adarbrauner
Posts: 1496
Joined: 11/3/2016 From: Zichron Yaaqov, Israel; Before, Treviso, Italy Status: offline
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ORIGINAL: MakeeLearn The "Combat Box" bombing where the entire unit drops on the lead aircraft was more suited to high altitude bombing. Low altitude bombing puts the when to drop decision on individual aircraft. Plus it allows the use of the plane's guns on ground/sea targets. Low level heavy bomber bombings was normal. B-24 was better at it and squadrons when possible would switch out B17s for B24s. Ive started reading this... "A War of Their Own: Bombers over the Southwest Pacific" "In the fall of 1942, low-altitude and skip-bombing attacks ran contrary to prewar tactics, aircraft design, and aircrew training-but they worked. B-17s set a precedent for attacking ships from low altitude, increasing accuracy without dramatically increasing danger to the crews. In a theater where ships and shipping lanes represented the closest thing to a vital center that Kenney's planes could reach, these methods justified modifying bomber tactics throughout the Southwest Pacific. " "But sometimes, especially because of the limited range of smaller planes, coordinated assaults were not an option. In these cases, especially with the B-17s of the 43d BG and the B-24s of the 90th BG, Fifth Air Force still chose low-level attacks on occasion. In April 1943, B-17s attacked a number of ships anchored off New Ireland, making their most successful attacks at low level: "In a period of four days beginning on 1 April, twenty-one B-17's and nine B-24's harassed the ships at anchor, attacking from medium and low altitude. The greatest damage was claimed by B-17's skip-bombing from 75 to 250 feet." "B-17s had started low-altitude and skip bombing for Fifth Air Force, but by mid-1943 the tactical picture started to change. Low-level antishipping efforts by their smaller counterparts began to take their place" " Before the results of those tests were officially released in December 1942, Kenney's B-17s attacked ships in Rabaul Harbor (October). Unable to obtain very fast speeds or low altitudes, they literally skipped the bombs up to and underneath the vessels or dropped a standard stick from a slightly higher altitude" Ive started reading this book in pdf. I will upload if you want a copy Yes, I'd like very much please.
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