2nd Raid on Schweinfurt- Black Thursday
This is the first operation to be
nicknamed Black Thursday by the US Air
Force, and looking at the numbers killed,
It’s not hard to see why.
In 1943, the Allied Bomber Command had
decided to hit the ball bearing factories
at Schweinfurt. Flying largely without
escorts, an attacking force of 291 B-17
Flying Fortresses quickly lived up to their
names as they were forced to fight off
attacks from all sides by swarms of German
fighters. Heavy 88mm cannon flak only
contributed to the USAAF’s misery:
a pilot later described it as “thick
enough to walk on.”
In total, 77 B-17s were destroyed, 121
were severely damaged, and almost 600
crewmembers were killed in action.The
heaviest in terms of losses of any USAAF
mission. Despite many of the bombers hitting
their targets successfully, the bloodiness of
the battle forced Allied Bomber Command to
call off large daylight raids into Germany
until February 1944.
Allies
-----------
B-17G
C-47
F4U-1
FI-156
P-38J
P-39D
P-51B
Jeep
M3
M8
M16
M4-A3(75)
Axis
-------------
BF-109 G-2
BF 109 G-6
BF 110 G-2
C-47
FI-156
FW 190 A-5
JU 87D3
JU 88
Jeep
Panzer-F
Tiger-I
SDKFZ
