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"Big Week" 1944

By: Osprey

Type: Softcover

Product Line: Air Campaign Series

MSRP old price: $24.00


Product Info

Title
"Big Week" 1944
Publisher
Product Line
Category
Author
Douglas C. Dildy
Publish Year
2022
Pages
96
Dimensions
7.25x9.75x.25"
NKG Part #
2147963638
MFG. Part #
OSPACM027
Type
Softcover

Description

A rigorous new analysis of America's legendary 'Big Week' air campaign which enabled the Allies to gain air superiority before D-Day.

The USAAF's mighty World War II bomber forces were designed for unescorted, precision daylight bombing, but no-one foresaw the devastation that German radar-directed interceptors would inflict on them. Following the failures of 1943's Schweinfurt-Regensburg raids, and with D-Day looming, the Allies urgently needed to crush the Luftwaffe's ability to oppose the landings.

In February 1944, the Allies conceived and fought history's first-ever successful offensive counter­air (OCA) campaign, Operation Argument or "Big Week.” Attacking German aircraft factories with hundreds of heavy bombers, escorted by the new long-range P-51 Mustang, it aimed both to slash aircraft production and force the Luftwaffe into combat, allowing the new Mustangs to take their toll on the German interceptors. This expertly written, illustration-packed account explains how the Allies finally began to win air superiority over Europe, and how Operation Argument marked the beginning of the Luftwaffe's fall.