Dan Luke wrote:

There weren't that many German night fighters so if the
entire bomber swarm passed through the sector together,
the night fighter would not get an opportunity to attack
multiple targets. They basically took off, headed for an
assembly point and turned for the
target when they reached it.

You sure about that? I thought the Brit bombers attacked in a "bomber
stream" rather than any kind of group formation.

I'm not sure about the British, but the American bombers flying out of the
UK used a box formation -- I think it was three levels high -- and that
requires a fair bit of choreography to set up. In any case, there are many
gradations of visibility between inside a cloud and severe clear.

In THE FOG OF WAR, Robert McNamara talks about how he worked as a
statistician for General Curtis LeMay when LeMay was in charge of the Flying
Fortresses out of the U.K. in 1943. After having too many planes abort
missions because of faulty oxygen systems, engine problems, etc. LeMay
(according to McNamara) declared that the next crew who turned back for any
reason would be court-martialed. That's a strong disincentive for turning
back just because the visibility is low.


All the best,


David