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    The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II
    The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II
    The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II
    Ebook119 pages57 minutes

    The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II

    By Major Charles J. Westgate III

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    This paper presents an analysis of the 306th Bomb Group’s contributions during World War II. Rather than providing a simple recounting of the various dates and accomplishments, the paper analyzes some of the key indicators and statistics of the group’s performance. In particular, the paper focuses on comparing aircraft losses and bombing results of the 306th with the Eighth Air Force’s. The analysis also examined other areas, such as: mission aborts, enemy aircraft claimed destroyed, weather conditions over target, bombing methods used, presence of fighter escorts, and strength of enemy air defenses (enemy fighter aircraft and flak). The purpose of the analysis was to gain a better understanding of the group’s overall performance within the bigger scope of the Eighth Air Force’s war effort.

    The analysis was conducted in three steps. First, the archives of the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) were searched for statistics on the 306th. Next, similar statistics were collected for the Eighth Air Force. Finally, the data for the two units was analyzed and compared, to aid in determining conclusions. To facilitate the last step of the research, the air war was divided into four periods. The goals and objectives for each period were used as criteria to grade the unit’s effectiveness.

    In general, the study concluded that the 306th Bomb Group was a “typical” B-17 bomber group in World War II. When comparing the various statistics and graphs provide in this paper, we see that in most cases there was little difference in the data for the 306th and the Eighth Air Force. However, the statistics do not tell the whole story. As one of the cadre groups of the Eighth Air Force, many of the improvements and lessons learned during the early period of the war were at the expense of the 306th. These early lessons and experiments were important and led to the improvements that saved many lives and brought an end to the war.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTannenberg Publishing
    Release dateNov 6, 2015
    ISBN9781786256560
    The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II

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      Book preview

      The Reich Wreckers - Major Charles J. Westgate III

      This edition is published by PICKLE PARTNERS PUBLISHING—www.picklepartnerspublishing.com

      To join our mailing list for new titles or for issues with our books – picklepublishing@gmail.com

      Or on Facebook

      Text originally published in 1998 under the same title.

      © Pickle Partners Publishing 2015, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

      Publisher’s Note

      Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

      We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

      THE REICH WRECKERS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE 306TH BOMB GROUP DURING WORLD WAR II

      BY

      CHARLES J. WESTGATE III, MAJOR, USAF

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Contents

      TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

      ILLUSTRATIONS 5

      TABLES 6

      ABSTRACT 7

      CHAPTER 1—INTRODUCTION 8

      Purpose 8

      Methodology 8

      CHAPTER 2—IN THE BEGINNING 11

      CHAPTER 3—CONTRIBUTIONS AND ANALYSIS 16

      The First Missions (Oct 42-Apr 43) 16

      Reaching the Target 17

      Bombing Accuracy 20

      Conclusion 21

      Early POINTBLANK (May 43-Jan 44) 22

      Reaching the Target 22

      Bombing Accuracy 24

      Conclusion 25

      The ARGUMENT Period (Feb 44-Jun 44) 25

      Reaching the Target 26

      Bombing Accuracy 28

      Conclusions 28

      On to Victory (Jul 44-Apr 45) 29

      Reaching the Target 29

      Bombing Accuracy 30

      Conclusions 32

      CHAPTER 4—CONCLUSIONS 34

      Summary 37

      APPENDIX A—MISSION SUMMARY 38

      APPENDIX B—GRAPHS AND TABLES FOR 306TH BOMB GROUP 50

      APPENDIX C—COMPARISON GRAPHS AND TABLES 55

      APPENDIX D—TABLES FOR THE EIGHTH AIR FORCE 63

      APPENDIX E—306TH STATIONS AND MOVEMENTS 68

      GLOSSARY 69

      BIBLIOGRAPHY 72

      REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 76

      ILLUSTRATIONS

      Unit Crest for the 306th Bombardment Group (H).

      B-17 with Triangle H Markings of the 306th.

      367th Bomb Squadron Patch.

      368th Bomb Squadron Patch.

      369th Bomb Squadron Patch.

      423rd Bomb Squadron Patch.

      Comparison of Number of Aircraft Losses.

      Comparison of % Losses.

      Normalized Comparison of Losses.

      Accuracy of Bombing Techniques for Eighth Air Force.

      Princess Elizabeth Christening The Rose of York.

      Causes of Sortie Aborts.

      Number of Enemy Aircraft Claims.

      Mission Effectiveness for the 306th Bomb Group.

      Number of Missions per Month for the 306th.

      Analysis of the 306th’s Losses.

      Analysis of 306th’s Enemy Claims.

      Normalized Comparison of Effective Sorties.

      Comparison of % Losses per Effective Sortie.

      Normalized Comparison of Enemy Claims.

      Comparison of Enemy Claims per Effective Sortie.

      TABLES

      Flak Losses.

      Awards and Decorations.

      306th Mission Summary.

      306th Bomb Group Monthly Summary.

      Comparison of the 306th BG and Eighth Air Force.

      Bombs Dropped by Eighth Air Force on Specified Targets.

      1942 Bombing Percentages.

      1943 Bombing Percentages.

      1944 Bombing Percentages.

      1945 Bombing Percentages.

      Top Three Targets Based on Tonnage of Bombs Dropped.

      ABSTRACT

      This paper presents an analysis of the 306th Bomb Group’s contributions during World War II. Rather than providing a simple recounting of the various dates and accomplishments, the paper analyzes some of the key indicators and statistics of the group’s performance. In particular, the paper focuses on comparing aircraft losses and bombing results of the 306th with the Eighth Air Force’s. The analysis also examined other areas, such as: mission aborts, enemy aircraft claimed destroyed, weather conditions over target, bombing methods used, presence of fighter escorts, and strength of enemy air defenses (enemy fighter aircraft and flak). The purpose of the analysis was to gain a better understanding of the group’s overall performance within the bigger scope of the Eighth Air Force’s war effort.

      The analysis was conducted in three steps. First, the archives of the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) were searched for statistics on the 306th. Next, similar statistics were collected for the Eighth Air Force. Finally, the data for the two units was analyzed and compared, to aid in determining conclusions. To facilitate the last step of the research, the air war was divided into four periods. The goals and objectives for each period were used as criteria to grade the unit’s effectiveness.

      In general, the study concluded that the 306th Bomb Group was a typical B-17 bomber group in World War II. When comparing the various statistics and graphs provide in this paper, we see that in most cases there was little difference in the data for the 306th and the Eighth Air Force. However, the statistics do not tell the whole story. As one of the cadre groups of the Eighth Air Force, many of the improvements and lessons learned during the early period of the war were at the expense of the 306th. These early lessons

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