnold D. (Spring 2012). "The Battle of Britain in 1940 and "Big Week," in 1944: A Comparative Perspective". Air Power History. 59 (1). 

Further reading

• Scutts, J. (1994). Mustang Aces of the Eighth Air Force, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-85532-447-4
• Weal, John. (2006). Bf 109 Defense of the Reich Aces, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-879-0
• Yenne, Bill. (2012). "Big Week: Six Days That Changed The Course of World War II"; Penguin; ISBN 978-0-425-25575-9