Author Topic: interesting ..... (Read 134 times)

hazed- · « **on:** January 31, 2002, 10:58:46 AM »

watching a tv show about the bombing of europe and there was an interveiw with the lanc bombardiers about a time during the D-Day landings when 'bomber harris' had to hand over control of his bombers from city bombing to the ground support role!

the old guy described how in order to drop their bombs so close to the landing troops they had to come in a lot lower than when bombing towns.
He then mentioned that he wouldnt like to have been one of our boys 'in the mud' because they were dropping HE bombs, at times, 800 YARDS!!! ahead of some of our positions!.He even says 'in order to hit that close we had to fly in at 12000 feet or so'

interesting in terms of an actual participant describing just how accurate the bombing could be.This was shown on film also with a lanc dropping a line of bombs very accurately long a ridge.So it was never pin point accuracy but it does mean in order to be well within 800 yards they had to come down to low alt.

HTC, ill try to get info on the actual programme if you like.Could be of help when you decide on bomb drift/dispersal?

ra · « **Reply #1 on:** January 31, 2002, 11:23:27 AM »

What kind of targets were they hitting? Much of the problem may have stemmed from an inability to see the targets. From 12K it should be easy to hit reasonably close to a clearly visible target, but if they were bombing based on non-visual information, like map coordinates or a radio beacon, then 800 yards is a pretty tight margin.

ra

Kratzer · « **Reply #2 on:** January 31, 2002, 11:42:05 AM »

Are you talking about during the jump off from Normandy for the 2nd battle of France? They ended up dropping bombs on friendly troops.

From what I remember, they were bombing based on visual cues from the ground - smoke/roads/train tracks, and unlike in Normandy, where they came in perpendicular to the beach, and scared of dropping on the landing troops, their bombs hit up to several miles inland, completely missing the Atlantic Wall, they dropped parallel to allied lines, in a carpet area.

There is an account of this in Citizen Soldiers. I'll look it up when I go home to die of this damn uberflu.

Don · « **Reply #3 on:** January 31, 2002, 11:55:52 AM »

Hazed:
Later in the war on the continent, Gen. Omar Bradley ordered bomber support for one of his ground actions. He refused to pull his troops back farther than they were (I dont remember how far back, may have been 1k yds). Wind came up blew smoke markers back toward friendly lines, buffs dropped eggs and killed or wounded about 300 troops. Similar thing happened several days later. When it did work though, nme troops were dazed and demoralized.

Widewing · « **Reply #4 on:** January 31, 2002, 12:39:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Don
Hazed:
When it did work though, nme troops were dazed and demoralized.

Not to mention, frequently dead too.

My regards,

Widewing

Bring the P-38G to Aces High....

hazed- · « **Reply #5 on:** January 31, 2002, 03:25:16 PM »

erm im sorry but you are incorrect.

The lancs of RAF never hit their own troops. The US bombers, however, did.Whether that was indeed due to the raf dropping 'along' the front rather than crossing the front i dont know but i put it down to the US's tendancy for being trigger happy

their targets were fixed installations (shore batteries gun emplacements) as well as mortar and artillery positions according to that old flyer.